Our rating system this season consists of six raters and three back-up raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was:
9.17
Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:
Seeker said:
Like the best of creepy stories, the sensation that something?or someone was behind me just kept growing as this deliciously exquisite story progressed. A nightmare that had kept waking Al up ended as a waking nightmare for him when he discovered the truth behind its invasion of his dreams.
There was just the right balance of tension and uncertainty and confusion in the dialogue between Marissa and Al. Poor Marissa, I get the feeling that no amount of therapy will ever help her to put her visit to ?The Red Room? totally behind her. One of my favorite moments was when Al exited Marissa?s room then looked at her through the one-way mirrored glass; Marissa looked into her dressing mirror towards the door, arching her brows in a questioning manner. That subtle little reaction gave Al the creeps. It gave me the :hair creeping willies!
To discover that Marissa?s mother was none other than Danessa from Al?s days at MIT was a delightful twist. It was also especially nice to meet the newest addition to the PQL family in the form of Dom?s and Aurora?s sweet new little daughter.
Crimson Reflections started off subtly then in steadily building increments, started giving me the creepy feeling as I was drawn along that someone was behind me, just waiting for me to turn around to find?. *shivers*.
Delightful, MJ! Absolutely delightful. One of your best, my dear. Bravo!
RATING: 10
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Morris J. Finkle said:
Ever since I started reading the Virtual Seasons, I became a big fan of MJ's work. You can just tell she knows Quantum Leap and all of its characters inside and out. So, I always like seeing the occasional glimpse into the lives of everyone at PQL.
It was great seeing Al take the spotlight in this "leapless" episode; nice change of pace from the standard QL fare. What was even more interesting was how this all tied in with the evil leaper project (which was assumed to be destroyed in the Project Liberty debacle). I get the impression this might be connected with that mystery guy who apparently infiltrated the Project during the "Eternal Shadows" quadrilogy from last season. I had always thought that incident with Marilyn Hicks seemed a bit "hinky," as Al would put it. As superb as "And Then Darkness Falls" was, I could never comprehend how a teenage girl could be so malicious as to assist someone such as Marilyn in killing herself. Now we know there was much more to the incident than we were initially led to believe.
Wonderful story as always, MJ!
RATING: 9.0
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Sporty said:
Great having a story with Al as a center. When Al is hurting that usually makes a great story. I love Al suffering. Great job!
RATING: 8.0
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Allie Cat said:
First of all, let me say that I am quite impressed. I know how hard Al is to write for you, MJ, and I think you've done a wonderful job with the whole story. It kept me wondering throughout the story where it was all leading. I've always enjoyed a good mystery and this certainly was one. And it doesn't hurt in the least that I'm a die-hard Al-coholic.
Marissa's description of the "Red Room" gave me the creeps. One thing is for certain: after reading this story, it was hard to focus on anything else, so ingrained it had become in my mind. And here's a weird thing for you: while I was reading that particular scene (I was forced to read the story in two parts due to a busy schedule), I had a rather scary incident happen - by the way, ice and cars don't mix. Makes me wonder... could this story become the next B**gieman? It's probably just a wild coincidence. But that's how creeped out I was by the scene with Marissa. It seriously reminded me of "The B**gieman". And the description of Al finally seeing the truth about Marissa's actions through the archives of that leap... well, it makes me think about who could be wearing that aura. Hmmm....
I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Aurora again. We really don't get her in the stories often enough, in my opinion. And my heart goes out to Dom when Aurora went into labor. He's gonna have fingernail marks in his hands for a few days!
So, while you may have seen this story as a pain in the butt to write, I find this to be one of your best stories yet. Great job, MJ!
RATING: 10
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Vince Beckett said:
Things are getting interesting here. I already knew about an evil leaper leaping into Marissa from reading Quantum Retribution, but now Al knows about it. I can tell something big is going to go down this season.
RATING: 9.5
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Gooshie said:
I thought that an episode with the word "crimson" would alude to the Evil Leapers, however it came much later in the story than I thought and had almost given up on seeing that part of the plot coming forth. This episode was well executed and it was interesting having the tie-in from an story from earlier this season. Although a little bit of Sam would have been nice, I enjoyed reading about the actions of the PQL staff, not to mention the birth of the Lofton baby.
A story well done, MJ. Now I suppose we shall have to wait and see if Lothos really thinks that Sam is dead.
RATING: 8.5
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The Virtual Seasons Team
