“Love is never something to feel guilty about. It's a blessing.”
And “WOW” did I love this show. When I first started watching Manifest I was skeptical. The show had just been canceled by NBC, was trending on Netflix, and fell into a category of tv shows I don’t really watch; a drama mystery. But, when I watched the first episode I was automatically hooked and realized this show was going to be so much more.
Manifest is a three-season television show about a group of passengers that went on a normal plane ride and returned to realize that they had been missing for five and a half years and that their families have moved on and started a new life without them. The show has a fantastic cast with the leading character; Michaela Stone played by Melissa Roxburgh, with an assisting cast of Ben Stone played by Josh Dallas, Grace Stone played by Athena Karkanis, Jared Vasquez played by J.R. Ramirez, and Saanvi Bahl played by Parveen Kaur. The series is created by Jeff Rake and has been directed by over twenty different people.
Right when I started the show, I was completely hooked. The show started with a bang, had an engaging storyline that automatically draws you in, and forces you to come up with the solution to why things are the way they are. To top it all off; the actors and actresses are absolutely fantastic, perfectly performing their roles in a way that is believable and further draws you into the story so you feel their emotions anywhere from joy to fear to sadness. I only watched the first season to get a taste of what it was like, but I know I will be going back to watch more episodes.
The storyline for Manifest is sheer perfection. The story has an overarching mystery of the plane's disappearance and sudden reappearance but also has smaller mysteries within that get solved every other episode or so. This keeps the audience constantly engaged wondering what will happen next. To top it all off, almost no part of the show is predictable, but the parts that are, it is almost like the writers want you to guess those things. The show is not chill and relaxing but is rather there for when you want to get your mind running and solve some mysteries.
On top of everything great about the show, it also has fantastic performances from each of the actors and actresses. I was a bit surprised and went into watching the first season really only knowing Josh Dallas from Once Upon a Time. But, I quickly fell in love with the actors and actresses, immediately believing each of their emotions, and feeling like I was truly immersed and involved in the story. This on top of the excitement and the mystery of the series is what made me want to keep watching for the next two seasons.
To my disappointment, I learned that the show had not been signed on for a fourth season. Though initially the series was planned to take five seasons and has had increased popularity since arriving on Netflix. The cast has said some of their goodbyes on social media, but that hasn’t stopped the swirling of rumors about the possibility of Netflix or someone else signing them on, or the possibility of them doing a 2-hour long finale episode.
Overall, I loved the first season of the series and I am planning on watching the next two seasons. I quickly began recommending the show to everyone I knew and had to resist looking up spoilers because I was so anxious to learn what would happen next. I hope that everyone takes a chance on the show, and at least watches the first season. And, let’s all hope the show gets picked up for a fourth and fifth season of mystery and excitement.