S03.E04: Tailspin

[shapeshifter]

S03.E04: Tailspin (airs April 22, 2021)

Quote

Ben and Saanvi join Vance in his newest venture to understand Flight 828; Michaela and Zeke, who adjust to their new home life together, help a non-passenger with a looming Death Date; Olive experiences a Manifest prom.

"Olive experiences a Manifest prom"? I guess that's borrowed Roswellian flashback to go with Dad Ben's silver handprint.

And, speaking of borrowed scifi, most WTH?!? bit has to be: 
      [Vance] "Welcome to Eureka."

And most unintentionally funny bit is:
      [Ben to Saanvi] Cover for me.
      [look on Saanvi's face: Seriously?!?]

 

[alvajon]

Pete reminds me of a younger Jack Black... And, if this is set in current times, I wanna know--where are everyone’s masks??

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, alvajon said:

Pete reminds me of a younger Jack Black... And, if this is set in current times, I wanna know--where are everyone’s masks??

It’s in an alternate universe?

[alvajon]

18 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

It’s in an alternate universe?

Probably--will we ever know? When Ben awoke from his nightmare, the caption read, “two months later”--does that mean two months since the crash, or two months since the last episode, or two months since......? That would mean Pete has been in jail two months, Grace  two months at the cabin? I liked this episode as it focused more on the plane, which is the core of the plot.  I do like how Jake is putting two and two together.  I must say that Vance’s henchman looks like a creep, not someone who would be working for Vance/the government. I’m thinking too that Micaela’s partner has eyes for Jared. 

[mertensia]

2 hours ago, alvajon said:

Pete reminds me of a younger Jack Black... And, if this is set in current times, I wanna know--where are everyone’s masks??

I thought it was Jack Black.

[Dowel Jones]

Sanjay and Dr. Gupta in the room at the same time.  Hmmm.

[jabRI]

When do these people work?  Michaela just runs her alternate investigations half the time, with Zeke just following along.  Ben is always off doing something.   Ben's wife Grace has a new baby, OK, but before that she just dropped her catering? I just don't understand how these people support themselves.

[Camera One]

It's amazing how nothing happened in 2 whole months.  

Including 2 months of breakfast, and no one realized she eats oatmeal with raisins?

Saanvi used to be so awesome, and she is such a mess now.  Ben is sleeping and Saanvi is still at the clinic scrubbing out stains?  She certainly acts like she doesn't sleep.  

The government is just really bad at covert operations.  There's this really advanced retinal and fingerprint scanner, but once you're in, Ben can walk through any door without any security clearance card.  Even a run-of-the-mill office is more secure.  Good luck trying to get into the supply room to get some file folders without a key.

Why didn't the government provide some fake cause of death to the Major's daughter?  Clearly they know Jared is looking into it, so why let it go that far?  Feed him some fake file about the Major dying in some drowning incident during a covert operation looking for the dumb tailfin or something.    The daughter annoys me, so I didn't care for this subplot.

I guess we can thank our lucky tailfins we didn't have to watch another annoying argument between Grace and the stepbrother this week.

Ben kept taking his hand out of his pocket at random times.  Thank goodness nobody is ever looking.  If his pants can hide the light, maybe he could just wear gloves or something.  I wonder what everyone thought when Vance and Ben went into the Tail Fin room and tinted all the windows.  Why was the tailfin on a platform all by itself in the center of the control center, anyway?  

Pete kind of annoyed me by refusing to say where his brother was for 2 months.  Don't tell me The Capricious Callings are going to allow his redemption despite such bad behavior.

The girls are doing serious research on Ancient Egypt by reading Wikipedia?  If Olive knew all that, why didn't she fill the other girl in, and actually try to find out something new?

They're really digging deep to keep Zeke relevant.  What an empathetic guy he is.

It is sort of intriguing that plane passengers who have died and the tail fin have signs that they were underwater for years.  

What triggered the tail fin to disappear and go back to the ocean floor, and what's with the Glowing Hand?  Not so intriguing...

Edited April 24, 2021 by Camera One

[shapeshifter]

36 minutes ago, Camera One said:

I guess we can thank our lucky tailfins

Hahahah🤣 

 

37 minutes ago, Camera One said:

They're really digging deep to keep Zeke relevant.  What an empathetic guy he is

This could make the beginning of half decent rap, but then can we please have Zeke reach his expiry date?

[KaveDweller]

24 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Wouldn't Michaela need a warrant to go snooping in the coach's vent?  That sounds kind of dirty, but I couldn't think of  better way to phrase it.

There are exceptions to the warrants if the cops have reason to think someone was in danger or if a crime is in process. I'm no lawyer, so I don't know if this counts, but there was a guy bleeding out on the floor saying their was drugs in the vent. Michaela may actually have been following proper procedure there.

I am actually curious what is going on with the plane. If everyone was resurrected, why would the plane zap back to the ocean and change to look like it was under water for seven years? If the people were resurrected and have five years until their death date, why wouldn't the plane also have five years? And what was the point of the explosion?

There being two planes would have been more interesting to me than a magically moving plane.

[KaveDweller]

24 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

That was pretty much a home invasion.  I don't know why that would give Michaela authority to search the house, especially when the two home invaders hadn't seen that coach in a very long time.  Plus the person that was shot said that his fellow dirt bag is the one that shot him during a struggle.

I understand what you are saying, it just seems odd to me that that would be enough to search the house.  The information that they had about that coach was really old information.  Several years old.  There was no guarantee that the coach was still keeping his stash in the vent.  And that coach would have to be a complete idiot for letting anyone know where he kept his stash.  Even if someone was pointing a gun at him to get that info.

It was a home invasion, but Michaela could still enter the house because all she knew originally was that someone was screaming inside the house and seemed to be in danger. Once she was inside and saw that a crime was committed in the house, she has some leeway, even if it was another person committing the crime. Regardless of how old the info was, it was still apparently valid info. If Michaela had rung the doorbell and was invited in, and then a calling told her to search the vent, that would not be allowed.

Plus, cops are apparently allowed to search if they think leaving to get a warrant will result in the suspect destroying the evidence.

The coach was an idiot though. First for telling people about his hiding spot, and second for using a dumb hiding spot to begin with.

[mythoughtis]

19 hours ago, Camera One said:

Why didn't the government provide some fake cause of death to the Major's daughter

The government may not know she is dead.  Vance knows she’s dead because Saanvii called him that night.  Vance was pretending to be dead and he is the one that arranged for the majors’ body to disappear.  I’m not convinced that the daughter is really her daughter. 
 

2 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

If the people were resurrected and have five years until their death date, why wouldn't the plane also have five years? And what was the point of the explosion?

How is the plan supposed to beat the death date?  It’s not able to get callings ... or is it?  Hmmm. I wonder .... 
I was totally surprised by the body of the passenger.  
I’m not convinced that the tail fin disappearing has to do with Saanvii.  The passenger died prior to the majors’ death and she’s reverting to the ocean death without it having anything to do with Saanvii. I would think the body would be decomposing or is she is in preservative? 

[KaveDweller]

20 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

How is the plan supposed to beat the death date?  It’s not able to get callings ... or is it?  Hmmm. I wonder .... 
I was totally surprised by the body of the passenger.  
I’m not convinced that the tail fin disappearing has to do with Saanvii.  The passenger died prior to the majors’ death and she’s reverting to the ocean death without it having anything to do with Saanvii. I would think the body would be decomposing or is she is in preservative? 

Well the plane can't beat the death date, but it should still have gotten to stay a functioning plane for five years.

Or it should never have a death date because it's an inanimate object. In which case it should have just stayed as it was when it landed, unless a person manipulated it.

[ottoDbusdriver]

The plane blew up on the tarmac at the airport -- so why was the reconstruction missing so many of the plane parts ?
Have other parts been disappearing and no one noticed ?

So did the tailfin that disappeared also travel backwards in time 6-7 years to the date of the plane's original disappearance ?  Or maybe a different date ?  So that it took on the corrosion effects of all that time underwater.

The methheads callings were just dumb -- and I don't buy that 2 of the 3 have seen the error of their ways.

I think it's great that Ben has his own personal nightlight.

The prom tickets said June 8th -- so that would put the end of this episode at June 8, 2020. 
And that lines up with the date of the tailfin disappearance video Dec. 28, 2019 -- which is also the date the methheads plunged into the lake.
They returned after 84 days, and their death date is approaching after another 84 days. So the death date of the methheads in Manifest-verse time would be June 10, 2020.

Did anyone else notice that when the tailfin disappeared that the ceiling lamps above it swayed back and forth ?  So there was definitely a disturbance in the force in that room.

Edited April 25, 2021 by ottoDbusdriver

[TazDevil]

On 4/22/2021 at 11:11 PM, alvajon said:

Pete reminds me of a younger Jack Black... And, if this is set in current times, I wanna know--where are everyone’s masks??

I think we're only in early 2020 at this point.  The date stamp on the footage of the tailfin disappearing was 12/28/19.  When the Major General's daughter showed up at the precinct, she said she hadn't heard from her Mom in 3 months.  But, yeah, if we're talking about NYC in early 2020, there would be bigger things happening than the 828ers getting callings.

When they were done interrogating Vance and giving him back a job at NSA, the Director (the woman) said someone had been killed/found dead in New Orleans.  Was she talking about the Major General?  Or was there someone else who was leading the 828 investigation?  Or did I totally mishear that exchange?  (also I just binged the first 4 episodes of this season, so this may have happened in a previous episode...)

[TazDevil]

9 minutes ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

The prom tickets said June 8th -- so that would put the end of this episode at June 8, 2020. 

Good catch!  I forgot about the "2 month" time jump at the beginning of the episode.  Everyone should be wearing masks at this point.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Wouldn't Michaela need a warrant to go snooping in the coach's vent?  That sounds kind of dirty, but I couldn't think of  better way to phrase it.

…So Ben hasn't seen his wife in several months.  Maybe that is why his hand was glowing when he was in bed?

🤣😂😝Thanks for the laughs, @icemiser69!
I’m rather stressed out right now and needed some chuckles. 
 

 

[shapeshifter]

55 minutes ago, TazDevil said:

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

The prom tickets said June 8th -- so that would put the end of this episode at June 8, 2020. 

Good catch!  I forgot about the "2 month" time jump at the beginning of the episode.  Everyone should be wearing masks at this point.

I’m going with it being an alternate universe due to the writers barely being able to craft a coherent story without a pandemic.
But, yeah.  
They could at least flash a Star Date at the beginning of the episodes.  
Something like: June 8, 2020a

[SoMuchTV]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

11 hours ago, TazDevil said:

11 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

The prom tickets said June 8th -- so that would put the end of this episode at June 8, 2020. 

Good catch!  I forgot about the "2 month" time jump at the beginning of the episode.  Everyone should be wearing masks at this point.

I’m going with it being an alternate universe due to the writers barely being able to craft a coherent story without a pandemic.
But, yeah.  

Yeah, of all the suspension of disbelief this show requires, I guess masks are the least of my worries.

[redpencil]

16 hours ago, TazDevil said:

Good catch!  I forgot about the "2 month" time jump at the beginning of the episode.  Everyone should be wearing masks at this point.

I actually appreciate that not every show feels the need to incorporate the pandemic. I'm perfectly happy to pretend it wasn't a thing in Manifest universe. It makes more sense for certain types of shows than others. This one, there's too much other unrealistic stuff going on that I don't need it to stay that close to reality.

[mythoughtis]

Just now, redpencil said:

I actually appreciate that not every show feels the need to incorporate the pandemic. I'm perfectly happy to pretend it wasn't a thing in Manifest universe. It makes more sense for certain types of shows than others. This one, there's too much other unrealistic stuff going on that I don't need it to stay that close to reality.

As long as the cast and crew are trying to be as safe as possible, I’m okay with it too.  

[chlban]

18 hours ago, redpencil said:

I actually appreciate that not every show feels the need to incorporate the pandemic. I'm perfectly happy to pretend it wasn't a thing in Manifest universe. It makes more sense for certain types of shows than others. This one, there's too much other unrealistic stuff going on that I don't need it to stay that close to reality.

Agree. I think the Pandemic being added is just a bit too much on a show like this. I mean they were either resurrected or living in an alternate Universe. Demanding the show be "realistic" is a bit absurd.

Edited April 26, 2021 by chlban

[Mackey]

I’m unhappy about the plane explosion and how that did or will fit in with anything else. And, how much does that poor plane have to endure? It disappears. It reappears. It explodes. Then, pieces of it are getting gunky in the ocean. 

[ams1001]

On 4/24/2021 at 5:25 PM, icemiser69 said:

I can barely handle watching one episode a week.  I am going to have a difficult time watching back to back episodes for the next two Thursdays.  Maybe this series has a death date, and they are trying to squeeze in as many episodes as they can before it goes toes up?

I realized I have missed the last two episodes (because I watch other things on Thursday and keep forgetting to watch on demand later) and I came to read the threads because I wasn't sure I cared enough to catch up. And I looked at the TV listings over the weekend and saw that there are two episodes each Thursday this week and next, and my first reaction was "ugh." I think I might be done.

[ctlady]

On 4/24/2021 at 10:57 PM, TazDevil said:

And, if this is set in current times, I wanna know--where are everyone’s masks??

Television does not have to mirror real life (thank God!)  It's a means of escape.  I refuse to watch shows that incorporate COVID, social distancing, masks, etc.  I get enough of that on a day to day basis

[Vantraveller]

So when Ben's hand glows in his bedroom and at other times it's just a strange occurence,  but when it glows when they are near the plane he says "it's reacting to something nearby". And did we find out what it was reacting to or was it just an excuse for him to find the body? What was the point of Olive going to prom? I'm so confused by all the plot threads it's hard to keep up. 

[shapeshifter]

29 minutes ago, AussiesRule said:

What was the point of Olive going to prom? 

I never went to prom because of war and stuff, so I'm glad Olive went to prom. Actually, I wish we all could have gone to prom with Olive into an entirely different show.

[Camera One]

7 hours ago, AussiesRule said:

 What was the point of Olive going to prom? 

Olive had to go to prom so she could invite Angelina, so Angelina could dress up and decide not to go into prom and instead visit the prison to see Pete and he could see her all dressed up.  Soooooooooo romantic!   My whole body is glowing with anticipation at what happens next.

[Paloma]

On 4/22/2021 at 11:11 PM, alvajon said:

Pete reminds me of a younger Jack Black...

Really dating myself here, but when my husband and I were trying to figure out who he looked like, our first thought was Micky Dolenz from the pop group The Monkees in the late 60s. But I also see the Jack Black resemblance now that you mention it.

[RainbowBrite]

On 7/26/2021 at 8:52 PM, Paloma said:

Really dating myself here, but when my husband and I were trying to figure out who he looked like, our first thought was Micky Dolenz from the pop group The Monkees in the late 60s. But I also see the Jack Black resemblance now that you mention it.

You're right! Even more so than Jack Black, now that you point that out!!