Why Ernie Hudson’s Magic Resigns from the Quantum Leap Project

Things have been closing in around Ian (Mason Alexander Park) pretty much all season on Quantum Leap due to the Quantum chip they took from Gideon Rydge (James Frain) to try and keep the search going for Ben (Raymond Lee) when he vanished seemingly for good at the end of Season 1.

Ian had been trying to delay the consequences of taking Rydge’s high-tech chip and not sharing its information and findings with him for much of the season, but things came to a head recently when Rydge strolled through the doors of Quantum Leap HQ himself and vowed to bring the hammer down pulling all the strings and connections he’s made across the U.S. Government through his numerous lucrative tech contracts and favors.

That results in a Department of Defense representative being called in to investigate the situation, and luckily (or not so luckily) for the Quantum Leap team that agent is Addison’s (Caitlin Bassett) estranged boyfriend Tom Westfall (Peter Gadiot), with the review coming at a moment where the two are on a break after Addison opted to call off their short-lived engagement. Tom and Addison do get a moment of closure as they say goodbye, as Addison seems to be slowly reconnecting with Ben while serving as his hologram on the most recent leaps.

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Tom understandably lectures Ian on using unlicensed tech and hiding it from the team, and confides in Quantum Leap Project Director Magic (Ernie Hudson) that someone will have to pay for offending Gideon Rydge. With Ian being the person who understands the Quantum Leap science better than anyone, it makes sense they can’t be fired if they hope to ever get Ben back to the present. So, the target shifts to project security head Jenn Chou (Nanrisa Lee), who tried to help Ian resolve the issue before it came to a head.

Why Ernie Hudson’s Magic Resigns from the Quantum Leap Team

Magic is incredibly upset at Ian and Jenn over the debacle with the Quantum chip, but it turns out he’s not just upset about the problem itself — he’s upset because he knows Gideon Rydge won’t be satisfied without getting a pound of flesh to fix this problem. But Magic can’t bring himself to fire Ian or Jenn, so instead he takes the fall himself. He saves their jobs, but has to give up his own.

That’s right: The episode ends with Magic resigning as head of Project Quantum Leap. 

RELATED: Everything To Know About Quantum Leap Season 2

What does this mean for the project? Or for Hudson’s role on the series moving forward? Could Tom take over? Might an existing team member be promoted? Could Gideon Rydge somehow swoop into the power vacuum?! We don’t know at this point. But with just two episodes left before Season 2 comes to an end, we will hopefully get some answers soon.

Catch up on both seasons of Quantum Leap right now, streaming on Peacock.