“Connecting Flights” – Aired on Oct 22, 2018
Written by: Amanda Green & Margaret Rose Lester
Directed by: Tawnia McKiernan
Grade: 5 out of 5

Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers

Color me impressed! This tightly packed episode briskly advances a few narratives at the same time without conveying the feeling of being rushed, and still manages to sprinkle across the hour several genuine moments of character development. More importantly, it brings some desperately needed clarification to at least one area – the beginning and development of the relationships between Danny and Grace, and of Lourdes and Jared. After four episodes of mystery piling, some degree of hole-patching is always welcome.

Furthermore, “Connecting Flights” is a game changer. It moves the parameters of Flight 828’s central mystery from the “what” to the “how.” Cal’s storyline firmly lands Manifest (no pun intended) into the area of the paranormal. As Ben says late in the episode to Michaela: “It’s not like with us. He [Cal] is different.”

Don’t get me wrong, we had already been hovering (again, no pun intended) over the paranormal zone. Heck, the show’s premise is built upon the mystical. But the gist of the unexplained had remained, until this episode, in the domain of ambiguous callings leading to premonitions, and a plane that somehow disappeared five and a half years ago and reappeared recently. The show’s characters had essentially been busy tackling the complications brought about to their daily lives by the missing five and a half years. “Connecting Flights” changes that routine. Cal’s storyline confirms that at least one passenger directly witnessed the phenomenon that holds the key to the mystery that matters the most: how did Flight 828 lose five and a half years of earth time?

New information is injected into the narratives of the stifling Ben-Grace-Danny and Jared-Michaela-Lourdes love triangles. These triangles are still emotionally charged alright, but thanks to a series of shrewdly arranged flashback sequences that got complemented by pertinent follow-up scenes in the present**, the characters of Lourdes and Danny have now gained some depth. They no longer play the emblematic role of the supporting characters who only exist to complicate the lives of the main ones.

**Kudos to writers Amanda Green and Margaret Rose Lester for their obvious attention to detail with regard to the flow of those scenes, as well as to director Tawnia McKiernan for the impeccable camera execution.

Now, the ball is on the viewer’s court. Can you build some sympathy for Danny and Lourdes or not? Unlike many others, I never developed an aversion to either of them at any moment during the first four episodes. Why should they ignore their attraction to the other person, especially when it is being reciprocated? It is not like either Danny or Lourdes began “making a move” immediately after the plane’s disappearance. Or perhaps, the more intriguing question is, how do you feel about Jared and Grace**? How long is it acceptable for them to grieve before they can move on to other people without being judged?

**See my last-minute thoughts about the uneven – or, unfair – nature of the audience’s reaction on social media to Jared and Grace.

We are not far from the point at which the intricacies of these relationships will undoubtedly manifest their thorny side. Take Danny for example. He seemed like a great guy who showed a lot of love toward Grace and Olive, and seemed to fill the void left behind by Ben. So yes, I sympathized a lot with Danny until this episode.

Until… this episode.

My sympathy for him came to a screeching halt when he showed up at the Stones’s house against Grace’s wishes and used the Olive card on her. His point was so simple, yet so outrageous. According to him, it did not matter that Grace loves her husband and wants to stay with him (she had told him so). He was standing there, literally arguing that he does not want to let Olive go.

Grace: “Danny, I told you I am trying to rebuild my marriage!”

Danny: “This isn’t about you and me, Grace. This is about Olive.”

Excuse me Danny? You mean the daughter of someone else with whom you got to spend three years because you fell in love with her mother? Danny did not stop there either. He brought up his previous lover that he had lost before meeting Grace and continued: “So I know I’ll survive losing you. But I am not sure I know how to get over losing that… amazing kid.” Well, Danny, that is your problem, and not one for which you need to unexpectedly show up at the door step of the Stones and put pressure on Grace. The fact that you went that far in desperation of your desire to be with Olive when she already has a family (and one that loves her) is borderline creepy, dude! Plus, at least be honest. You want Grace back, you are not there just because of Olive.

To complicate matters, Olive later says to Grace that she loves her dad and she is glad that he is back, but then adds, “Danny is my dad too.” Grace replies, “I know.” And I am screaming to myself: “How are Danny and Ben put in the same boat here? Are you kidding me!?!?” In any case, Grace’s life is about to get unbearably painful and I am afraid Ben will be asked to play the adult in the room, thus find himself on the short end of the stick.

But hold on, you see what I did above? I could not resist, I took sides. I am certain that I am not the only one doing so either. The point here is that “Connecting Flights” creates clever human conflicts, engages the audience in these types of debates, and does so without spilling over to over-dramatization. The divide between good and bad treads on a thin line of ambiguity. I may not like some of things that character A, B, or C does, but my interest is piqued by their stories. This kind of story-telling is an asset, not a liability.

In the meantime, Ben takes Cal to Coney Island for a day of fun but can’t stop hearing the phrase “it’s all connected” in his head. As they are heading back home, out of nowhere, Cal begins to run away from Ben and heads into the alleys of the subway. He runs on impulse, but with conviction. He leads Ben, without knowing, to Thomas’s hideout in the subway. Ben asks Cal repeatedly how he knew where to find Thomas, but Cal does not know. He does, however, say “it’s all connected,” which is the same phrase that has been ringing in Ben’s ears all day. The hour ends on another flashback scene of Cal looking from the plane window into the bright light outside and saying, “it’s all connected.”

There is however more to the Ben-Cal storyline than this revelation. It causes Ben to reevaluate his earlier decision to drop his investigation into the mystery of Flight 828 and focus on spending time with his family. It is evident by the end of the hour that, the events of his day with Cal have led him to make a 180-degree turn-around from his earlier stance. “I can’t walk away now,” he confirms to Michaela. He is determined to seek answers.

NSA Director Vance is also in pursuit of answers. While everyone grapples with the “what” and the “how,” Vance is strictly preoccupied with the “who.” It’s all about security and control for the Director; security of the country (a noble cause) and controlling people (a not-so-noble one). He even weighs in with the NYPD to ensure that Jared gets no more than a light 10-day slap on the hand for his mistake from last week. He is aiming to gain leverage on Jared and twist the detective’s arm into reporting to him directly everything that Michaela does or says. He is quite intelligent and efficient, but his NSA crew is either grossly underpopulated or utterly incompetent. They cannot catch anyone, they are constantly late to the action (hospital scene in “Unclaimed Baggage”), and people under their watch seem to evade them without much difficulty. Is it a stretch to claim that, in a real-life setting, poor Dir. Vance would bear the brunt of the blame and probably be relieved of his duties by now?

Last-minute thoughts:

– Cal notices the door move in Thomas’s subway hideout, and insists that he and Ben leave. Only a few moments later, when everyone else notices the door being forced from the other side, he changes his tune and wants to stay: “I think she is a friend.” The person on the other side of the door turns out to be Georgia, Bethany’s wife. She is there to take Thomas to a safe house. Why did Cal want to leave so vehemently seconds earlier? We will never know (he does not either). But, we know that Ben is right. Cal is indeed different than the rest.

– So far, the writing room has pulled a respectable job of balancing between screen time between the few main characters and the recurring ones. One of the advantages of the show’s premise is that the writers have an abundance of characters from which they can draw to create compelling stories. Few of the names on the manifest have already been explored (ex: Kelly, Radd, Bethany). It would be nice to see one episode centering on the role (if any) that Capt. Daly played in the phenomenon. Considering the acting talents of Frank Deal who can bring any character alive (see him as Gary Levine on Gypsy, or his guest-star appearances in The Americans and The Knick), I certainly hope that his character is not slotted for a short-lived appearance or a quick write-off.

– There is a lot of anger on social media flowing in the direction of Lourdes and Grace. Am I sensing a hint of sexism here? Why is it that Grace is on the receiving end of a lot more anger that Danny is in the Ben love triangle, whereas in the Michaela one, people are not nearly as furious with Jared as they are with Lourdes? Grace and Jared are the ones who moved on in the absence of Ben and Michaela. Yet Grace the wife is getting slammed while the fiance Jared gets off hardly with a scratch. And no, the “one is just a fiancé, the other one is a spouse” explanation does not wash.

– Bethany is arrested. Does that mean we will not get to see her wife Georgia again? I hope not. Eva Kaminsky, who has guest-starred in more shows that I can name, is always a delight to watch.

– Did I say that I thought this was the best outing of Season 1 so far (with “Reentry” a close second)? 

– This was the best outing of Season 1 so far. ​   

​Until next episode…

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“Unclaimed Baggage” – Aired on Oct 15, 2018
Written by: Laura Putney & Margaret Rose Lester
Directed by: Craig Zisk
Grade: 4 out of 5

Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers

A decent, yet benign, fourth outing by Manifest, one that flows fairly well within its confines. While “Reentry” (ep.2) focused on character development and moved at a measured pace, and “Turbulence” (ep.3) was motivated by rapid plot advancement at the cost of character growth, “Unclaimed Baggage” manages to do a bit of both, although it carries less substance than either of the two previous episodes. No need to look for big revelations to the overall arc here. There are, however, two stand-alone stories that keep the hour interesting.

One of them centers on a stowaway passenger, previously unknown to everyone except Bethany (Mugga), the flight attendant. We first see him as a deranged patient when he runs into Saanvi at the hospital, asking for Bethany. Saanvi, with Ben’s help, locates Bethany and visits her to get the full scoop on him.

Well, the scoop is quite charged. His name is Thomas (Sheldon Best) and he is the boyfriend of Leo, Bethany’s cousin. Bethany was trying to help Thomas (who does not have a passport) escape so that he could join Leo who had already left for the USA. Thomas and Leo were in danger in Jamaica because they had caused a social ruckus as activists seeking justice for a third gay friend who was beaten to death. Bethany asks Saanvi, “You have any idea how dangerous being gay can be in Jamaica?”

Leo apparently disappeared during the years of Thomas’s disappearance aboard Flight 828. Poor Thomas is now alone, in shock, pumped with anti-psychotic drugs at the hospital, sought by the authorities, and he desperately needs help. It’s a well-written, elaborate-yet-plausible backstory, although its desired impact is held back by Mugga’s somewhat phlegmatic delivery.

Note: Hats off to writers Laura Putney and Margaret Rose Lester for coming up with a rich backstory to the mystery of the stowaway passenger. This is an instance where the writing room could have easily succumbed to the traps of lazy writing and spit out a pedestrian reason for Thomas’s risky trip, and probably gotten away with it since it is of no consequence to the overall story involving him, Bethany, Saanvi, and Michaela. Instead, they chose to pay attention to detail. Nice!

Saanvi wants to assist Bethany in getting Thomas out of the hospital before the NSA and Director Vance can get to him. She also has a personal interest in doing so, because Thomas is related to the visions that she is having. Earlier at the hospital, a gray, statue-like woman, who leaves wet footprints behind her, had appeared in front of her. Saanvi visited Dr. Feldman (Gary Lee Mahmoud), the head of the neurology department, asking his opinion on her brain scan, except she claimed that it was the scan of one of her patients. That is when Dr. Feldman noted that the brain scan was similar to another patient who happens to be Thomas. He noted that it could possibly be the early stages of schizophrenia. A worried Saanvi left Dr. Feldman’s office and noticed the wet footprints again. They led her to Thomas’s room at which point he ran into her arms frantically calling for Bethany.

Michaela is also having visions of a similar gray, statue-like woman, except hers has wings and whispers “save him” to her. This happens on a day where Michaela is part of the NYPD’s team that is helping the ATF with an operation that involves the busting of a rogue group while they are buying guns. The ATF also has an undercover agent on site posing as a member of the group. During a somewhat unimaginative discussion that Michaela is having with Jared (it basically amounts to Jared being worried about Michaela) while they are staking out the building and waiting for ATF’s word for action, the gray angel appears to her, repeating the words “save him” several times. Michaela takes it as a reference to the undercover operative and vigorously insists that they move in now to save him. Jared reluctantly agrees and gives the green light to the NYPD team standing by.

Michaela is wrong. The operation is botched. The operative was not in danger, yet his cover is now blown. Jared takes the fall for having made the call, Michaela wants to come forward, but both Jared and Ben convince her to stay quiet for different, but valid, reasons. She cannot reveal that she is having visions and attract even more attention to the survivors of Flight 828. As Ben warns, they would get locked up in “some government psych facility” if they were to come clean about the premonitions.

Of course, there is more to the gray angel appearing and whispering “save him” to Michaela, just like there was more to the calling “set them free” in “Pilot” than the two chained dogs. When Ben suggests to her that Saanvi has been having similar visions, Michaela decides to go talk to her. In the most contrived moment of the episode, Michaela’s car drives right in front of Saanvi and Bethany who are frantically running away from the hospital after almost getting caught by authorities while they were trying to sneak out of the hospital with Thomas, using fake discharge papers.

They conveniently – and naturally – get in her car and Michaela drives them away just as Director Vance comes out of the hospital one second later, looking for the two of them. They are long gone, thanks to the artificially coincidental appearance of Michaela in her car. Thomas is not with them either because he apparently had managed to leave the hospital undetected, earlier in the day. As Saanvi and Michaela are telling each other about the gray woman that they have been seeing (Micheala’s with wings, Saanvi’s with wet footprints), it dawns on Bethany that they are talking about The Angel of the Waters, the statue at the top of the Bethesda Fountain. The angel also happens to be a big part of Leo’s favorite play, Angels in America by Tony Kushner (Pulitzer Price winner in 1993). Thus, that is where Thomas must be, they figure, and that is where they find Thomas, of course!

They take him to a boiler room previously owned by Kelly, who was shot dead at the end of episode 2. According to Michaela, the building will be tied up in probate courts for years, so nobody should be coming down there anytime soon. Is that even a plausible expectation? Don’t ask me. The bottom line is, we now have a reliable hide-out space that can be used in future episodes, if needed. In any case, the weakest sequence of the episode that began with Michaela’s car cutting in front of Saanvi and Bethany, ends in some boiler room only known to our protagonists.

The second – and the better – story revolves around the strife within the Stone family. Ben, probably the most magnanimous character that currently exists on the land of TV shows, cannot seem to catch a break on the home front.

First, he learns that their household is basically bankrupt. Among the many updates that Grace did not care to give Ben in a timely manner once he reappeared, is the fact that the insurance company had paid her half a million dollars for Ben’s presumed death. Now, they want it back. To make matters worse, Grace used that money to cover the debt that she had accumulated over the two years following Ben’s disappearance because she had “shut down.” She even took out a home equity line of credit to finance her catering gig, so there is no equity left on their house. She is filled with shame and guilt as she confirms that “there is nothing left,” but Ben, the ultra-positive individual that he is, hugs her, consoles her, and says, “We’re gonna figure this out.” Oh Ben… If it were only that easy!

He also has a hard time connecting with Olive, and it goes beyond semantics (reference: “romper” vs “overalls”). Olive acts a bit distant. She later gets caught stealing at Bluemercury, the luxury beauty shop, and leaves a message for her mom to come and pick her up. Grace listens to the message in the middle of a romantic moment with Ben who offers to go and get her: “I need to work on my Olive speak. Perfect opportunity.” If you have not boarded the Ben train by now, I would recommend getting yourself checked, there may be something wrong. Let’s remind ourselves the context here. The guy just discovered some photos of Grace and her previous lover in a box at the basement while he was calculating numbers on a whiteboard to figure out how he can help the family climb out of debt. Grace entered and he put that aside to get romantic with his wife before getting interrupted by Olive’s voicemail to her mom (in all fairness, Grace also seemed to be disappointed there). He offered to go get Olive himself to give Grace a chance to rest. Little does he know that the biggest disappointment is yet to come.

Once Ben arrives to the store to pick Olive up, not only does he get slapped with the terrible news that his daughter got caught shoplifting, but also sinks deep into the well of disappointment when he realizes that Danny (Daniel Sunjata), his wife’s lover during his absence, is already at the shop comforting Olive while they are waiting for Grace. Meeting the lover of your wife unexpectedly, because your daughter chose to call him for comfort instead of calling you… Can a father feel anymore miserable than Ben does at that moment?

The brief encounter scene between Ben and Danny achieves its goal thanks to Josh Dallas and Daniel Sunjata who convey perfectly the malaise felt by the two men. This is followed by the strongest scene of the episode, a well-written dialogue between father and daughter, including a heartfelt confession by a teary-eyed Olive. Ben promises not to tell Grace about the incident upon Olive’s request as they hug.

Grace learns of it anyway and scolds Ben for not telling her, and in the process, gives away the fact that she had talked to Danny since she could not have known of it otherwise. Now, it’s Ben’s turn to scold Grace. The argument ends on an unpleasant note, with Ben angered by the fact that neither Olive nor Grace “seem to be able to let this guy go.” He wonders out loud if it is even fair that he asks them to, and leaves to get some air. In those last moments, only a timid “Ben…” comes out of Grace’s mouth, which officially makes me jump off the Grace bandwagon. Until then, I had been on Grace’s side, even when she was finding it hard to tell Ben about Danny, because I found her reassurances to Ben sincere when she said that she loved him and only him, and that she left Danny behind. I still believe that she loves Ben, but her passive stance while her husband was justifiably upset accompanied by a meek “Ben…” did not cut it. Plus, she is obviously still in contact with Danny, as the closing sequence showed. Grace needs to be honest with Ben and lay all her cards on the table, not just the few selected ones.

Neither of these storylines provide any answers to the many questions facing Manifest’s overall arc. I am not sure if that is a good thing. I will repeat what I said in my review of episode 3: You can build such a high pile of mysteries that you can drown yourself in it, not knowing how to climb out of the hole when time arrives for payoffs and resolutions.

I appreciated the writers avoiding the ubiquitous cliff-hanger finish to the episode for a change. A montage of the main characters dealing with their issues, ending with Michaela asking the Angel of the Waters statue, “What do you want from me?” is a fitting ending.

Last-minute thoughts:

– Maybe I have bad hearing, but it seems to me like the background music in scenes where the characters speak in a low voice, or whisper, is a bit loud, making them harder to understand. I don’t know who is responsible of setting the volume levels (the sound editor?), but it would be nice to hear without strain what the characters say.

– I said multiple times in my previous reviews that I was firmly on Team Olive. I must admit that I wondered a couple of times during this episode if I made that call too soon. Having said that, I am still, and undoubtedly, on the Luna Blaise bandwagon. Passionate, high-quality performances by her in each episode so far.

​Until the next episode…

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“Turbulence” – Aired on Oct 8, 2018
Written by: Gregory Nelson & Bobak Esfarjani
Directed by: Paul Holahan
Grade: 3,5 out of 5

Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers

After last week’s stellar “Reentry” that advanced at a measured pace and contained an ample amount of character development, “Turbulence” owns up to its title and attempts to simultaneously barrel through several plotlines. The result is a dose of narrative pandemonium, one that overloads the senses and takes attention away from the couple of storylines with promising intrigues. This is not to say that “Turbulence” does not have some good moments – it definitely does –, and the main cast continues to produce fine performances. It’s just that it suffers from glitches and stumbles precisely because it tries to carry such a bulky load in a single outing.

Within that load, one finds:

– The background story of Michaela’s tragic car accident that resulted in her friend Evie’s death.

– Related to the above, Michaela’s pursuit of “own your truth,” much like her pursuit of “set them free” in “Pilot.”

– Related to the above, Michaela’s efforts to reconcile with Evie’s parents, including her gut-wrenching realization that Beverly, the mom, has Alzheimer’s disease in possibly the most emotional scene of the outing.

– A fairly complicated investigation of Kelly Taylor’s murder.

– Cal’s struggle with Olive dating his once best friend Kevin.

– Ben’s ongoing reactions to his new discoveries about Olive and Grace. His daughter is dating and sexually active.  His wife has given several men keys to the house. She also has a lover – “had,” according to her.

– Isaiah (Olli Haaskivi), the suspect in Kelly’s murder, who does a decent impersonation of Ben Linus in Lost‘s early seasons by talking in riddles and uttering doctrines.

– Saanvi’s discovery of a “genetic marker” in Cal’s blood, and subsequently in hers, that neither had before the flight, pointing to Ischemic Stroke which alludes to near-death experiences.

– NSA Dir. Robert Vance behaving dickishly toward anyone and everyone.

– Jared having to deal with Michaela’s topsy-turvy behavior at work and a sketchy request by Vance.

– Signs of a cover-up, a secret operation, or something, by the government.

I may have even left out one or two others. In any case, you name it, “Turbulence” has it.

Due to the limited time allowed to juggle all these developments, artificial coincidences appear at an alarming rate. As a consequence, some storylines suffer quality-wise, while others, that actually do show potential, get shortchanged in terms of depth. For an example of the former, let’s consider the storyline involving Ben and Michaela, as they aim to solve Kelly’s murder:

– Detective Donovan (The Americans’ alumni Brandon J. Dirden), who is in charge of Kelly’s murder-scene investigation, allows, with little or no resistance, Michaela to enter the crime scene, although she is clearly out her jurisdiction. Furthermore, he does not even check the identity of the man accompanying her (Ben) – the justification implied is that he is surely her partner.

– NSA Dir. Vance happens to enter the crime scene just after Det. Donovan briefs Ben and Michaela on the essential information gathered by his team, and not one second earlier. As expected, Vance tells Ben and Michaela to leave and scolds Donovan for letting them in, but who cares? Our two heroes got what they needed.

– As soon as they walk outside, Ben and Michaela conveniently run into Patrick Taylor, Kelly’s husband, who happens to be alone and available to talk.

– When they decide later to go to the Taylor residence to talk to him some more, ‘poof’ walks in Christine the housekeeper, a key character who provides them with a valuable piece of information. According to her, Kelly had bruises on her arms a day earlier when she came back from the mall after getting her hair done. As to why Christine would even volunteer that information, considering what she had done (as it turns out later), I have no idea.

– Ben and Michaela go the mall and randomly spot a woman named Tami (Ella Ayberk) in the vicinity of the hair salon, who runs away when she sees them, probably because Ben and Michaela did not need to spend more than a minute at the mall before finding answers. She runs away just enough, you see, so they can still catch up with her in a quiet basement area where they can have a convenient chat during which Tami suddenly turns into a golden fountain of information.

Now, for an example of the latter (a.k.a. potent-but-shortchanged storylines), let’s consider Saanvi’s search for answers to the ultimate puzzle of Manifest: what exactly happened to the souls in that plane while everyone else aged five and a half years? Saanvi’s storyline occupies barely two minutes of the episode, yet it is the most consequential one out of all of them. Parveen Kaur continues to excel in portraying the motivated doctor-scientist-researcher. Luckily, the episode ends on a revelation made by Saanvi, echoing an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon in the upcoming episode(s), and in the process, giving Kaur a chance to further flesh out her character.

Another character that needs more growth is the NSA Director Vance. Despite his continually gloomy-doomy disposition and arrogance, I do not see him as a one-dimensional character. For example, he did not appear to be just another uniform or suit, so to speak, in that brief meeting with government officials in “Reentry.” It would be nice if Vance remained outside the mean-government-vs-good-citizen dichotomy. Daryl Edwards certainly possesses the talent to thrive if given the chance to operate with a rich and layered character rather than the one-dimensional villain of the shady government.

Last-minute thoughts:

– Who is Rob (James Hiroyuki Liao) and why is he so protective of Danny? And what is the logical explanation behind the absurd notion that, somehow, Grace is cheating on Danny with her husband?

– Michaela running into Christine with the necklace in her car as she saves Beverly is a nice twist that places “own your truth” into a meaningful perspective.

– I do not necessarily agree with the interpretation made by many on social media that Grace did not answer Ben’s question when he asked if she loved Danny. She says, in a firm tone, looking directly into his eyes, “I love you, Ben” (her emphasis). Then adds, “I never stopped. Not for a moment. Not for 5 ½ years.” It does not mean that Danny will not be an issue in the future – he will, judging by the next-episode teaser. But, since the late stages of the previous episode, in my opinion, it has become clear that Grace loves her husband.

– How old is Olive exactly? I ask because I would like to know why she is having to sneak out of the house through the window. Regardless, I am still firmly on Team Olive! By the way, can twins be anymore delightful than her and Cal are, under such strenuous circumstances?

– Patrick and Kelly owning a mall, Patrick only renting to illegals so he can blackmail them into extortion, Kelly wanting to expose it after the flight and getting killed in the process, not because she was aiming to come clean, but because the ex-maid could not handle her return after 5+ years with Patrick, is an elaborate enough narrative that you could almost build a season on it. It’s a shame that it had to get reduced to the role of a B story in a 42-minute episode.

– Grace needs to be an open book with everything that she went through while Ben and Cal were absent. Ben getting slapped with one overwhelming discovery (condom under Olive’s bed) after another (men having access to their house), only to have Grace offer the ex-post-facto explanations for each, is not an efficient way to deal with the process of healing as a couple.

– The writing room is throwing a plethora of curve balls at Ben and Grace, and actors Josh Dallas and Athena Karkanis appear to be having fun running away with them.  

– Mysteries are rapidly piling up. It creates a great whaaat! effect for rating purposes, but the danger of falling into the same trap as Lost lurks beneath. You can build such a high pile of mysteries that you can drown yourself in it, not knowing how to climb out of the hole when time arrives for payoffs and resolutions.

– Speaking of pay-offs, Christine was the “shadow man” from last week’s episode, if I understood correctly. It’s basically a variance of the cliché about the maid who kills out of jealousy, a somewhat reductive pay-off to a promising plotline.

– Kelly may be dead, but her body is still needed!

​Until the next episode…

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“Reentry” – Aired on Oct 1, 2018
Written by: Jeff Rake & Matthew Lau
Directed by: Dean White
Grade: 5 out of 5

Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers

Following a premiere that did a fairly solid job of setting the parameters of a complex plot with multiple B and C storylines, the second episode “Reentry” checks all the boxes in terms of pacing, meaty character development, and five-star performances by the actors in recurring roles. In fact, if it were not for the last 20 seconds of the episode, I would go as far as calling it one of the best pilot-follow-up episodes that I have ever seen on TV, not that such a category exists.

However, I am gladly willing to overlook those last 20 seconds – more on that later – because the episode’s co-writers Jeff Rake (also the showrunner) and Matthew Lau manage to avoid the temptation of shock-and-awe frenzy that plagues other series of its genre over the last decade and walk the fine line between too many mysteries and too little characterization with great success throughout the episode.

Director Dean White, who carries more than a decade of experience directing TV shows, begins the episode with a brief montage of news from the media to update us on where things stand after the explosion of the plane that ended “Pilot.” A few quick conversations, featuring some of the Flight 828 passengers that we met in the premiere, take place in what looks like a warehouse at the airport.

These people are understandably having trouble curbing their anxiety for various reasons. The pilot fears that he will be the designated scapegoat, the sarcastic dude who sells sporting goods (Rich Topol is having fun playing that character, I bet) is busy taunting the investigators, Ben wants him and his sister to keep a low profile, Saanvi tells the two of them about her connection to Cal’s treatments, and Radd (Curtiss Cook) is frantically wanting to see his son who has apparently been jailed for three days. This is a tidy and efficient start to the first act because it leaves enough time to explore the story angles during the rest of the episode.

“Reentry” is indeed about people and their stories, and how uncertainty and fear encroach on their personal spaces. Frantic plot advancement accompanied by multiple shockers takes a back seat.

We jump into the Stone household with Grace trying to cover up her cleavage when Ben unexpectedly walks into the bedroom – a confused Ben says, “just me.” Josh Dallas and Athena Karkanis are great in the scenes with the two of them, and in this particular one, the malaise felt by Grace and Ben, for different reasons, are conveyed through subtle stares and smiles sprinkled between what would regularly be considered “sweet talk” between two people in love. They are not the only ones experiencing emotional discomfort in the house. Cal is unhappy about his toys from five years ago having disappeared, and Olive is turning bitter against her mom for not having told dad the not-so-secret secret that she is hiding (more on Olive later).

Then, Ben hears the sound of a violin playing in his head. It eventually leads him to Radd who is playing his violin to the same tune in Times Square. Radd does not understand why the same melody has been “beating against his ear drums,” but he is convinced that it was meant to bring the two of them together so that Ben can help him with his son Adio (played by his son in real life, Curtiss Cook Jr.). Radd rejects the possibility that his son is capable of committing the robbery of which he is accused. He wants to talk to Adio and asks for Ben’s help (and Ben asks for Michaela’s to arrange it). Radd is unable to visit his son in jail because his visa from five years ago expired. Well done by Rake & Lau who seem to have made sure that details are not brushed aside here, because they matter with regard to plausibility.

Cook gives a gripping performance throughout the episode as a father who is torn between the knowledge that the 13-year-old son he left behind for a one-night performance in Jamaica could not possibly be involved in a crime, and the incertitude that the now “18-year-old man,” as he calls him, may have changed for the worse in ways that he could not imagine during his missing five years. When Radd finally talks to his son through the glass at Rikers Island’s visiting room, Adio claims his innocence, saying that when he was closing shop about a month ago at the jewelry store where he used to work, he was attacked and knocked unconscious. When he woke up, the store was cleaned out. But Adio’s face looks beaten up and Radd is tragically aware of the fact that the damage on his son’s face did not occur a month ago. It is easily the most powerful and emotional scene of the episode. Both Cooks nail it as Radd and Adio.

Ben and Radd visit the store to see the owner who is not interested in hearing them, but his son Blake (Jake Horowitz) is willing to talk. He says he does not know what to think, considering that Adio gave them fake job references and ID’s, that he was the only one there that night, and that no alarm was tripped.

In the meantime, Michaela’s life is moving forward, but not so smoothly. She runs into Lourdes, Jared’s current wife, in the precinct. It’s a very uncomfortable moment because we know from last week that they were best friends when Michaela disappeared five years ago aboard Flight 828. Michaela is bitter, without knowing how, or against whom, to channel her anger. Lourdes, for her part, feels guilty, knowing that there is no way to solve the conundrum in which they inadvertently find themselves. Michaela also wants to get back to working as a cop, but the Captain requires her to get a psych evaluation to see if she is fit to return to duty.  

As if these complications were not enough for Michaela, she becomes aware of the secret that Grace is hiding from Ben, when she hears her sister-in-law talk on the phone. She confronts Grace and advises her – strongly – to tell Ben before he finds out for himself. Karkanis shines again as Grace in this scene, as she confesses with tears in her eyes that she did not even realize how much she still loved her husband until he showed up five years later. Now, with both Olive and Michaela aware of her secret, the pressure mounts on Grace to make up her mind quickly.

All the above takes place within the first half hour of the episode and what is impressive is that the driving force of the narrative is a series of emotionally charged – yet, rich in substance – conversations, leading to character growth. The dialogues between Michaela and her shrink, Ben and Grace, Radd and Adio, and Grace and Michaela carry the narrative, giving them layers in ways that make the audience care. “Reentry” almost feels like a slow burn, and I mean that in the most positive way possible.

Even the most pedestrian scene of the episode, the one taking place in a high-tech government office with national security agents gathered around a table to determine the fate of the 20 passengers who happened to be present when the plane exploded, has a purpose. It shows that the NSA Director Vance, despite coming across as your typical dickish agent filled with suspicion when he deals with the survivors, does not hesitate to stick up for their rights when everyone else around the table seems to label them as dangers to national security.

And no, I did not forget Olive. Luna Blaise’s performance is absolutely stellar here, as the grown-up teenage daughter who has a firmer head on her shoulders than her mom, it seems, yet torn by the question of how to act toward a dad that she missed dearly, because she has no desire to face that probable moment in the future when dad finds out about mom’s “other” and realizes that Olive also knew about it and didn’t tell him anything. During an evening ride with her dad, she decides to come clean as she takes him to a storage facility in Long Island.

Olive never believed that Cal was dead even though the therapists, the counselors at school, and her mom had suggested that she let go. “Some kind of twin thing,” she explains to Ben as she leads him to a unit within the storage facility. Unlike her mom who was a wreck and took the shrink’s advice, leaving of all of Ben’s and Cal’s belongings in boxes for the Salvation Army to pick up, Olive showed the dexterity to cancel the pick up and move the boxes to the unit. A wonderful little twist, which puts me officially, and firmly, on Team Olive. She also says just enough – the storage belongs to a “friend of mom’s” – for Ben to figure out Grace’s secret.

The intensity of the reveal as Ben and Olive hug each other does such a good job of sidetracking us that we feel as startled as Ben does, when he hears the violin tune in his head again. He searches for the source of the music in an awkwardly edited sequence through the hallways of the storage facility and walks into Blake who is standing by another unit filled with all the stolen inventory from his father’s jewelry store. Blake is busted figuratively, and then literally with a smack on the face, when he offers Ben half of the money if he stays quiet. The tune that Ben kept hearing apparently had a bigger purpose than just helping Radd visit his son in jail. It helped to save Adio.

Michaela, thanks to her talks with the psychologist that she had opposed at first, and to some heartfelt messages left by Lourdes on social media following her disappearance, comes to terms with her situation. She visits Lourdes at her home and the two begin the road to reconciliation. Another reconciliation (of sort) takes place after Grace realizes what Olive had done with the boxes and witnesses Cal’s delight at getting his toys back. She decides to no longer “hide her cleavage” to Ben in a quiet but meaningful scene with the two of them in the bedroom. The scene does not clarify if she comes clean about her “other” or not, but there is no doubt at this point that she has rediscovered her love for Ben. These scenes could have easily come across as cheesy and overly dramatic, but they do not, thanks to the slow build-up noted above. Kudos to the writers.

Not too many kudos, though, for the final twenty seconds. With the end of both “Pilot” and this one, it appears that Manifest‘s writing room has joined multitude of others in the business in feeling the necessity to have 11th-hour shock-endings to episodes. One of the passengers named Kelly (Julienne Hanzelka Kim) is shot dead at the very end (we see blood splatter all over the TV screen). She was also seen a few times earlier during the episode, giving an interview on TV or followed by a shadow figure in the garage. The idea is to push forward the mystery on the hidden identity of those (people or forces) behind the incident.

Honestly, this episode would not have missed a beat if this last-second shocker were left out – or even the whole Kelly storyline, for that matter. Yet, this is the à-la-mode obsession across the land of TV shows nowadays. Even the show’s cast joined in the effort to amp up the viewers on social media when the episode ended. Yet, everything that happened before those last twenty seconds is what makes “Reentry” the outstanding episode that it is.

Overall, the first two episodes exceeded my expectations in that, while the show has elements seen in other mystery shows – see my review for “Pilot” – Rake and his crew are building genuinely human storylines that grapple with relevant day-to-day issues.

Bring on the next episode already…

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