This week’s Manifest was all about the characters owning and revealing their various truths. Our review of “Turbulence”.
While this week’s episode of Manifest provided some hints about the overall mystery behind the disappearance/reappearance of MA 828, for the most part, the Stone Family and the other passengers are very much in the dark. What’s even more concerning is that they’re all being watched… by law enforcement as well as other followers who may/may not be friendly. And, as expected, romance and family drama abounds!
Let’s discuss the highlights of “Turbulence”!
“The truth will set you free…” John 8:32
At the end of last week’s episode, Kelly Taylor is very gruesomely murdered in her living room, and I don’t know about you, but I was certain that Shadow People were the culprits. After all, the NSA had specifically told folks not to go to the media and a plane BLEW ITSELF UP to keep its secrets secret. However, Ben and Michaela learn that Kelly was motivated by an almost supernatural urge to own her truth. Hmmm… In any event, Kelly takes that calling very much to heart, going as far as to expose the fact that she and her husband have been involved in illegal dealings, price-gouging and taking advantage of people renting from them. This suggests that Kelly’s husband is the killer…
Michaela has her own battle with the truth this episode, too. Through flashbacks, we learn that one night, Michaela and her friend Evie are out for a night of fun and drinking. While Michaela wants to call a taxi, Evie is insistent on taking her car. Michaela seems less drunk, so they get in the car… unfortunately, we know there’s an accident in which Evie dies. And even worse, Evie’s parents blame Michaela. With advice from her therapist, Michaela wants to unburden herself and apologize to Evie’s family. However, it turns out that Evie’s mother, Beverly has Alzheimer’s. *WEEPING* When Beverly goes missing, Michaela is able to gather her gumption to drive (something she’s been struggling with) and search. She finds Beverly in the middle of the street, and is able to intercede before she’s hit by an oncoming vehicle.
And interestingly enough, before Michaela is basically a superhero now, the person driving the car that almost hits Beverly is the Taylor’s housekeeper, Christine. And she happens to have Kelly’s necklace inside the car. YEP, it was the housekeeper who killed Kelly because she was in love with Kelly’s husband and jealous of Kelly’s return. DAMN.
But in happier news, Michaela is able to reconnect with Beverly, which is perfect. Michaela desperately wants a mother figure in her life, and having a relationship with her best friend’s mom helps to free her from the painful memories.
There’s the bigger issue of the repeated connections to biblical text and these “followers” who practically worship the passengers on the flight. Miracle or science? As of now, I’m leaning towards miracle.
THEY ALL HAD A STROKE?!
Saanvi, badass medical researcher, is doing research on Cal as part of the leukemia clinical trial. It turns out that there’s a mysterious protein in Cal’s blood… curious. Saanvi tests herself and finds the same protein. Upon completing an MRI, it turns out the results are consistent with someone who had a stroke. WHHHHAAAATTTT? Saanvi calls Ben and Michaela, who meet her at her lab. Saanvi has a hypothesis, that in the course of the flight, they were taken close to death… and then brought back. Saanvi wants to run tests on brain tissue, and Kelly Taylor would be the best source. But Saanvi can’t find her body in any morgue (because the NSA has it!).
Danny or Dani?
The issue of Grace’s other lover looms, especially after Ben almost takes out one of Grace’s friends with a baseball bat who came to the house to pick something up for her.
“How many more men have keys?” asks Ben. A fair question, but Grace’s response is equally reasonable. Without Ben, Grace surrounded herself with a village of friends to help get her and Olive through their loss. Yes, Ben has returned, and Grace is so in love with him. But… what about the other person?
While Grace is at work, a co-worker comments that seeing Grace with Ben feels like she’s cheating on Danny. Grace agrees. Buttttttt, fellow Manifesters on twitter have suggested that Danny is really Dani, a woman. So when Grace tells Ben that he will never have to worry about another man in her life, she isn’t exactly lying, right? Although, in the previews for next week, we got a flash of my boo-thang Daniel Sunjata! And if he’s Danny… welps, sorry Ben! (JK… kinda 😉 )
Is Jared our friend?
So, Jared has gone to the NSA, ostensibly to seek any information that will help Michaela through the difficult transition back to her life. All I know is that he better be careful about what he’s involving himself with. Agent Vance gives Jared his card and essentially tells him to spy on Michaela, which makes me nervous. We see Jared rip up the card at the end of he episode, so hopefully that’s indicative of his trustworthiness. These NSA people watching the Stones and other passengers is worrisome.
Twinning
One of my favorite parts of the episode was watching Olive and Cal deepen their relationship. I mean, the twin vibing thing between them is real. But also, Olive is 5 years older than Cal. If I was Cal, I’d be salty too. All his contemporaries are 16 and he’s still a youngster. So when Cal gets angry that his old friend Kevin is now Olive’s boyfriend and snitches about Olive sneaking out of the house, I’m not that angry. I think Olive understands this too, which compels her to go to her brother and reassure him that they’ll always be besties.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Share your thoughts in comments!
Manifest airs Mondays at 10p/9c on NBC.