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:
7.75
Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:
Seeker said:
I don?t think I?ve ever read one of Doug?s stories that I haven?t enjoyed in one way or another. I like his style of storytelling, and he always has an interesting storyline. I liked the theme of family around which Two Roads Converged was created. That family, be it the one into which you were born, or the family of friends that come into each of our lives, are there for us (by and large) when we need them, good times, bad times and the times in between.
This story, however, had a particular glitch that spoiled my enjoyment of it. Specifically, the glitch was the decision to ?spell out? the Southern accents. Truthfully, there were spots when I found myself stopping to re-read a passage more than once before I got what was being said and could move on, thereby detracting greatly from the flow of the story.
RATING: 7.0
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Morris J. Finkle said:
I've said it in the past how Doug's stories are sometimes touch-and-go with me, but lately he's been adding some pretty interesting angles to the whole Quantum Leap mythos. I have to say, I'm impressed with this episode. I could definitely see this type of story being produced as a TV episode, and the link to Verbena was a nice touch. It was kind of obvious that her life was going to be changed for the better, but so what! I enjoyed seeing her past being addressed as not very many writers (if any) have touched upon her early years. I'll admit, it does seem a bit odd that Verbena's relationship with everyone would change so drastically, and that one of her children would just
happen to be working at the same Project her mother works at (hasn't this plot device been used to death in the Virtual Seasons already?), but it will be interesting to see if other writers will pick up on the changes.
The only other thing I'll mention (it's more of an interpretation than an inconsistency): shouldn't Verbena's memory of her life been altered almost immediately after Sam leaped? Al is usually the only one who remembers the original history (although when his own past is affected, he always seems to "catch up" to the new timeline eventually). I'm sure it is possible though that she will also "catch up," as it were.
But enough about that; well done, Doug! I enjoyed it!
RATING: 9.0
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Sporty said:
Great story. I am glad we were able to see Beeks as a youngster and that she does have a family. We have gotten some insight about people at the project (besides Sam and Al) and it was refreshing seeing Verbena shine this time. Great job!
RATING: 8.0
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Allie Cat said:
I liked this story a lot. I thought it was well written - other than the annoying phonetic spelling of the Southern accent - and well thought out.
While I really liked Verbina being in the leap, I never did see her as being uptight. And I wasn't that fond of her daughter being at PQL. But the characters were well done and believable.
RATING: 8.5
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Marigold Brambleburr said:
This story was an interesting concept, and it was fairly well executed. However, it had several flaws, including missing words. There was also a noticeable tense shift during the catalog of the mallrats. It sounded like the character bios were just blanketly dropped into the body of the story without correction and it jarred me totally out of the story into the author?s pre-writing. I was constantly mentally correcting as I read, which was a shame because the imagery and descriptions were really so clear. This story is another case where a beta reader might have helped prior to submission.
Sam?s suggestion for Kathy?s get together with Malcolm struck me as pretty na?ve and heartless. 9 times out of 10 those sort of crushes are unfulfilled, especially when the uninterested half makes it very clear consistently and openly there?s no interest. If we were supposed to believe he was leading Kathy on, it wasn?t demonstrated. She, rather, was shown (accurately) to be like most girls, reading too much into things. The caf? scene seemed to further complicate things and give Kathy false hope rather than closure?and actually smacked of padding the story for length. The fact that it was Sam?s idea was rather unrealistic. Malcolm?s callous bragging to his friend also implied a maliciousness to him that tried to imply he?d been leading Kathy on, when the whole thing as written appeared to demonstrate that she was letting her crush misinterpret his reactions. Further unrealism was their flagging down an unnamed friend to drive them to Sasha?s house?when they themselves were cut.
I loved the twist with Verbena?s revelation! It really increased my admiration of her character and enhanced her backstory. However, when history changed?I have to admit I have mixed feelings about it. All my admiration for her strength and courage was ripped out from beneath me and the logistical nightmare of how a 16 year old with twins would raise them and still manage to become a psychiatrist for a top secret project like PQL ? it just seemed to go counter to Verbena. It was also kind of a pat solution. Not that I?m against Verbena having a happy ending, but I can?t help thinking of the adoptive parents who *didn?t* raise her twins in the new history and what ramifications such a drastic change could have/would have on the timeline. PQL is getting pretty heavy with the nepotism, isn?t it?
I was ultimately left dissatisfied with this story, and for that reason I give it a 6.5.
RATING: 6.5
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Gooshie said:
This season is really adding on the children and grandchildren! What a drastic change for Verbena's life... it was nice to see an episode that really centred around her in the PQL scenes. I was hoping that the scenes of the leap would also entail more Verbena, as I found the main story of Kathy threatening suicide twice to be a bit dry. Regardless, this was an interesting episode and definitely a milestone change for the Virtual Seasons.
RATING: 7.5
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The Virtual Seasons Team
