Quantum Leap Season 2 finale ending explained: Gideon's true identity revealed

Quantum Leap Season 2 came to an end in an explosive way. We said goodbye to a team member and found out the real identity of Gideon.

Caution: This post contains major spoilers from the Quantum Leap Season 2 finale.

The Quantum Leap Season 2 finale came in two episodes. The first brought Ben back to Hannah, and this time she was able to share the code to help get Ben back home. That was great, but there was someone stopping them from doing it.

Of course, Gideon stepped in and took over the program. In the second hour, we learned who he was and what he wanted.

Who was Gideon in Quantum Leap?

If you called the Elon Musk-style tech billionaire being Hannah’s son Jeffrey, you called it. It turned out that he blamed Ben for his father’s death. Had it not been for the letter, his father wouldn’t have left the house in the middle of the storm and died in the car accident. Hannah couldn’t explain who Ben was and how he knew about her husband’s heart.

Of course, Jeffrey didn’t realize or care that if it wasn’t for the letter, his dad would have died earlier than that. All Jeffrey believed was that Ben was the cause for problems, and after the big fire at his apartment, he decided it was time to use Ben’s investment tips and become a tech billionaire to be able to take over the Quantum Leap program.

With Hannah’s code, Jeffrey would be able to switch places with Ben. He could then go through time and make tiny changes to control history.

Jenn is shot in the Quantum Leap Season 2 finale

Despite resigning to protect his team, Magic didn’t give up. He made a call. He reached out to Al’s wife and daughters. That’s when we get the reference that Al and Beth had four daughters.

Magic got Jenn, Ian, and Addison to Al’s daughter’s setup, bringing back the old-school hologram handheld console. They needed to work together to find a way to end the situation. Ben was in a time period where he was just 20 minutes away from a young Jeffrey.

It became the Baby Hitler conundrum. If you had the choice to go back in time to kill Baby Hitler, would you do it? The team needs to figure this out, because while they could stop Jeffrey from getting the confidence to stop Jeffrey, they could also wipe some of their existences.

They decide to lock down the system, but that leads to the first major loss of the whole series so far. Jenn refuses to leave until the system is fully locked down and she pays the ultimate price for it. Of course, ever the narcissist, he blamed Ben for Jenn’s death.

Did Ben kill Young Jeffrey?

So, while in the past, Ben ended up having to make a choice. He and Addison got to Hannah and Jeffrey’s house. Ben was just about to destroy the computer to stop Jeffrey rather than kill him. That’s when Ben sees that the computer is named after Jeffrey’s dad. He can’t destroy it.

Jeffrey finds Ben. It’s time for a heart-to-heart. While we watch Ben and Young Jeffrey talk about saving lives and how Ben tried to help, the adult Jeffrey is watching and laughing. He’s still around, which means Ben fails. But does he? After all, there was a hint of how the timeline would change and who would remember events thanks to Beth and Janis. They referenced Al and Sam from the original Quantum Leap series finale.

Ben and Jeffrey work together on the leap in the hope of saving their mark for Ben to not get stuck in the past. While regular CPR didn’t work, Ben and Jeffrey were able to use jumper cables and Hannah’s car as a defibrillator. It fixed the loop and gave a young Jeffrey a chance to see what it was like to actually help people.

It all happened as Jeffrey walked toward Ben’s body to make the code switch. However, Jeffrey suddenly stopped. Everything changed in the present day. They’ll never understand it all or remember except for Addison and Ben, just like only Sam and Al (and he told Beth) remembered their change.

The best change was Jenn being alive again. Without Jeffrey going down a path of revenge and hate, he never took over Quantum Leap. Instead, he’s a major donor of the program.

Did Ben get back in the Quantum Leap Season 2 finale?

Now everyone had to figure out who Ben would switch with to get back home. It was clear who it would have to be. After all, someone would have to literally take his place and put themselves in Quantum Leap at the risk of never coming back.

Addison made it clear that it would have to be her. She was always meant to be the Leaper, and she was ready to do this. It was time to bring Ben home.

Did it work? Did Ben and Addison switch places? Addison certainly ends up in the past, but she can see Ben. She can even touch him. Instead of switching places, Addison and Ben are now leaping together.

Uh oh!

Quantum Leap is available to stream on Peacock.