Manifest Review: Reentry (Season 1 Episode 2)
Manifest Season 1 Episode 2, “Reentry,” tries to get back into the swing of things, but it’s not easy to pull viewers back in after the messy series premiere.
Picking up right where we left our characters at the end of the last episode, there’s something definitely bizarre about what’s happening in everyone’s heads — except it’s a little all over the place for my taste.
There’s still a looming mystery over the entire show that’s not particularly conducive to enjoyment of and engagement in it. And if we can’t empathize with the characters, there’s no way we’re going to get into the show.
The show continues to toss questions at us without any answers, leaving viewers a bit overwhelmed by the content. It’s not allowing room to breathe for any world-building. This is especially problematic, given that the world is currently still undefined as reality or something supernatural or fate-based.
One such example is the murder of the passenger. This comes across as shockingly out of the blue and as if it was possibly included just for the sake of setting this series apart as a mystery and a sort of thriller.
There’s even more overtly religious connotation on this episode with the “He is risen” lines (seemingly directed to Cal), which mostly serves to puzzle rather than to educate the viewer. I still can’t make out what exactly this implies, other than venturing into some partially-fantasy territory (I’m getting Heroes vibes, maybe).
“Reentry” at least allows for a bit more exploration of Michaela, centering her as our protagonist once again. She’s proving herself as a reliable character and someone we can trust, which is great.
However, her ties with the other characters don’t make her enough of a pull for this show. We have to believe in all the characters, not just Michaela.
The emotional, more grounded storylines have some potential, but they’re still somewhat melodramatic considering all the other mystery-style drama already tossed at us on this show.
Right now, the show seems like it’s relying on throwaway lines and unexpected plot points to toss the viewer into a mindset of merely appreciating its shock value. But I’m of the opinion that this is a cheap manner of storytelling.
Manifest tries too hard to imbue the show with mystery, but gives it no actual substance. A cliffhanger is just as good of a mystery as trying to craft some sort of bizarre, unexpected narrative — and sometimes simplicity is better than complexity.
Even on this episode, the shadowy, murderous figure lends itself to a level of cheesiness and camp that doesn’t really fit the plot. Maybe it’s supposed to be eerie, but the groundedness just isn’t there to inspire viewers to believe that the metaphysical implications of the show actually exist.
In many ways, Manifest feels like the TV show equivalent of one of those street preachers trying to get everyone on board with the often whimsically inventive, oddly intense religious or supernatural narratives that don’t actually make any sense. It’s all just talk.
While this episode does gain some ground on the character front, it doesn’t redeem itself in the story.
What did you think of this episode of Manifest? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Manifest airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.
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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.