Manifest Review: Connecting Flights (Season 1 Episode 5)
This show gets even messier on Manifest Season 1 Episode 5, “Connecting Flights,” as we’re given a healthy dose of flashbacks coupled with Ben and Cal’s present-day adventure.
“Connecting Flights” gives us a lot of backstory — most of it fun, but most of it also pretty unnecessary. How much of Lourdes and Jared do we actually need to see? How much of Grace and Danny? In my opinion, we should’ve gotten less than there is on the episode.
We also get entirely too much of Vance’s side of the story. He (and the government) is no longer a compelling villain — but was he ever? His angle simply fuels irrational fears of conspiracy and ultimately make the government look like a suspicious, meddling body (seriously, Vance is surveilling everybody).
It would be much more compelling if we actually had a better sense of what our heroes are trying to figure out. Right now, Vance is just stopping them from doing anything at all, which is obnoxious but not scary or particularly antagonistic because Michaela and Ben are still able to get around Vance.
Michaela and Lourdes’ story is also underwhelming and not particularly believable.
Lourdes appears to function as a minor antagonist for Michaela and Jared’s relationship, but we don’t have enough context for their relationship to even begin to feel attached to Michaela and Jared’s lost relationship.
Maybe if we had gotten a flashback with their story, then I’d be more on board with Michaela’s pursuit of Jared. Right now, I’m not compelled to support her trying to win Jared back–I know virtually nothing about their relationship, and the last thing we get is that she was unsure about marrying him and decided on the plane.
But perhaps the most frustrating part of this episode is Ben and Cal’s story. It’s cute until it’s not — it turns into a very predictable wild goose chase when Cal follows his instincts.
On every episode, we’ve watched another variation of the signals in the characters’ heads, but they still lead nowhere. Where is this show going?
It might be understandable that Cal perceives the messages in a different form than the adults. But the fact that we are required to go along with this feels like some sort of weird midseason deus ex machina.
Disappointingly, Saanvi is nonexistent, even though we had the most promising lead with her ischemia claim in the last episode.
Plus, with Cal’s mysterious “I just had a feeling!” claim, it’s getting increasingly more frustrating to stay invested in the story. Anything could be pulled up, and we’d just have to take it as truth.
Despite remaining somewhat entertaining, the show isn’t propelling itself in a compelling narrative direction. It’s still stuck and hasn’t given us (or the characters) any more information towards solving or figuring out the mystery behind MA828. In fact, it’s getting even more confusing and feels more supernatural than ever.
It’s only fun to piece together everything when we’re given sufficient information to do so. But Manifest currently doesn’t give viewers enough to enjoy the show as a mystery.
What did you think of this episode of Manifest? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Manifest airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.
Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Olivia Popp
Olivia Popp is a freelance writer, artist, and entertainment fanatic who started living and breathing television ever since her parents told her in elementary school that it would rot her brain. Now, she's a film student and TV apologist with a penchant for providing forceful and unsolicited series recommendations to anyone within earshot. Ask her about science fiction, comedy, nature photography, filmmaking, tasty cheese, or even more television.