History Recap / QuantumLeap2022S1E12LetThemPlay

* TheUnreveal: A specific date is not given for this leap, only that it's 2012.[[note]]But, given how a plot point concerns Lakehill making it to regionals, it can be assumed that the episode takes place close to the end of February, as [[https://www.kcra.com/article/2012-cif-state-basketball-championship-information/6395687 the regionals themselves]] started March 7th, 2012.[[/note]]

* GenderBender: Ben leaps into male basektball coach Carlos Mendéz who has a trans daughter Gia. And, at the end of the episode, Ben leaps into cook Kamini Prasad. This is a lead-in to the next episode, "[[Recap/QuantumLeap2022S1E13FamilyStyle Family Style]]".

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: In the entire ''Quantum Leap'' franchise, this is the first time a leaper has been seen traveling to the 21st Century.

* AnachronismStew: An incredibly minor one; the computer in the principal’s office has an Apple “hockey puck” mouse, which was already a decade old by the time the episode takes place.

* TheCakeIsALie: Gia runs away when she learns that her parents agreed that she could be on the girl's basketball team on the condition that she never actually played a game. She also yells at her parents for telling her to wait her turn when they knew she was never going to get her turn.

* GenderBender: Ben leaps into male basektball coach Carlos Mendéz who has a trans daughter Gia.

** Immediately after, the union rep shows up, explains that he was told to have Ben pull Gia, but that ''he'' refuses to do it and would back Ben up on the matter.

* StopHelpingMe: Gia wants her parents to stop trying to protect her, and wants them to stop seeing see her being trans as a burden. She just wants to live her life normally.

** Gia and her youth group discuss ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.

* TheUnreveal: A specific date is not given for this leap, only that it's 2012.[[note]]But, given how a plot point concerns Lakehill making it to regionals, it can be assumed that the episode takes place close to the end of February, as [[https://www.kcra.com/article/2012-cif-state-basketball-championship-information/6395687 the regional themselves]] started March 7th, 2012.[[/note]]

* ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife: Brandi’s mother is a transphobic and nasty person, using her daughter as an excuse to shun and harass Gia.

* WhamShot: Dottie is apparently a decent artist, having sketched the person "driving" them during the week for which they have no memory: ''Ian''.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** The referee at the basketball game at the end, who says "right on" when he sees that Gia is on the roster.
** Also, the teacher's union rep, who says that kids need to learn these kinds of life lessons, and that Carlos' job is safe in case the school district comes after him for playing Gia.

** Ian develops a new algorithm for Ziggy to find out what happened after Gia's disappearance, partially because they considered Gia's buzzer-beater "iconic," but also because of their experiences with being nonbinary and wanting to commit suicide after not feeling like they fit in.

!Let Them Play.

Written by Shakina

Directed by Shakina

Ben leaps into the coach of the Lions, a girl's high school basketball team. With less than a minute to go, Ben calls a time-out and Addison informs him that the Lions ultimately lost this game and with it a chance to go to the regional chamipionship. Ben makes the snap decision to pull an injured player and replace her with the benched #23, a girl named Gia. In the seconds that follow, the opposing team scores, but at the last second Gia makes a three-point shot that give the Lions the game.

** In a previous episode, Magic revealed that he would see Sam's face in dreams after being the subject of a leap. Dottie has the same visions.
** When Gia runs away, Ben says that she is [[Recap/QuantumLeap2022S1E6WhatADisaster not his first "runaway kid"]].

* StrangerBehindTheMask: Set up, but subverted: Dottie, the person who Janis apparently identified as being the one who told Ben to leap, has never been so much as hinted at on the show before. However, as it turns out, they were not really Dottie at the time.

** Music/{{FUN}}, Music/KatyPerry and Music/CarlyRaeJapsen are heard throughout the episode.

* AnAesop: Trangender children need to be loved and accepted by their communities and have the right to play sports or whatever they want to do.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ziggy revealed that he attempted suicide before he turned thirteen.

* TheReveal: Magic and Jenn learn who told Ben to leap.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: As the school's basketball coach, Ben ultimately does this by letting Gia play despite pressure from the school principal to keep her benched. Then his union rep shows up, explains that he was told to have Ben pull Gia, but that ''he'' refuses to do it and would back Ben up on the matter.

* WhamShot: