TV Review: “Manifest” – Turbulence

Manifest is definitely my favorite new network show of the fall. It’s got enough character drama to keep it relatable while giving enough time to the mystery at play to elevate it beyond a primetime soap. It is definitely the most intrigued I’ve been by a mysterious network show since Lost which is the easiest show to compare Manifest with.

Episode three “Turbulence” picked up pretty much exactly after episode two with the aftermath of Kelly’s death in her home. There’s very little information about the death at first and the police seem to think it’s just a robbery gone wrong. Luckily for us we’ve got Michaela the actual detective and Ben the wannabe detective on the case! Before we get there though everyone’s pretty worried because it seems like Kelly might have been murdered because of her involvement with flight 828 so Ben makes sure to tell the family to be very careful. Olive doesn’t take this threat seriously at all and instead sneaks out of the house immediately, for what? We don’t know yet.

The biggest piece of the overall mystery we get this week is the information that Cal has some kind of new marker in his blood that wasn’t there before their flight. After Saanvi runs some more tests it turns out that she, Ben and Michaela also have the new marker. There’s no information yet about where it came from but it apparently appears when people have strokes or are brought to the brink of death and then back which opens up a lot more questions about what really happened during flight 828’s turbulence.

After a few establishing weeks it was also fun to get a glimpse at Grace’s life outside the family. We get to see her catering business and her friend Rob who apparently feels pretty protective of Grace’s boyfriend Danny. Despite the fact that Grace has decided to stay and make it work with Ben, I hope we meet Danny. Primetime dramas could always use more drama! Luckily there’s more to be found when Ben answers the door to Kevin, Cal’s best friend. Like everyone else he’s five and a half years older and so Cal is very put out even before he learns that Kevin is at the house for Olive.

In trying to find out who actually killed Kelly, Michaela and Ben team up and it was at this point I decided that she needs to leave the police and they need to start a PI firm. Ben is actually pretty good at detecting and there’s only so long Michaela can work with her ex before something inappropriate happens. In any case they run through some leads including Kelly’s husband, housekeeper and some employees at the strip mall she owned. Unfortunately, nothing turns up until Michaela, suffering in her own storyline with the parents of her dead best friend, literally runs into the housekeeper fleeing with all the evidence of the murder in plain view in her car.

This is officially one too many coincidences for both the NSA guy and Jared, both of whom confront Michaela about her suspicious appearance at two crime scenes where she has no jurisdiction in as many weeks. Luckily she’s able to talk herself out of any issues and both the police captain and Jared stick up for her to the government, but I think Jared will only be held off for so long before he demands an explanation.

Ben is still having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that his wife moved on without him which is understandable. Just as understandable is his assault of a strange man in his house. At least until he finds out he’s just a friend of Grace’s who helps out with Olive sometimes. Grace finally addresses Ben’s paranoia about her life while he was gone and she admits that she needed people to help her but that she missed him the whole time. It appears to be alright for now, but I still think there’s a confrontation with Danny coming any minute now.

The episode ends with Saanvi telling Ben and Michaela about their shared blood protein and the causes for it. She also tells them what would be most helpful would be brain tissue from another Flight 828 survivor. That would make Kelly’s body super handy to have, but she can’t find it in any morgue in the city and all other searches make it seem like Kelly never existed in the first place. Unbeknownst to them Kelly’s body is being transferred to a secure site under the watchful eyes of the NSA guy (who’s name I should really learn!)

I’m sure as the weeks go by there’s going to be a lot more mystery and a lot more red herrings in the search for what actually happened on flight 828. At this point I have literally no idea what to expect, but I know I’m super pumped for whatever it is because I’m having such a fun time on the journey!

What would you do if you discovered you had a new blood protein?

How many Lego box sets would it take to make you feel better if your twin started dating your former best friend?

How many bodies has the NSA stolen from you?

NOW THAT THE OFFICIAL MANIFEST REVIEW IS OUT OF THE WAY, FOLLOW MY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS BULLET POINTS BELOW!

• I mean I guess she didn’t DESERVE to die – but Kelly was definitely not innocent.
• LOL Ben: Olive come straight home from school tomorrow. Olive: immediately sneaks out of the house secretively.
• Ooh Cal’s got a magic blood protein!
• So when are Ben and Grace going to get divorced and Ben and Saanvi can hook up?
• LOL the FBI guy is totally about to make the Stones!
  • Oh I guess he’s NSA
• Everyone’s chemistry is actually really great on this show. It feels like a real family and past relationships and everything. I love it.
• Ben should think about becoming a detective too. He’s very good at it.
• I like Grace’s friend Rob at work!
  • But I need to see who Danny is. We need to meet him ASAP.
• Man…Jared is a really great guy huh?
  • He def still has feelings for Michaela though
• Yeah – they all have the magic blood protein!
• WHAT’S GOING ON THOUGH?!
• How many times are we going to see Ben “find out” about Grace’s boyfriend?
• Yeah…Kevin is definitely not looking for Cal – he’s looking for Olive.
• I would sincerely love it if Olive didn’t start to suck ass all of a sudden
• Actually, I changed my mind. Michaela and Ben need to start a PI firm
• The number 828 keeps popping up! Not like in a Lost way, but it does still keep coming up.
• This government guy is really chapping my ass.
• Jared…do not rat out Michaela!
• LOL Kelly’s husband is an asshole!
• Hahaah poor nice guy Lindsay just trying to pick up Olive’s shin guards and gets attacked by Ben
• I love that there is like a cult around the 828 survivors
• Hah! The housekeeper did it!
• I knew Jared could be trusted!
• I don’t like the NSA having Kelly’s body…