Product Review: Manifest: The Complete Series
Everyone knows plane travel is stressful. Once a passenger arrives at the terminal, they can expect a myriad of possibilities that may delay, hinder, or worse, cancel their flight. There could be glitches in the system affecting plane tickets, checking in delays due to long TSA security lines, delayed flight schedules, and cancellations caused by extreme changes.
No matter the stress triggers, every passenger expects that once they buckle down into their seat, they will reach their destination within a reasonable time in the normal flow of time. No one expects that some turbulence would propel them five years into the future!
“When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. But in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years - and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on.
Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible.”
2018 was the year of disappearing people. The same year that Thanos snapped his fingers and half of the world evaporated, Manifest had passengers of Montego Flight 828 holding on to their seats as they were unknowingly propelled through time. During their travel, a violent burst of turbulence caused a few minutes of delay and shaky nerves. Then the plane continued on to their path.
There was no obvious sign of the time they lost until they were ordered to land away from their destination. Guided to an ominous white tent surrounded by solemn agents, it is solemnly relayed to the passengers that it has been five years since they boarded their plane. They had all been presumed dead and suddenly they appeared. So what happened?! That’s the answer that Manifest: The Completes Series boxed set will hopefully answer within 3,720 Minutes.
Box Set Review
Manifest: The Completes Series contains all 62 episodes from all four seasons. The episodes are divided among multiple DVD’s, about four episodes per disc. The discs are contained in a thick box with two discs overlapping per section. It is a big set so it’s tempting to flip through the sections like a book. Highly do not advise this as the sections can easily disconnect.
There are no bonus features available on the boxed set. A disappointing revelation as it would have been a treat to hear commentaries and essays on the plot development. It would have been fun to see if a bonus feature that pointed out all the “828” number sightings in the background. For a show that spans four seasons, there must have tons of behind the scenes goodies to share.
In addition, the menu is surprisingly sparce. No glamor shots of the show or teasing the scenes. It’s a basic color background with a list of the episode. There is also no ability to skip the intro of each episode so viewers watching the episodes continually will have to endure the recap each time. The recap section would make a for a good restroom break though!
First Disc Review
After hearing mixed reviews about the show from fans, there were some high interest to finally experiencing the show. The premise of the show already tickles the curiosity sensor as the show seems to be an expansion of one central “what if” question" namely, what if this could actually happen?
The first disc contains the pilot episodes and the first three episodes: “Fasten Your Seatbelts”, “Grounded”, “False Horizon”, and “Connecting Flights.”
The pilot highlights the core family of the show, The Stones. We the Stone family waiting in a crowded waiting area for their flight. Then the speakers kick in asking if any passengers would accept a cash incentive to take the next flight as the current one is overbooked. Needing money, the Stone family members are split to take advantage of a cash incentive. That one decision causes a rift of the members who continued living normally and the ones who were shot forward through time. This discrepancy between living two different time speeds is fertile ground for drama and tension within the family as they juggle the changes that happened with or without them. Manifest series adds a mysterious supernatural element that can be either guiding them to doing good or they could be manipulated by another spatial entity.
There were 190 passengers on Montego 828 but the show focuses on a small core family. The first signs that something weird was happening begins with Michaela Stone (played by Melissa Roxburgh), a detective. She begins to hear voices even as she’s struggling with losing her fiancé and PTSD from an accident. Her brother Ben Stone (played by Josh Dallas) is a father trying to be the center figure under all of the turmoil of changes and seeing things. His young son, Cal Stone (played by Jack Messina), was already dealing with terminal cancer before the flight and now has to mentally juggle time being sped forward while carrying the cancer and seeing his twin sister, Olive Stone (played by Luna Blaise) as a teenager. With each episode, more passengers from Montego 828 begin to gravitate toward the Stone family as the awareness of something strange and unsettling beings to grow. among them.
By the fourth episode, the questions exponentially grow with each supernatural occurrences and the possible development of powers begin to manifest.
Which brings us to the title of the show. Commercially, a manifest is a document that lists the cargo or passengers that will on board the vessel (be it boat or plane). Since it begins with a plane, the title fits. With each episode, we see the meaning of the show title expand as the powers of the passengers begin to display. Or are they powers? Are they projecting the trauma of their experience into these so-called “miracles”? No surprise, there is a deep undertone of religious roots as some of the characters begin to connect the numbers 828 (which shows up as the plane number and random places around the miracles) to a bible verse: Roman 8:28 “We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose.” '
Are the passengers being gifted with powers to do the calling of a higher entity? Or is it a different entity with darker intentions?
Recommendations
Since it’s never a guarantee that a show will be on a show or even how long it will remain on a streaming service, the boxed set is a collectible for those who want to revisit the show. Even though there are no special features, the box DVD set is a time capsule with the show premiering in 2018. According to the timeline within the show’s story, Montego 828 leaves 2013 and then lands in 2018.
In reality the show was produced right before and into the pandemic. It would be interesting to continue watching the series to see if the show addressed the pandemic within the story lines or if the production was impacted from the lockdown as the show concluded in 2021. Only fans who followed the initial run of the show will know the outcome of that.
For the rest of us, there is only one way to find out. Ready to embark on Montego 828?
