Manifest Season 1 Episode 4: Unclaimed Baggage Recap

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This week’s episode of Manifest, Unclaimed Baggage, drew together Saanvi, Michaela and Flight Attendant Bethany to solve the mystery/case of the week: What happened to Bethany’s stowaway friend after the plane landed? They were an effective and appealing dream team, who I hope we get to see continue working together. Ben’s role in this case was to act as skeptic and briefly as driver.

What’s up with him being left out of the callings since the first episode?

Instead, Ben carried the family drama again, which this week centered around Olive’s adventures with shoplifting. Olive drew Danny back into the family mix, precipitating the overdue meeting between him and Ben. Or maybe it was just overdue that we met Danny. You can’t cast Daniel Sunjata, then keep him off my screen. At any rate, Grace is now officially a sketchy Femme Fatale in my book, and the Stones have gone from being a typical suburban family in the opening of the pilot to being a truly messed up suburban family.

Why is Grace a Femme Fatale? Not just because of the unexplained, secret strife that’s drawn her, Danny and Olive close enough together that they act like they’ve been through a war together. The other Stone family thread this week concerned Ben’s life insurance pay out of $500k, which the insurance company wants back, since he’s actually alive and all. Grace goes through a vague set of circumstances, most of them expected, and somehow comes up with having spent the entire half a million dollars already, in 5 years, on her and Olive. Plus all of the equity in their house.

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 10: Option C Recap

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With Option C, we reach the end the beginning of the road. That is to say, we come full circle. The drug trial ends, and the subjects are paid off and sent back to their day-to-day lives. Owen and Annie attempt to make changes in their lives, following up on what they experienced in their reflections.

The doctors are forced to change their lives, after the unexpected way the trial ended. They are sent out into the real world, no longer able to use their careers as an excuse to hide behind their computers in windowless rooms. All of the main characters spend the episode building toward striking out on new adventures, but we’ll have to wait to see if Maniac stays a “limited” one season series, or if it gets a season 2, before we find out if we get to follow the next stage of their development.

Option C begins with the subjects waking up from their “C” pill experience. They are dazed, overheated, and dehydrated. Owen asks Annie if she’s okay, but she just tells him, “Not now.” As the subjects stumble from the experiment room, James and Greta stand outside the door and say helpful things like, “You’re alive!” and, “You woke up!” They get it together after a minute and act as though they’re in a receiving line, congratulating the subjects and asking Owen if he feels pure, unaffected joy.

Owen tells Greta that he’s a huge fan and has read all of her books. That explains why he was able to understand Gertie, and she liked him so much. I wonder if Greta is Owen’s fantasy mother, when he dreams of replacing his own.

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Manifest Season 1 Episode 3: Turbulence Recap

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Turbulence settles into what will likely be the episode pattern for most of the season. Like episode 2, we have a case/passenger of the week, with Ben and Michaela at the forefront of an unsanctioned investigation. The digging necessary to help that person also provides information about both the larger mystery and what the government might be up to.

The Stone family drama also moves forward. Sadly, so far it seems as though the other passengers and characters are only there to service the mystery of the plane’s disappearance or to take part in the main family’s drama. Hopefully, with time, the stories will branch out further.

Devotion, faith, and owning your truth are themes this week. Michaela learns that she needs to be honest with herself and others about what happened with Evie, and is rewarded with the breaking down of her mental barriers. The twins work through more of the issues that make them feel separated, in an attempt to regain their Twin Power. Lourdes is nowhere in sight, while Jared adopts Michaela as his work wife.

Saanvi has a strong drive to know the truth, and faith that she can find it, no matter what barriers stand in her way.  It’s no coincidence that she created a cure for blood cancer while in her twenties. She has a search engine and a medical lab, and she knows how to use them. Vance had better watch out.

Ben and Grace are still struggling to figure out the truth of their marriage, while the entire family, other than Cal, struggles with honesty. Cal is the little truth teller of the family, and possibly of Flight 828. Perhaps “He is risen” means Cal now sees the truth of all situations, and he won’t accept anything less. He’s risen above everything else.

The Stones love and are devoted to each other, but that isn’t always enough. Grace still has that strange demeanor about her, like she’s forcing herself to be with Ben because she’s had a religious calling to do so, not because it’s what she’d choose if she met Danny and Ben today. But that’s what her decision needs to come down to: Which one would she choose today?

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 9: Utangatta Recap

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In episode 9, the “C” pill brings the subjects to confront the core of their fears. If Owen becomes the sweet, unguarded, lovable person that he was meant to be, but that person is a huge screw up, will he be worthy of protection and love? Porter was willing to sacrifice Owen in order to save Jed, but Owen now understands that there’s nothing he can do to inspire that kind of loyalty from his family. Nor should he aspire to. But can he inspire it in someone? Can he matter to someone, even if he’s a failure?

Annie needs to say goodbye to Ellie, but what’s really holding her back is her fear that she’ll never find anyone else, or, even if she does, she’ll lose them, too. Can she put aside her fear, anger and self-loathing, and use her strength, boldness and courage to trust, protect and love someone again? Can she believe in herself enough to be the hero who saves someone?

We’re about to go all super-spy to find out. Owen is Snorri Agnarsson, a blonde Icelandic diplomat who discovered and befriended a blue alien named Ernie. Ernie was sent to help mankind, and had made some progress. Snorri was scheduled to introduce him to the world, when Snorri’s careless mistake with a vodka gimlet killed Ernie. Now the world debates how to punish Snorri and to defend against Ernie’s people. Annie appears as a stone cold assassin, sent by the US government to save Snorri and awaken him to his true identity and purpose.

Owen and vodka gimlets just shouldn’t mix.

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 8: The Lake of the Clouds Recap

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The Lake of the Clouds continues the “C” pill stories that were begun in episode 7. Owen is still his father’s #2 in their mob family business and working for the police as a snitch. Annie is still a half elf who’s showing her elven princess sister to a magical lake that they hope will lift a fatal curse from her. Gertie/Queen Gertrude is still working with Greta and threatening Annie. James and Azumi are still tense.

The episode picks up with Annia and Ellia back in their cave, arguing about the nature of reality. Annia has tried to explain the truth of the situation to Ellia, but she’s not buying it.

Ellia: So you’re telling me you believe that this is not the real world. That some other world, your world, is the true world. And that I’m confused who I am, as is every other elf, human, orc, dwarf, hobgoblin… The entire world is mad but you’re not? Is that what you think?

Annie: Yes.

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Maniac Season 1 Episode 7: Ceci N’est Pas Une Drill Recap

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Despite their vow to protect each other, Annie and Owen are split into separate reflections this time around. They each have a straight up, hard core experience with their families, using the exploration of “what if” scenarios to confront ways their lives could have been different, this time changing their relationships with their siblings.

Owen belongs to a mob family straight out of a Martin Scorsese movie, let’s say GoodFellas. But he has Jed’s role in the family business instead of his own, while Jed has been exiled. Annie gives in to one of Ellie’s final desires, and plays out the high fantasy story that Ellie laid out in their hotel room the night before she died. It’s Lord of the Rings with extra mead.

The story opens on Owen and his father, Porter, meeting in their dark basement lair. Porter tells Owen about his lost older brother, who was such a disappointment to Porter, with his disloyalty, crying and lying, that Porter put him up for adoption at 4 months old. Porter congratulates himself on catching the baby’s flaws early.

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Manifest Episode 3 Sneak Peeks (Video)

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It’s sneak peek time again for NBC’s new scifi drama Manifest. I’ve found two so far, in addition to the episode promo. But before we get to those, a little more ratings news. NBC has released the Live+7 day ratings for the pilot, which increases the total numbers of viewers to 18.4 million, making the premiere NBC’s most-watched drama series premiere in 19 years! Final ratings aren’t in yet for episode 2, but the preliminary ratings look good. SpoilerTV has more ratings news.

‘Turbulence’ episode description from NBC:

Ben (Josh Dallas) and Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) investigate a shocking murder in fear that it’s connected to Flight 828. Meanwhile, Ben struggles to accept the life Grace (Athena Karkanis) led in his absence, while Olive (Luna Blaise) and Cal (Jack Messina) realize that being twins after five and a half years apart is harder than they thought. Also starring J.R. Ramirez (Jared Vasquez) and Parveen Kaur (Saanvi Bahl).

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