In this week’s Manifest the highlights include a creepy, stone angel, finally meeting Danny, and Ben Stone in sexy glasses. Let’s discuss “Unclaimed Baggage”!
Bethany, you’ve been keeping secrets, girl!
This week Manifest begins with a flashback to the MA 828 about to land. The airline hostess, Bethany, speaks with one of the pilots to tells her to try and keep the passengers calm. The flight has been diverted to a smaller airport and they’ll be deplaning on the tarmac. Folks won’t be happy. Bethany agrees to do what she can, but it’s clear that she’s worried…
It turns out that there is a stowaway on the flight!
Touched by a wet and semi-scary angel.
Towards the end of last week’s episode, Saanvi developed a hypothesis about what happened during the MA 828 flight. Essentially, the passengers’ brains are acting like they were taken close to the point of death and then brought back. Saanvi shows her MRI results to a senior colleague who actually suggests that the “patient” is experiencing schizophrenia. WHATTTT? And the thing is that Saanvi is seeing things! She’s being pursued by a stone angel that leaves wet footsteps behind. Those footsteps lead to a patient staying in the hospital, whos’ being held for psychiatric observation. Why would the random angel want Saanvi to see this guy?
Saanvi shares all this with Ben and decides she’s going to seek more information. (BTW, I’m still here shipping Saanvi and Ben. *insert “who gon’ check me boo?” gif*)
Saanvi goes to Bethany’s home and it turns out the guy at the hospital is a stowaway. Thomas is Bethany’s cousin Leo’s boyfriend. They are both trying to escape persecution in Jamaica for being gay. Unfortunately, Thomas’ documents don’t come through in time, so Bethany agrees to help him sneak away. When MA 828 is diverted, Bethany instructs Thomas to hide and then sneak away so he won’t be caught by police. Bethany hasn’t seen him since. We now know that Thomas is caught and could potentially be the scapegoat that Vance and the NSA pin everything that’s happening with the flight on. Saanvi decides to help Thomas by having him released into Bethany’s care. But by the time they return to the hospital, Thomas has escaped. Of course, the NSA is on the scene.
So, Danny is a dude… a very fine dude.
Ben, Grace, and Olive have quite the drama on their hands. Ben is still getting used to having a teenaged daughter, but he’s trying.
“I like your overalls.”
“Romper”
“What’s the difference?”
*SNORT* Dads!
As for Olive, she’s struggling with finding her new normal in the midst of some pretty crazy circumstances. While at the mall with her cutie-patootie bestie Avery, Olive decides to lash out by stealing a lip gloss that she really likes, but can’t afford. Olive is immediately caught by security. When Ben arrives to pick Olive up, he’s told by the store clerk that she’s been caught shoplifting. Incidentally, Olive is about to be released… because Danny is there to bail her out. Yep, she calls Danny (sexy Daniel Sunjata) instead of her dad, and the confrontation is super awkward. It doesn’t help that earlier in the day, Ben in his sexy glasses is trying to figure out how to deal with the life insurance company who wants the money back because he’s not dead (assholes!). As he’s working, he comes across some souvenirs of Grace’s and Olive’s time without him and with Danny. *SIGH*
This is such a shiesty move from Olive, but she does apologize. Ben/Olive bonding remains one of the major highlights of this show, and they certainly get closer as Ben shares a story of shoplifting a boomerang when he was a kid. He tells Olive that everyone deserves a free pass and promises not to tell Grace. Of course, Danny has already told Grace, so that creates even more tension at home. YIKES.
Michaela vs. Angel
It turns out that Michaela is also seeing this creepy angel and following her instructions to “save him!” Michaela assumes that stone angel lady is talking about the undercover ATF operation that Michaela and Jared are currently on. Unfortunately, breaking cover gets them in a lot of trouble, and Jared mostly bears the brunt because he’s suspended. It also doesn’t help that Michaela now knows that Jared has agreed to keep an eye on her for Vance and the NSA. Jared says that he does it out of worry for her and Michaela seems to believe him.
Ben advises Michaela to see Saanvi, instead of confiding in Jared. They all cross paths in the search for Thomas. They deduce that the angel they’ve been seeing is the Angel of the Waters statue. Interestingly, that’s where Thomas and Leo were supposed to reunite. When they arrive, Thomas is there, desperate to see Leo. Unfortunately, Bethany shares the news that her cousin has disappeared. Michaela brings Bethany and Thomas to hide out in (dead) Kelly Taylor’s old building because the NSA is coming after them all.
The episode ends with a spectacularly shot scene as Michaela returns to the statue and demands to know “What do you want from me?!”
Manifest airs Mondays at 10p/9c on NBC. And thankfully, a full season of 16 episodes has been ordered!