“Tailspin” – Aired on April 22, 2021
Writer: Marta Gené Camps & MW Cartozian Wilson
Director: Michael Smith
Grade: 4,5 out of 5
Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers
Announcement time:
As the regular readers of my reviews know, I have always made it a goal to post my reviews 24 to 48 hours after the original airing of episodes. I admit that so far in 2021, it has taken me more than a couple of days to post them (this one is a good example), although I have still been able to do so within a week, prior to the next episode’s airing. This is due to some changes taking place in my ‘regular life,’ so to speak, that have lately caused me to have less time to dedicate to writing these reviews. I cherish the practice of writing them and try to be as detailed and extensive in my reviews as I can. I certainly do not wish to switch to condensed, watered-down versions of recaps just so I can claim to “be on time.”
To further complicate matters, international traveling has recently been added to my plate, possibly lasting through a significant portion of the summer – I am indeed writing these lines while I am waiting for a cross-ocean flight at a gate in an airport. This means that, starting as early as next week, my reviews may suffer more delays because once outside the United States, I cannot watch the episodes on their original air dates. Getting access to them will surely depend on which country I am in on a given week, and Manifest doubling up on weekly episode does not help my quest to avoid falling too far behind. So, I wanted to offer my apologies ahead of time for the upcoming delays to my reviews, but I promise that I will write them as promptly as I possibly can, and let you know on Twitter and Facebook each time I post one.
End of announcement, onto this week’s episode.
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“Tailspin” transports us to “two months later” from where the previous episode ended, and fittingly breathes fresh air into a season that has so far lacked the sparking ambition that carried Manifest throughout its first two seasons. It contains two (or three, depending on your perspective) A stories, each told with conviction, and the most intriguing subplot of the season finally marches forward with purpose after moving at snail’s pace for three episodes.
“Tailspin” is not one of Manifest’s finest hours by any means – one of the main storylines features a couple of baffling contrivances, for instance –, but its otherwise flawless execution without resorting to an overload of twists, coupled with an ambitious narrative that does not bleed into blunder territory, result in this season’s strongest entry to date.
In a super-duper Manifest-ish move, the hour begins with a nightmare/dream/calling sequence. It is a repeat of Ben’s vision in which the plane explodes in mid-air. He wakes up with his hand glowing and concludes that “the tailfin is beckoning [him].” Time to contact the fix-everything daddy named Vance with his never-ending flow of resources.
Vance has not contacted Ben or Saanvi since his return from Cuba (“nine weeks of silence”), his subsequent reinstatement to the NSA, and reassignment as the head of the 828 investigation. An unfriendly Emmett drives Ben to the facility where an unfriendly Vance meets Ben and Saanvi (driven in separate cars, don’t ask why).
Vance scolds Ben for not sitting tight and trusting him as he had told him back in Cuba. He did not need his help and Ben apparently caused a “massive international incident.” That’s a colossal conjecture in and out of itself, not because what Ben was trying to concoct in “Wingman” to save Vance was not outrageous (it was, totally, and I harped on it enough in my review last week), but rather because if someone had really caused an incident of that scale, he would no longer be working a university, live at home, and continue to spend hours in his Agent-Moulder basement office. Speaking of which, it apparently took the media two mere months to desert the Stone household front, despite the father causing a “massive international incident,” the discovery of the tailfin making headlines, and the whole family’s tight connection to the biggest miracle of modern times.
Vance takes Saanvi and Ben inside the facility and reminds them that everything they are about to hear and see is highly confidential. The tailfin is there “along with a confluence of top scientific minds convened to study the phenomenon,” quote by Vance. It is called “Eureka,” essentially a hangar where what is left of Flight 828’s hull, after it blew up on the runway in New York, is kept for further study.
Dr. Gupta (Mahira Kakkar), another unfriendly face, is the director of research at the facility. She immediately expresses her disapproval of Ben and Saanvi being present without clearance. Luckily, Vance is the head of the operation and his word rules. Ben’s hand begins to glow, but he hides it in his pocket. He asks Vance if they can get close to the tailfin, at which point I realize something that I find hard to believe. So, are you telling me that Vance came out of nine weeks of silence, during which he ignored Ben and Saanvi’s best efforts to reach him, only because of a mere “I need to tell you something” message by Ben, without even specifying what? Oh-kay, moving on…
Vance is actually the one, not Ben, with the interesting story to tell here. Initially, this is where the tailfin was preserved, but surveillance cameras recorded a footage of it vanishing into thin air on December 28th, at 10:39 PM, the same night that Saanvi killed the Major, the skeevy trio fell in the lake, and Zeke survived the death date. Furthermore, the tailfin recovered by the Cuban boat back in “Icing Conditions” shows corrosion equivalent to that of an object being in the ocean for seven years, although it disappeared a few months ago from the facility. Seven years, by the way, is the amount of time elapsed since Flight 828’s disappearance, on its way back from Jamaica. If it sounds complicated, you are not the only one.
Let’s stay in the land of unexplained phenomena, shall we? Saanvi runs into Troy who had made his first appearance as the socially awkward lab assistant in the season 1 finale “Estimated Time of Departure,” and his last in season 2’s “Black Box” where we last saw him collapse on the floor after being injected with something by Dr. Matthews, the Major’s vile inside man in the hospital at the time. My side note in the episode review reads, “I am assuming that he is indeed dead (I did with Vance too, just for the record)”. Well, I was right to think twice, I suppose. Troy ain’t dead. He sure seems to have also forgotten how badly Saanvi treated him the last time they saw each other when she relieved him of his lab-assistant duties because she (erroneously) suspected him of betraying her.
The way he ended up in Eureka also sounds bizarre and we only have his words to rely on. According to him, he woke up in a safe house getting recruited for research in line with Saanvi’s DNA mutation study, except that it was 828-focused, meaning that he was there to replicate Saanvi’s work. They did not give him a choice, he claims, since he was abducted and did not know where he was until he got cleared. He still sounds as nerdy as ever though, and still totally enamored with Saanvi.
Meanwhile, Vance takes Ben inside the glass compartment where the tailfin is preserved. Ben is disappointed because nothing happens when he places his hand on the tailfin and Vance, in another uncharacteristic move on his part, does not insist on knowing what on earth Ben is doing. Ben joins Saanvi again and the two begin walking as his hand starts to once again glow, which brings us to the most contrived sequence of the episode, with Ben smack in the middle of such sequence for the third episode in a row.
He and Saanvi are somehow left alone, unsupervised – ironically, Vance underlined that everyone in the facility was watching them like if they were “lab rats” moments ago –, which conveniently makes it possible for Ben to walk through some door that shockingly remains unguarded, considering that it is one of the possible ways to get to the most jarring discovery in the facility. A security guard (Bobby Potts) eventually spots Ben – about time! – in the underground corridors and a chase ensues, leading Ben to enter some secret room, unlocked of course (Vance, get a damn upgrade on your security detail). Ben is stunned by the sight of Kelly Taylor’s corpse immersed in ice in a large glass container and hooked by cables to… something. In case you cannot remember, and there would be nothing wrong with that, Kelly was the 828 passenger who was shot in the head waaaaaay back in season 1’s third episode “Turbulence.”
By the way, did I even mention that while Ben was on his little adventure at the “loosely guarded” basement level, the scientists’ minds were being blown away one level above by the handprint that seems to have appeared on the tailfin?
In Vance’s office, Dr. Gupta explains that any medical examiner would conclude that Kelly’s injuries are consistent with those of someone who died in a mid-air plane explosion, and not someone shot in the head. Moreover, her tissues have recently shown traces of tropical algae found only in the Caribbean, matching those found on the tailfin. This only reinforces Ben’s theory, in his mind, that they died in the plane seven years ago – thus, his vision of Flight 828 exploding in mid-air – and that they were resurrected! Vance, for his part, is tired of Ben keeping secrets from him and launches a warning his way: “It’s time you ask yourself the same question I asked back in Cuba. How much are you willing to sacrifice to get to the truth?”
Back at the new home of Zeke and Michaela, Beverly is having the type of mental episode that should come across familiar to anyone with a family member suffering from dementia (or Alzheimer’s). Beverly is paranoid and blaming people around her for everything. Michaela cannot handle her by herself and Zeke, who is seemingly developing the ability to mentally teleport himself into someone else’s mind via random ripple-epiphany moments — yeah, that is what I named those in last week’s review after the camera effect, and I am sticking with it, damn it! – does the same with Beverly and understands how helpless the old woman feels (Adriane Lenox continues to knock it out of the ballpark with her performance). He even explains to Michaela later that for a moment, he felt alone and scared and did not recognize him or Michaela through the eyes of Beverly sitting on the floor in fear. He is able to calm Beverly down thanks to a photo of Evie and Michaela that he sees on the refrigerator door. Zeke is the man of the hour, again, with his newly acquired healing capacities. Will there ever be an explanation on the how or the why? I hope so. Otherwise, chalk up yet another check mark in the column for convenient plot-device introductions.
The Major’s phone records show, according to the list Jared obtained, that the last call she took was from her daughter Sarah on December 28th, 9:37 PM. Jared plans to next check out the parks on the Major’s path from work to home because Sarah tells him that her mother would sometimes stroll by them on her way home. I am loving this intriguing plot as I have said many times and rooting for Jared to get to the bottom of it, even if it has the potential to spell disaster for others in the show.
Later in the episode, we learn that Jared had noticed a complaint placed about too much noise in the residential area near a park on the Major’s path on the night that she disappeared. A sanitation truck was making too much noise during the off-hours. Drea and Jared, the scrupulous detectives that they are, cannot get past the bizarre nature of a single call to complain about such noise by the park at that time. Would there not be, after all, calls from some of the other muckamucks living in that posh neighborhood about a garbage truck late at night? The detectives are not letting this go, and now I am cheering for Jared and Drea!
Jared contacts Officer Molinaro (Lisann Valentin) who responded to the noise complaint on that night. She says that the sanitation driver, who was white, 6 feet, 45 to 50 years old, claimed to have run behind schedule due to his sick dog, so Molinaro felt sorry for him and decided to let it slide. Jared asks her to email him her notes, and you just know the details of Molinaro’s notes will resurface in a very meaningful way, because Jared says that “something about this story doesn’t sit right.”
His suspicions grow exponentially when the sanitations services inform them that they do not have pick-ups scheduled on Saturdays in that area. And what does any of this have to with Kathryn Fitz, a.k.a. the Major, Jared wonders. Drea, for her part, is worried about him because Fitz was high in the Pentagon and Jared may be stepping into someone’s fiefdom where he will not be welcomed.
As for the skeevy trio, they are simultaneously having the same vision, running in some reddish-toned milieu with a clock running down to zero. Jace wakes up in a sweat in the RV, Kory coughs up an unusual amount of water at his mother’s home, and Pete gets taken by the vision in the middle of Angelina’s visit at the jail. She believes that she was chosen to help him. The callings saved her, and they can save him too. She reminds him that he has less than one week left according to his death date, so they must figure it out in a hurry. Pete points out that he cannot do anything, or follow his callings, if he is stuck in jail.
Angelina asks Zeke and Michaela for help. Zeke accompanies Michaela for another visit to Pete because his presence may convince him that death dates can be survived. It works. Pete is ready to talk when he notices Zeke, the man Angelina told him about. He tells them about the calling with the clock counting down to zero. It resembles the clock of the football field at his high school where he, Jace, and Kory would stay around after hours and play football. At one point, they got kicked off the team by Coach Hannity (Shaun O’Hagan) and their lives went haywire after that.
Pete is not the only one with whom Angelina is bonding, by the way. She decides to help Olive with her research into Egyptian mythology while telling her that she did not attend her prom either. She also consoles Olive for TJ not being there, telling her that short-term separation may be worth it, as long as it results in the two lovers being together and happy in the long-term. Yes, I have blown this horn more than once before, but I will annoyingly repeat it one more time: Holly Taylor is a tremendous addition to Manifest’s regular cast!
Michaela and Zeke visit Coach Hannity to learn more about the skeevy trio’s dismissal from high school back in the day, unaware that Jace is watching them from afar. Hannity calls it “the darkest moment of [his] career,” on which “four young lives were ruined.” He apparently found a kid named Derek dead from overdose in the locker room and the ensuing investigation pointed to Pete selling him the drugs. Pete denied Jace and Kory’s involvement and claimed he was acting on his own. He ended up in juvenile detention, while Hannity kicked Jace and Kory off the team. Michaela speculates to Zeke that maybe Pete feels guilty and that the calling is a chance for him to reckon with Derek’s death.
When Michaela and Zeke return to ask Pete about Derek, Pete initially refuses to talk about it, but thanks to another ripple-epiphany moment by Zeke who is now a “mind-reader” (Michaela said it, not me), it becomes clear that Pete is scared of someone. With Zeke’s encouragement about the calling wanting to give him a second chance, Pete spills everything out. Coach Hannity was making the boys deal drugs or else he would kick them off the team. After Derek died, Pete wanted out. He did not rat Hannity out because he was afraid that he would kill him and Jace. This Devin Harjes’s finest hour in the show so far. I never believed that Pete, as a character, could do anything that would enthrall the audience, and yet, here we are.
Michaela, accompanied by Drea, gives Coach Hannity “a more official visit” at his house. The problem is, Jace and Kory got there earlier and Jace’s intentions were in line with the gun he was carrying under his belt. Jace even shot Kory in the leg when he tried to stop him, before running away in front of a freaked-out Hannity. With Michaela and Drea on the scene, Kory yells to Hannity, “your clock’s run out,” which sends alarm bells to Michaela’s suspicious mind. She remembers Pete mentioning about the clock running out in his vision. It turns out that Hannity has drugs stashed away in the air ventilation unit (Kory told Michaela to check there) and the crooked coach gets arrested on the spot.
When Michaela goes back to tell Pete that his calling helped put a drug dealer behind bars, and that Jace shot Kory in the leg, Pete finally utters the words that she has been hoping to hear since his arrest: “I think I know how you can find Jace.”
Back at the Stone household, Angelina is fascinated by the story of Osiris, the “Lord of the Underworld.” She draws a parallel between Pete and Osiris. Yeah, I know, but wait for it, because it is not as far-fetched as it sounds at first. Osiris was killed by his homicidal-maniac brother before being brought back to life by his wife Isis with whom they end up having a baby together. Imagine the conclusions Pete would draw if he could be a fly on the wall and hear Angelina’s explanation!
Olive is, for her part, suddenly motivated to go to the prom again (not sure how or why that shift happened) and wants Angelina to accompany her. Angelina does, but will not go inside, telling Olive that it is her night and going inside with Olive will not bring her prom back. Olive understand and smiles back at her, before walking inside. She probably understands that Angelina’s priority lies with Pete at the jail, and that is where we see those two next, looking hopeful and smiling at each other as part of the montage of scenes accompanied by music (it is SYML’s “Symmetry” this time), a method used often in the last act of several episodes thus far in the show.
The montage also features Ben standing in his Agent-Moulder-basement room and watching his no-longer-glowing hand, Michaela, Zeke, and Beverly having a nice dinner, and Saanvi looking worried sick in her new desk next to Vance’s at the facility. Vance insisted that she join Eureka, and who is she to refuse Vance? Come on…
The last shot of the montage takes the cake though. Jared walks through the park, observed by Emmett from afar who notifies his boss that they “have a problem” because “Vasquez is getting too close to the truth.” Vance’s face tells it all!
Last-minute thoughts:
— Vance’s face is used for yet another episode closing shot. The writers know how to put a great asset to use, I presume.
— A nurse named Thalia (Greta Quispe) is helping Zeke and Michaela take care of Beverly.
— It appears that Zeke’s ripple-epiphany connections are progressively getting stronger. He said that much himself when comparing his connection with Pete vs. the one with Beverly earlier in the outing.
— Vance grabs the best line-delivery award of the week when Saanvi blames herself for causing the tailfin’s disappearance by killing the Major at the exact same moment, as well as for causing the other events that took place on that night, such as the skeevy trio drowning in the frozen lake and Zeke surviving the death date. He calmly states, “Saanvi, you’re a scientist. You can’t mistake correlation for causation.”
— Drea and Jared… Could it? Do they? Nah… never mind, for now!
Until the next episode…
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