Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Recap / QuantumLeapS4E20TheCurseOfPtahHotep

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** What's more, Sam's interest in Egyptology averts NewPowersAsThePlotDemands - but hasn't been mentioned since ''season 1 episode 2''!

Added: 258

Removed: 258

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Wrong Turn.


* FaceHeelTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not kill Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.



* HeelFaceTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not kill Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.

Added: 954

Changed: 270

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* {{Claustrophobia}}: Sam and Ginny being trapped in the tomb starts to unnerve Al. He attempts to leave the imaging chamber, but a sudden malfunction leaves him stuck.



* NothingIsScarier: Ptah-Hotep attacking Razul. All we see is the WhamShot and then we just hear the screams. Only Al sees what's happening, and what little of it he witnessed before running back out completely horrifies him.
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The approaching sandstorm will bury the area under 50 feet of sand, thus preventing anyone from ever finding the tomb again. Sam intends to stay and keep working as long as possible, due to the likelihood of the tomb being accidentally destroyed by the construction of the Aswan Dam. This trope becomes even more serious when Sam and Ginny become trapped in the tomb with only 12 hours to escape the storm.



* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: As the vault starts to open up again after Razul's been killed, Sam urges Ginny to run while they still can.




to:

* WrongGenreSavvy: For much of the episode, Sam ignores the idea of a curse in favor of the much more mundane possibilities: simple accidents plaguing the site or someone committing murder in order to claim the tomb's riches. The ending reveals the curse was quite real.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Ptah-Hotep II (also known as Ptahhotep Tjefi) was a real-life royal vizier who lived near the end of the Fifth Dynasty. Here, he is given an historical upgrade to pharaoh and evil sorcerer.


Added DiffLines:

* UnexpectedlyRealMagic: Sam never believed the curse or the stories of Ptah-Hotep's magic were real. [[BorrowedCatchphrase Oh, boy...]] was he wrong.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* GoryDiscretionShot: We see Ptah-Hotep's [[RaisedHandOfSurvival hand]] grabbing Razul's shoulder. . . and cut to the outside of the tomb where we hear his terrified [[ScreamDiscretionShot screams]].

to:

* GoryDiscretionShot: We see Ptah-Hotep's [[RaisedHandOfSurvival hand]] grabbing Razul's shoulder. . .shoulder... and cut to the outside of the tomb where we hear his terrified [[ScreamDiscretionShot screams]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* FridgeHorror: If Razul isn't responsible for the accidents at the camp (he was with Sam when the fire started and seems to have genuinely believed that either Sam or Ginny killed Ali and Gamal, because he insists that ''he'' didn't), and some ancient curse isn't either, then that leaves only [[spoiler: ''Ginny'' as the killer and that means that by helping them escape, Sam just helped a murderer go free. NiceJobBreakingItHero]].



* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never clear who's responsible for the mishaps at the camp. It's either the curse. . .or [[spoiler: ''Ginny''.]] Razul didn't start the fire, as he was with Sam when that happened, and his insistence that he didn't kill Ali or Gamal seems sincere.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* FridgeHorror: If Razul isn't responsible for the accidents at the camp (he was with Sam when the fire started and seems to have genuinely believed that either Sam or Ginny killed Ali and Gamal, because he insists that ''he'' didn't), and some ancient curse isn't either, then that leaves only [[spoiler: ''Ginny'' as the killer and that means that by helping them escape, Sam just helped a murderer go free. NiceJobBreakingItHero]].
* GoryDiscretionShot: We see Ptah-Hotep's [[RaisedHandOfSurvival hand]] grabbing Razul's shoulder. . . and cut to the outside of the tomb where we hear his terrified [[ScreamDiscretionShot screams]].


Added DiffLines:

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never clear who's responsible for the mishaps at the camp. It's either the curse. . .or [[spoiler: ''Ginny''.]] Razul didn't start the fire, as he was with Sam when that happened, and his insistence that he didn't kill Ali or Gamal seems sincere.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* HeelFaceTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.

to:

* HeelFaceTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not kill Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* WhamShot: After Razul is trapped in the tomb, Sam [[AlwaysSaveTheVillain begins instructing him on how to open the wall from his side]]. As he follows Sam's instructions, we zoom in on Razul's back... as a withered, grey hand promptly grabs his shoulder.

to:

* WhamShot: After Razul is trapped in the tomb, Sam [[AlwaysSaveTheVillain [[SaveTheVillain begins instructing him on how to open the wall from his side]]. As he follows Sam's instructions, we zoom in on Razul's back... as a withered, grey hand promptly grabs his shoulder.

Added: 400

Changed: 36

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


->'''Razul''': 3500 years ago, other men and woman sat around campfires near here, waiting to bury their great pharaoh. And now, they are like the grands of sand around us. It makes one wonder what all out efforts are about.

to:

->'''Razul''': -->'''Razul''': 3500 years ago, other men and woman sat around campfires near here, waiting to bury their great pharaoh. And now, they are like the grands of sand around us. It makes one wonder what all out efforts are about.




to:

* WhamLine: "''He's killing him.''"
* WhamShot: After Razul is trapped in the tomb, Sam [[AlwaysSaveTheVillain begins instructing him on how to open the wall from his side]]. As he follows Sam's instructions, we zoom in on Razul's back... as a withered, grey hand promptly grabs his shoulder.
** What's worse is that, soon after Al reports on his death, the tomb's wall begins to rise on its own, forcing Sam and Ginny to try and escape.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

[floatboxright:
Previous: Recap/QuantumLeapS4E19MomentsToLive\\
Next: Recap/QuantumLeapS4E21StandUp]

'''''Series/QuantumLeap'''''\\
'''Season 4, Episode 20:'''

!The Curse of Ptah-Hotep

->'''Razul''': You are a student of Egypt, but you are not one of its sons. And until you have heard what I have heard and seen what I have seen, I would not expect you to believe that such a thing as a curse could be true, but it is.
->'''Sam''': 3500-year-old dead men don’t just get up and walk around.

Written by Chris Ruppenthal

Directed by Joe Napolitano

Airdate: April 22, 1992

------------

March 2, 1957

Sam finds himself in Southern Egypt during the excavation of the tomb of a pharaoh, but strange occurrences ensue. Is it the result of the mummy’s curse?

!Tropes:

* AllForNothing: Discussed.
->'''Razul''': 3500 years ago, other men and woman sat around campfires near here, waiting to bury their great pharaoh. And now, they are like the grands of sand around us. It makes one wonder what all out efforts are about.
* BoobyTrap: Stealing the Heart of Ptah-Hotep, a diamond scarab the size of a baseball, sets off a trap that seals the thief inside the burial vault.
* BottleEpisode: Only four guest stars (two very minor), one exterior and one interior set.
* CallBack: In-universe – Dr. Conway’s canary was eaten by a cobra. According to Al, the same thing happened to Howard Carter during the excavation of King Tut’s tomb.
* CurseOfThePharaoh: “As for any who would disturb the tomb of King Ptah-Hotep, death will swallow him.”
* GraveRobbing: When it appears that the sarcophagus is missing, Ginny and Razul assume this is what happened to Ptah-Hotep’s remains. Sam correctly deduces that there is a second burial chamber within the tomb.
* HeelFaceTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.
* {{Irony}}: Ptah-Hotep comes back to life, only to be buried alive in his own tomb by a sandstorm possibly caused by his own curse.
* RealAfterAll: Ptah-Hotep’s magic and his promise to come back from the dead turn out to be real. Dr Razul finds this out firsthand.
* RedShirts: The deaths of Ali and Gamal do little more than show the situation is serious.

------------

->'''Razul''': (pretending to read hieroglyphics) “[[BathroomStallGraffiti For a good time, call Nefertiti.]]”

Top