[00:00:02] Hello, fellow travelers. What is up, everybody? Thank you so much for joining fates Wide Wheel. I'm your host, Sam Fein, and this week I get the pleasure of talking about Nomad, the 8th episode of season two.
[00:00:15] I am really excited about this one. I've been excited about this one for a while.
[00:00:22] Yeah, I had a chance to see the script for it, and I'm so thrilled that this one is coming out into the open midseason finale.
[00:00:35] It's a great way, a frustrating way, in a positive way to end this first half of the journey for season two.
[00:00:46] And there's a lot of really great stuff to talk about, but I'm not going to try to cover everything and I'm going to do my best, I promise this time to not talk too long. And the main reason why is because I have some awesome interviews that I cannot wait to share with you. I was able to talk to the writer of this episode, executive producer, co showrunner Dean Georgias, and executive producer and writer Drew Lindo. Now, Drew did not write this episode, but Dean wanted him to be here for the interview, and I'm so glad that he was. I love talking to Drew. Drew is fantastic. This is how great Drew is. Drew and his family welcomed their second child this past Monday, and we recorded on Saturday.
[00:01:32] And I even said at one point, I told him, I was like, hey, no pressure. If you can't be there, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it. But he showed up and he was there for about an hour and it was just awesome.
[00:01:44] He always adds so much to the conversation and I'm so grateful and appreciative of him taking some time out to be there. It was really cool and a lot of fun. And Dean, of course, is.
[00:01:54] Dean always surprises me in the most wonderful ways with just these incredibly erudite yet passionate and inspiring answers to questions.
[00:02:07] And I think he would admit this himself sometimes. He'll go a very sort of securitous route to get there, but it's always lovely. And I really appreciate him being on the show so much because it added a lot to the discussion, hopefully, about this episode, and you'll enjoy hearing from them just as much as I enjoyed talking to them. The other interview I have, which I'm so excited to share with you, is, of course, with Eliza Taylor, who plays Hannah Carson on Quantum Leap and is featured heavily in this episode.
[00:02:39] She's such a delight, as Ben says at the end of the episode about Hannah, she's spectacular. She really is. And I just enjoyed speaking with her so much. I genuinely feel like it's one of my favorite interviews that I've ever done, which is saying a lot because I love so much the opportunity I've had to talk to these people. Everyone involved with this show has truly, truly just been so generous and kind and welcoming. I've said it before, I will say it again and again and again because it is so true and I'm humbled and so appreciative, so grateful of their coming on the show and talking and sharing their thoughts and feelings, not only on the show, but sometimes on life, on acting, on writing, on art. It's just been such a blast. And speaking of art, make sure you check out the new poster that JJ Lindell has done for Nomad. I love it. I think it's one of the best of these first eight.
[00:03:37] It's right up there with secret history, in my opinion. Just an incredible piece that helps to tell the story of this episode without spoiling anything, mind you. And it's just a lovely piece. You can find that
[email protected] fwwshop and you'll also find some other cool stuff, including this hat. I'm not going to lie, I love this hat.
[00:04:01] It's really kind of cool and hopefully not too self aggrandizing to show it. But anyway, you'll also find t shirts, other posters, including the posters for secret history, as well as that Doctor who 60th anniversary Daleks poster, which was very cool as well. We're going to have lots of other cool stuff along the way, some neat stuff over the break between the midseason finale and picking things up, hopefully late January or February. That's what Dean himself says. He doesn't know for certain, which means, of course I don't know for certain, but that's kind of the vibe, and hopefully that will indeed be the case.
[00:04:38] I didn't press as far as if it would be new day and time or anything like that, but we'll see what happens. And obviously as soon as I know anything, I will make sure to let folks know on the social media channels and on this podcast.
[00:04:52] But yeah, I'm really looking forward to what's next because this episode leaves us in a pretty incredible place. And I think one of the things that this episode does so so well is it takes all of these sort of big plot elements, these sort of arc elements of the season, and ties them directly into the characters wants and desires in a wonderful way.
[00:05:21] It's not necessarily setting up, no offense, it's not setting up a boogeyman like Martinez, an obstacle to what they want. Instead, it is integrating these things into the core of who these people are and what they want and their desires. And it's really lovely. And I just think it's a hallmark of some excellent writing and some excellent storytelling from the entire writers room. So kudos. And, of course, kudos to Dean, because I think Dean writes just a wonderful episode, incredibly cinematic episode, which, of course, the director and the DP deserve a lot of credit because it's such a beautifully shot episode as well.
[00:06:00] Wealth of credit to them. And, of course, the hair, the makeup, the costumes, I mean, everything is so on point. Once again, this production team just proves that there's really nothing that they can't do. And how emboldened would you have to feel, right, as a writer's room, as producers on this show, to just kind of be able to say, like, we can literally throw anything at them and they are going to give us something that feels good, that feels right. And I think that this episode is definitely indicative of that. And they got to shoot in Egypt for five days. How awesome is that?
[00:06:31] And, yeah, just super cool. It looks beautiful.
[00:06:37] There's such a scope to it, such a sweep to it, so cinematic, and it's propulsive. It moves really well. It's got some incredibly moving, emotional beats for our know, some moments at the project, which I think are fairly important to who these people are. And in particular for Addison, there's some big Addison stuff in this episode.
[00:07:06] And Caitlin is fantastic, as always. And of the, the Ben and Hannah story, I think just has the way that it's been built since closure encounters into secret history.
[00:07:21] It's incredible. And I really encourage everyone to make sure you listen to those interviews with Dean and Drew and Eliza, respectively, because the commentary basically, that they add enriched, I think the appreciation for this story and these moments, even beyond my expectations. So definitely check those out. I can't say that enough.
[00:07:46] As I say that, I also realize that most likely the Eliza interview will already have, like, twice as many views as this video. So I appreciate you. If you are a fan of Eliza Taylor and you found fates wide wheel and you're listening to this and you're watching Quantum Leap because of her awesome. Stick around. It's only going to get better, I promise. Not just quantum leap, but this show, too. And yeah, I mean, Eliza is fantastic. Ray is incredible. There are some moments in this episode that are just.
[00:08:20] It sounds like hyperbole because I've said it a lot, but they just have some incredible acting moments, and there's some really wonderful small moments, too. There's a moment where Hannah reaches for a telephone, and that moment is just so well done. And I love little moments like that because it has a way of really saying a lot without saying too much, telling you a lot without saying too much. Anyway, we're going to talk about the episode in a little bit more detail than just that. But before we do, I certainly want to thank all the patrons of fateswide wheel. Thank you so much for helping to keep the lights on, for making sure that this show can be produced and that I can use the software that I'm using that I find myself just humbled and so grateful. And it's not something that I really ever expected when we started this thing six plus years ago. So thank you so, so much for.
[00:09:20] There's. There's a lot of cool stuff happening over there right now. He's got the behind the scenes videos with JJ Lindell where he takes us kind of step by step on the creation of his posters.
[00:09:32] I've been loving doing those videos, and if you want to check those out, head over to patreon.com slash fateswide wheel and you can sign up for a dollar, watch all the videos, and then peace out if you want to. And that's totally fine.
[00:09:48] If you want to just see those videos, I'd love for you to be able to see those videos. You can also, of course, set up a standing donation to the show in any dollar amount that suits you. Before you do all that, though, I'm going to ask you one thing.
[00:10:03] This time of year, especially, all year round. But this time of year especially, it's true, people have a hard time. If there's anything that you can do in your community to right some wrongs, whether it's donating some time, some money, lending an ear, helping somebody carry the groceries, with their consent, of course. Don't just walk up to somebody and take their groceries, because that could go wrong.
[00:10:27] Please do help to right some wrongs this season. And whatever you can do in your community to help out to make the world a little bit better, I would be grateful for that because I know that there are people in need. I have been in need, and I have found help in unlikely places that has just been helpful.
[00:10:56] So if you're able to do that in any way, awesome. And if you are in need, now's the time to see if you can say yes to help. That might be around you. I know it's hard. I know it's hard, but yeah, do what you can. Do what you can. And in the world at large, if you want to donate any of your hard earned money to some causes, I will, of course, always throw my support out there for the Trevor project and Doctors without Borders. Those are two causes that I support personally, and they do incredibly important life saving work, both of them. So I stand by their mission statements a great deal. And if you can support either one of those causes, great. If there's another cause out there that you want to support, awesome. There are of many worthy causes that certainly could use assistance this time of year and all year. If, if, after you've done all of that. First of all, thank you for doing that. You're awesome. You're Sam Beckett, you're Ben song, you're a leaper. You're setting right some wrongs. But if after you do all of that, you do want to support the show, then, yes, head over to Fateswidewheel. You can support the show in any dollar amount that you choose, and you will have access to the special behind the scenes videos, to early previews of certain things when possible, and exclusive interviews at times. You will also get early access to any non episode related interviews, and there are going to be some other surprises on the horizon, including potentially maybe some discounts. So check that out. Stick around. Things are going to get interesting in 2024, I certainly hope. Thank you all so much for supporting the show. I really appreciate it. Whether you're here watching, you're hitting that like, button you're hitting subscribe. Please do that. That would be awesome.
[00:12:53] Leaving a comment I appreciate the comments so much. I don't get the chance to answer them all the time. I'm really busy right now. But I see them, I read them. I try to love them when I can love. And yeah, I'm grateful for all of you for tuning in, for giving up your valuable time just to listen to the show, much less anyone who is donating their money. So thank you so, so much. I really appreciate it. All right, should we talk about Nomad? Let's talk about Nomad. First, I want to talk about the title a little bit, obviously directly related to one of the characters in the episode and a very important character. And I think that in this particular case, it's a title that much like lonely Hearts club applies even beyond that. But let's talk about the character for a moment, Layla, who's played by Azita Ganizada.
[00:13:50] I think just what a wonderful guest performance. Azita is fantastic. Layla is a great character and the thing that I love is that there's some nuance to the role, and I feel like it would have been very easy to just go in and kind of do the job, pick up a paycheck and leave, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with that. But I do feel like she brings something more to this role, and I can't quite explain it, but there's like this almost this altruistic, idealistic quality behind everything she's doing that is not evident from the get go, especially with the way that she's playing the game, playing the spy game so well, risking her life in this way. And clearly, I mean, anyone who's willing to do that, there's got to be some sort of altruism or idealism at play. But the way that she's able to kind of bring that to the forefront in certain exchanges and stuff, I think is really lovely.
[00:14:56] The life threatening stakes of her job are certainly there. I think also the idea that she recognizes that she is up against the misogyny of the times, she is up against the patriarchy, in a way, because she's not what anyone expects, and yet she's the one that's getting all of this information. She's the one that is putting her life on the line to be a spy, basically.
[00:15:28] And anyway, I just think Azita does a lovely job in the role, and I really appreciated her performance. And I think the character of, you know, our title character really is just well written, well done, top to bottom. The title, of course, and the word nomad clearly applies to Ben as well. He leads a nomadic existence in a very unique way, traveling from time period to time period and place to place, never staying in one place for too long, hoping that he can set right what once went wrong. And obviously, I love anytime that we get these titles that kind of apply in multiple ways, and we often do. I mean, a kind of magic was like that, obviously, secret history certainly did. I mean, they're good at titling these episodes.
[00:16:18] The other thing, though, that I failed to mention when I was talking to Dean and Drew and then when I spoke to Eliza that I wish I would have brought up because I would have loved to have heard their perspectives on it, is I feel like Nomad can also apply to Hannah.
[00:16:31] We've seen Hannah three times now, and in each instance, it's been somewhere different. Now, obviously, purely from a plot standpoint, of course, because Ben's not going to go to New Mexico every single time. Right. But the idea that we have seen her living this kind of nomadic existence. She's moving from place to place as her world gets bigger and her world gets bigger because of Ben. Ben has affected her life in that way, and she's earned it. There's no doubt, I think, in anyone's mind. I mean, obviously, Hannah is capable of these things. She has agency of her own, but Ben has kind of helped to give her the nudge in the right direction and certainly open things up for her in a way that I think has kind of given her the opportunity and the inspiration to go further and to dig deeper. And it's incredible to think of her in a nomadic existence as well as she pursues her own dreams.
[00:17:32] And I wonder, especially based on some of the lines in this episode, is her adventurous spirit, which is innate in the character. And it's something that Eliza and I talked about a bit, but is it also perhaps motivated by a desire to perhaps be in the right place in the right time to meet Ben again?
[00:17:52] Does she kind of intuit that if she had stayed in Princeton and just been a teacher or whatever, would she have really had the opportunity, maybe to cross paths with Ben again? And now, especially having met him in Egypt when she's at this conference, there's got to be that element of, like, I need to keep moving. And that's a wonderful kind of theme of this episode. Magic says it to Addison about moving forward. Ben says it at the end. I've spent the last 24 leaps looking back. Now I'm going to look forward, and I love that notion, and in particular, I love what it means for Hannah, and it's something that Eliza and I talk a lot about. So I'm not going to go into too much detail here, because you should check that interview out, by all means. But I love the aspect of this character that even without Ben around, I have no doubt that she is having adventures, that she is living her life to the fullest. And I think that makes her an altogether more interesting character. I think it makes the concept of love mean more, and I think that it's this. Know, Dean said it perfectly about love being infinite, and I think that that is something that this world needs to clue itself into even more. And as exemplified in these characters, especially in Hannah, but Ben as well. That notion that love is infinite is really.
[00:19:20] Yeah. I just think that there's this aspect to Hannah's character that fits that nomad title as well as Ben and Layla, which I think is really pretty.
[00:19:35] I love. I love so much about this episode. I'm a huge fan of spy fiction. And I, of course, cut my teeth as a youngster on James Bond films.
[00:19:49] Scarecrow and Mrs. King was a tv show as a youth that I enjoyed.
[00:19:54] And I think seeing, especially seeing something like James Bond, our view, if that's your approach to spycraft in any way or whatever, that's not what it is, right? That's this power fantasy. Great. It's lovely entertainment and they've certainly crafted some fine films over the years.
[00:20:19] And I think I have that box set behind me. So no shade towards James Bond. However, it's not necessarily an authentic depiction. Right. And so I got into John Lacaree novels in my twenty s and Tinker Taylor Soldier spy is still probably one of my favorite books. I just love so much about that book. I love what it says about identity. I love what it says about interpersonal relationships, betrayal, trust.
[00:20:46] And then, of course, it's a good yarn, right? Like there's just this wonderful psychological warfare and drama that plays out against this tapestry of these incredible characters and these high.
[00:20:58] So I was drawn to that.
[00:21:01] I've read books by Alan first. I've read McCarron's slow horses. I mentioned some of this stuff even when talking with Dean and Drew. So I have an appreciation just kind of, for spy stories in general. One of my favorite television programs of all time is a british show called the Sandbaggers. The sandbaggers has got to be the most unassuming spy show ever. But by far, in my opinion, it is the most interesting and it's just a brilliant piece of television in general. It reminds me so much of the way that Aaron Sorkin crafted a show like the West Wing, for instance.
[00:21:40] It has all of this kind of intrigue and drama and these politics and everything, but it's really quite wonderful. And the other thing that's kind of neat about it and the parallel to quantum leap is that you kind of get this sort of bifurcated like story in a way, where there are people in the field and then you see people in the office. The majority of the show takes place in the office, though. So this isn't about the action adventure exploits of your spies in the field. This is about the people in the office working to make sure that spy number one has the resources they need in order to pull off said mission. Or spy number one having to play the game with this bureaucrat in order to have access to talk to this foreign dignitary in order to get information to feed to spy number one in the field. So it's really a wonderful show and I feel like it's a show that unfortunately has kind of gotten buried by the sands of time in a lot of way, but I would encourage anyone to check it out. So that said, coming into Nomad, I had an interest. Right. You know, I was excited about getting this spy story and knowing what I know of Dean. I just kind of anticipated that it would probably be more in the vein of kind of that sort of thing and less in the vein of the James Bond sort of thing. What I love is I felt like it was definitely able to kind of bridge that gap and that we got a great sense of kind of some of that nitty gritty, John Lacaree esque sort of the politics of it all, the psychology of it all, the personality of it all, the idea that everybody might be working on the same side, but they're not always on the same team.
[00:23:25] And the disposable nature sometimes of these assets, of people, of human beings, even dehumanized in a way, just to be referred to as assets or whatnot. So I felt like it really hit on some wonderful elements of the genre that we don't often see, because obviously, we're going to be a little bit more focused on the action adventure nature of it all. But again, the wonderful thing that I think this episode does is that it strikes a nice balance between the two. Obviously, there's some adventurous exploits for our characters to take part in, but there's also that kind of drama of the quieter moments with Ben and Barnes, played by Lou Diamond Phillips.
[00:24:13] All right, first, I got to get this out there. There was a report that came out a month or so ago from an outlet that I've never even heard of this outlet before.
[00:24:28] This seems like gobbledygook. I don't even know what I'm looking at.
[00:24:32] And they were like, lou Diamond Phillips is going to guest star in Quantum Leap. And I've said this before. Yes. I've had conversations with people working on the show fairly frequently, and I was aware of some of the guest stars that were coming this season.
[00:24:51] I had never heard his name mentioned at all. And so I just thought, like, well, this is weird and can't be right. I don't know.
[00:25:00] I don't buy this. And then, of course, there he is sitting there as I've watched the episode, and I was like, holy shit. So, anyway, seeing Lou Diamond Phillips sitting there getting ready to talk to Ben, it was really cool. And I think Barnes is an interesting character. I think Philip's performance is an interesting one to be completely frank because he does this wonderful job of portraying kind of the boss in this situation and certainly has that don't trust anyone attitude, while also, of course, being supportive of Ben's character, if you will, but not necessarily being too supportive. And certainly when it comes to nomad, not being willing to sacrifice too much in order to get her out.
[00:25:59] And I think it's just an interesting. Yeah, there's some interesting moments in the performance, and there were a couple of times when at first I was kind of like, I don't know how I feel about that moment, but looking back on the whole and the context of it, all the levels which he's able to give the role and give the performance, in particular, that moment when he kind of explodes in the office and he's very angry, it kind of drives home.
[00:26:33] And it certainly makes sense in the context of, at the end, him being there to help, like in person, like literally driving the getaway car.
[00:26:43] And all of a sudden you get this sense that Barnes, by way of the performance and the writing, that Barnes does care.
[00:26:52] This is a job to him and it's a job that has incredibly high stakes, but that does not mean that he is cold about it. There is an investment in the human beings and the human aspect of it, and I feel like that that's important to have. I can't believe I didn't mention the Americans earlier when I was talking about spy stuff, by the way, the Americans is also one of my favorite shows was, yeah, I thought Lou dumb and Phillips's Barnes.
[00:27:25] It was not what I expected, but I have a greater appreciation for it after thinking about it and sitting on it for a while than I might have my first watch. And I think part of it is also is because it was in such stark contrast to what we were seeing from everyone else.
[00:27:43] It was a different kind of investment and a different kind of mood and a different kind of tone. And I, and I worried, I think, as, as a viewer, as someone who knows that they're going to comment on the show, that maybe it didn't fit. But after having some time to think about it and watch the episode a couple of times, I was able to realize it's like, oh, no, it does make sense. And this is why it makes sense, which is lovely. And I think, again, a testament to the writing and the performance. So kudos and what a great name to get for the.
[00:28:16] I mean, I think he's given some really wonderful, lovely performances over the years, going all the way back to Labamba, even his stuff in, like, young guns. Even the performances on Longmire, I thought he was just wonderful on Longmire, so it was really cool to see him in the episode. I don't know if it was intentional, but there was definitely his appearance. Certainly reminded me a little bit of Gary Oldman. And we've seen Gary Oldman recently in a number of kind of roles like this, whether he's playing smiley in Tinker Taylor, soldier spy, or is working slow horses right now on Apple TV. So, again, whether that was intentional or not, I definitely got a little bit of that vibe, which I thought was a fun little connection, considering the world that we're living.
[00:29:02] Oh, let's just talk about the location shooting. My God, the fact that they were able to. And Dean tells a lovely story about choosing Egypt and having that be the location. And Eliza has some wonderful comments about being on location as well, but it just looks amazing.
[00:29:22] I wish, and I've said this before, I just wish this show could be shot on location all the time.
[00:29:29] I wish they never had to do anything in the back lots. Unless, of course, know lonely Hearts Club, which we're on a backlot. And that's not because the backlogs can't be magical in and of themselves, and that's not because they don't serve a purpose.
[00:29:43] And sometimes it just works beautifully. Right. But when this show shoots on location, it's a wonder. It's something to behold, in my opinion. And obviously, this is taking it a step further and being in Egypt, it does. I feel like I'm in a movie theater when I'm watching this episode because of the nature of the location shooting and the cinematography, I think Anna, the director of photography, she just does some beautiful, beautiful stuff. The lighting in this episode on a number of occasions is gorgeous.
[00:30:24] And Chris Grismr's direction is just out of. This is.
[00:30:30] This is such a well crafted episode that goes beyond, with all due respect to what we've seen previously, that goes beyond just about anything else we've seen from this show.
[00:30:46] The color palette is obviously going to be that very kind of yellowish thing.
[00:30:54] We're in the desert, but there's just so much of it that the visual presentation is delicious, quite frankly. And I just think it's such a lovely, well shot, well directed, well crafted episode from that standpoint. And being able to be in Egypt for a story that takes place in Egypt and shoot on these streets and shoot in front of the pyramids, I mean, my gosh, it's just amazing. And you can hear Eliza talking about being there and just how cool that.
[00:31:31] Yeah, amazing, amazing stuff.
[00:31:35] So I'm not going to go story beat by beat, because, again, the conversations that I had, we talk a bit about the stories, but I will say that I focus a lot kind of on the romance aspect, the character of Hannah, and kind of setting up some of what's to come in those interviews. So I will try to focus a little bit more on kind of the leap plot in this conversation because I love so much about the storytelling with the leap and Addison being the observer. Again, everything she's able to bring to the table with her experience from being in the military. Of course, Caitlin being a military intelligence, she clearly gets this world. And so I think it's wonderful to see Addison in these moments when she is engaged in a way that is very confident and very, not that she doesn't always have that air of confidence. I think that's just a part of her personality innately. But there's something about some of the scenes in this episode where it just feels like she knows. She knows what she's doing, she knows what to tell Ben. And in this instance, the cool thing is especially in contrast to what we know. Like in episode three, for instance, Ben is listening, but their rapport has also changed, which I really appreciate. I appreciate the nature of this kind of new give and take between the two of them. That is different from what we saw in season one. And clearly it's different from what we saw in episodes three and four. So, yeah, it was a great episode to kind of have her back in as the observer and seeing her be there for Ben and seeing Ben receive her in a positive way, but in a different way than, you know, kudos to the pair of mean. Ray and Caitlin are fantastic.
[00:33:34] And again, I think the writing, certainly, it's like when you have good writing. Right. But there's something about this that I do feel like it's more the actors, because to imbue that quality in these exchanges, it could be very easy to just slip back into the old pattern, but they don't do that. And that's really.
[00:33:52] Course, you know, the other aspect we have here at play, which is phenomenal, is the addition of Hannah now. And so we have all three of them on screen together at the same time, only Hannah can't see or hear Addison. And there are some moments where the know, we definitely lean into the humor a little bit more than perhaps.
[00:34:17] I don't. I don't know then perhaps we had at other moments. But it makes. It makes a lot of sense, and it's really lovely and it's cute and it's fun.
[00:34:29] The game of kind of like telephone that gets played with the beautiful woman comment is lovely.
[00:34:36] The idea that Addison is clearly developing an appreciation for Hannah and is maybe a little threatened by know, and I think we've gotten a sense of that before in secret history. But here now, all of a sudden, Addison is having to deal with something that she probably never, I mean, and she never expected to see Ben again either. So she's been thrown for a few loops, but acclimating herself to Ben's return, affirming her relationship with Tom going forward as the mean.
[00:35:13] It says a lot about a human being to be able to kind of do those things in the face of what's happened over the course of this season to her now, you know, literally coming face to face with the person that she herself even says Ben and Hannah are in love. It's pretty incredible the nature of those scenes and of know, you look at some of the social media posts, listen to some of the behind the scenes stuff, you realize that Caitlin and Eliza have developed this really lovely friendship, and it's awesome. Wonderful. And yet the characters, there's definitely whereas Hannah, I think, is maybe a little bit in the dark about the nature of the relationship with Addison in this know, Addison knows what's up across the board, and so it's creating a very interesting dynamic for her.
[00:36:08] And I don't think that it's not a case of, oh, now Ben's with somebody else and I want him back. I don't think that's it at all. I don't think that they would play something so petty. Both Caitlin is an actor and the writing room, but I feel like there is definitely this element. Know you do. You see somebody moving on in an unexpected fashion, and it affects you, and we see her affected, and it's really nice.
[00:36:37] And we have this great exchange between Hannah and, you know, I love you. I love you. And yet it's a different sort of thing. And it's that reminder, too, that love is.
[00:36:48] That love is. And I think this idea that there's only so much to go around, that there's only this kind or that kind is wrong. And I just love getting to see these expressions of love and what they can mean in these different, I think, you know, as it pertains to Hannah and know when the plot takes a turn and they believe that Layla's been killed and it seems like Ben might be stuck mean some lovely, lovely, beautiful stuff and the scene at the window, the way that it's lit, the way that it's shot, it's so gorgeous.
[00:37:40] It is above and beyond what we see on a lot of network television. I will just say that to me, the look of that scene, know, whatever you want to say about prestige television or whatever HBO is doing, actually, that's a poor example because they're jettisoning everything. But anyway, it really just was a cut above. And I loved that. I loved that look of that scene. And it enhanced, know it enhanced this lovely, beautiful scene where they're talking, know these pretty heavy, mean. Hannah says, I'll be lucky if I get to spend a whole week in my lifetime with you. But I love that thing. I'll be lucky. I'll be lucky. Lucky.
[00:38:24] This isn't tragic, this isn't sad.
[00:38:27] Maybe there's a bittersweetness to it, sure. But this is an appreciation.
[00:38:34] This is an expression of gratitude, and that's love.
[00:38:41] I just really enjoyed this moment that they get to share in spite of knowing that where they thought that maybe Ben would be sticking around, that his destiny is something different. And that phone moment that I mentioned earlier, when the phone rings, it's know, Hannah gets know the bubble has been don't think. But the lovely thing is, again, it doesn't feel like this.
[00:39:12] Well, now I can't love you because you're just. I love the way that it leans into the optimism and the hope of love as opposed to making it hard, making it difficult, making it something that doesn't feel worth it or whatever. It's just really lovely. And I think that we see so many times, and it's the reason why I quibble with anyone who criticizes the show as being a soap opera in any fashion. I understand where they're coming from, but I think it lacks nuance completely to try and label the interactions in this show as being that. And this is a prime example because this does not shatter that illusion in any way. And now create this rift between the two of them and all this awkwardness and tension and drama for the sake of drama or whatever. Instead, we get this lovely kind of affirmation of who these people are and what their connection means to one another. And I think that that's fantastic.
[00:40:17] Of course, that moment is so pivotal for so many characters too, because it shows us that Nomad is still alive. Layla's still around, right? Like, she's out there and she's know. I think that's the thing, too. Is as wonderful as Azita is it's a wonderful reminder that what we hear about a character is just as important when we see a character. And I think this moment tells us a lot about Layla, which is a really cool moment. Again, this is the moment where Barnes shows up big time. Right. Like, Barnes is know. She's still, like, we got a know, let's make this work. It's really great. And then of, like, the way that Ben and Hannah are working together, and again, Hannah's agency, her sense of adventure, her willingness to kind of just put herself out there, even if it means putting herself in danger, the confidence.
[00:41:06] She's a great character, and I love the idea that she's with Ben on this, that we see in closure encounters. She's kind of like just the sidekick. Right. And then in secret history, there's definitely kind of a partnership, but she's still the assistant in some ways. Right.
[00:41:29] And then in this episode, these are two people on equal footing, and I love that, and it's really wonderful. And if you think about it in terms of age, too, this is the closest in age that they have know since the time that they met, which is also wonderful. I think technically Ben might be a couple years older still, but, yeah. There's so much about the nature of their relationship in this episode that feels like we've got equal footing. Two partners. Partners as opposed to she's along for the ride, and I really enjoy that, and I enjoy what she brings to the adventure, in particular in this climactic scene. And we get this really great chase, and there's just some wonderful stuff from both of them. The southern accent. And, of course, Layla is free. They get Nomad out, and they're able to ride off into the know. Barnes and Layla are. And then we get this lovely, lovely moment where know bows out and says, I'm going know, leave you to this so that Ben and Hannah can have that final moment together.
[00:42:40] And it's really.
[00:42:47] I don't know, it's just romantic as hell, and it's a wonderful moment. I mentioned this in the Eliza interview, although I was uncertain because when she told me they shot it, I was like, oh, gosh, maybe I missed it. But in the screener, maybe it'll be different on air. I don't think so. Generally they're not, but sometimes that can happen.
[00:43:08] In the original script, Ben says, I love you too. After Hannah says, I love you, in the screener, he know he kisses her. And that's where they make the, um. Because when they shot it, apparently, according to Liza, he does say it.
[00:43:26] I kind of love that he doesn't say it back, not because he doesn't feel that way, but almost because it's like he doesn't need to say it, because for him, her expression of love is enough of a validation of his own love and enough of a validation that she knows that he loves her too.
[00:43:45] And that is a greater expression of love, in my opinion, than I love you. I love you too. Now, that's awesome too. I do that with my spouse all the time, of course, with friends all the time.
[00:43:59] Last night, I was on the phone with a friend. I love you. I love you too. It's beautiful. But in this particular moment, in this particular story, in this world in which we're living, it was really lovely.
[00:44:12] And then when Hannah walks away, there's a confidence there, and it mirrors closure, encounter, in a way, because it's like when Ben's walking away after the see you later comment, and now she's walking away after Ben has quoted know saying, see you later, and he tells her she's, ah, I just love it. I love it. I love this show. I fucking love this show.
[00:44:39] And if you don't, that's fine. That's fine. Everyone is allowed to like whatever they like. I like this, and I love talking about it. But I thought that nomad was a fantastic episode and a brilliant way to go into the midseason break.
[00:44:55] And, of course, didn't think I was going to leave it out, did you?
[00:45:00] They do that in a way that leaves us hanging for certain.
[00:45:08] At the beginning of the episode, Addison's cooking, she's actually cooking a african slash Middle Eastern dish called is, which I've had before, which, again, we talked about so much, I didn't get to ask all my questions, but one of the things I was going to ask Dean about the intention of that, knowing that the episode is set in Egypt, if there was just kind of a fun little parallel there in joke or whatever, and they're talking about timing, and again, in a show about time travel, in a show where the timing clearly didn't work out for Addison and Ben, but now the timing is working out for Ben and Hannah in a.
[00:45:50] It's. It's fascinating, interesting, fun, let me put it, that, um, and Tom gets called away, and while Addison is looking for spices and stuff, she discovers an engagement ring.
[00:46:07] So now, of course, the thought is in our head, like, wow, Tom is going to propose. She talks with Ian about this, and they are excited. And it was interesting. I asked this question, and drew and Dean both provided some really wonderful answers because there was a part of me that was just sort of know, would they be that happy about it? I mean, I'm sure they would be happy, but how happy are?
[00:46:31] So I was really interested and their responses, it was just sort of like, oh, yeah. And so upon rewatch, it was just kind of course, of know. Of course they're going to be supportive. Of course they're going to be happy for their friend. And it was really lovely.
[00:46:44] Jen comes in. Oh, deception noted. I mean, I adore Nenrisa's work on the show because I want to see her do more, of course. But even when she doesn't necessarily have a lot to do in an episode, she still just does something. Know I laugh at, which is, um, so clearly Addison's taking the chances of a proposal seriously.
[00:47:12] Tom gets back from going to DC and they're sitting down to dinner and Addison thinks it's coming because Tom is going over to get something he has know tell her or whatever and talking about trust, et cetera. And she thinks, oh, here it comes. Here it comes. But he reaches into his bag and he pulls out a folder and he hands it to her and says that it is a partial, damaged hard drive that they found related to an old DARPA project and it's a way to bring Ben home.
[00:47:48] Now, I'm certainly of a mind that the threads are going to start coming together once we come back from the midseason break.
[00:48:00] Rachel's boss with the chip, the hard drive in the folder, Hannah. I think it's all going to start to tie together in some way. Now, whether that means that it's tied together literally, like, Hannah's responsible for this hard drive and the chip and all that sort of stuff, I'm not necessarily saying that, but I do think that the threads of the story are going to start to tie together and coalesce into one big thing. And I have a feeling that we're going to get as much as we got kind of the just out there batshit insanity of Judgment Day. I feel like we're going to get another kind of all out, just amazing finale this year and you're not going to want to miss what leads up to that. And I don't know much about 910, 1112 and 13, but I can certainly say that there's just a lot more, I think, of the goodness that we've had leading up to this in store and I'm really looking forward to it.
[00:49:05] And I think Nomad leaves us in an incredible place to have lots of discussions, to head over to Peacock and rewatch the know, to enjoy and savor Eliza Taylor as Hannah, to just enjoy and savor the work that Caitlin and Ray have been doing, to enjoy and savor those incredible moments from one night in Koreatown with magic for mean. There's been so much great stuff in these first eight episodes and I certainly think like secret history, lonely Hearts Club and Nomad are probably my top three of these first eight thus far.
[00:49:53] Although closure encounters, I feel like you almost have to throw in there too with lonely hearts because they just feel like they are two sides of the coin, right? But yeah, incredibly strong work in these first eight and I can't wait for what's next and I hope you feel the same way.
[00:50:13] Yeah, Nomad is great and it's one of my favorites of the season. I think between this and secret history, we got two absolutely incredible episodes that are, I think, probably the best of the entire series thus far.
[00:50:30] Yeah, somebody commented and I loved seeing this. Somebody commented about secret history being one of their top five quantum leap episodes ever, including the classic series. And I love seeing comments like that because I think that there are definitely people out there that are appreciating the show in the same vein that we appreciate the classic series. And there's no doubt in my mind that the best episodes of this series stand with the classic series for certain, because there are some episodes of the classic series that we could write about, but I don't. But Matt Dale does, and you should head over and support his Kickstarter for beyond the Mirror image volume three. Of course. You can also head over to ForeverTV Co. UK for information about all of his books, including getting the print on demand versions of volume one and volume two. Volume two, of course, covers the revival series the entire first season, which is awesome. He's done some incredible work, without a doubt. So check those out. Speaking of which, Quantum Leap podcast has interviews this week with Dean Georgias as well. They also have Ray and Caitlin and Mason and Nenrissa on the show, which is awesome. So yeah, good stuff all around. Lots and lots for fans of this show to indulge in and take a look at. Make sure you check out the Eliza Taylor interview. I loved it. One of my favorites that I've had the chance to do. Make sure you check out the dean and drew interview, which I adore those guys so much and I'm so grateful for them spending time and again. I just think that both of them, they just bring so much to the table and every time I talk to them, I have light bulb moments. I learn something, and it's just such a joy, and I'm so appreciative. So check those out and keep watching Quantum leap. Get those peacock numbers up over the holidays.
[00:52:26] We'll be back real soon at fateswide wheel with some interesting stuff. JJ Lindell is going to kind of come partner up with me a little bit more. We're going to talk about some fun stuff. I've got a couple other guest hosts, a couple other interviews I'm cooking up.
[00:52:42] If one of them happens, I'm very excited because I think it'll be somebody that'll be a lot of fun to talk to, and I'm hoping to be able to share that with you very soon.
[00:52:51] And yeah, there'll be more. There'll be more.
[00:52:54] Hopefully we'll get a chance to talk to during the break, maybe get Dean back on the show and talk a little bit more. Just about the first eight as a whole and something like that. So stay tuned. Like subscribe, comment, make sure you follow over on Instagram and on Twitter X, whatever you want to call it.
[00:53:15] Those are definitely the best places for social engagement right now with fateswide wheel.
[00:53:21] And yeah, keep your eyes and ears peeled. Stay tuned to the YouTube channel. Obviously the podcast still going out weekly, but there is going to be some extra stuff on the YouTube channel that doesn't always necessarily make it over to podcasts because it'll be very visual based, like some of the chats and previews that I have with JJ and stuff. So stay tuned. Thank you so, so much for all of your support. Thank you, patrons. Thank you for watching. Thank you for downloading. Thank you for listening. Take care of yourselves. Take care of one another. Stay safe out there. Happy holidays. And remember, always, always leap responsibly. Bye.
