S01.E01: Pilot

[HeySandyStrange]

9 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I'm with those of you who wonder why Ben's wife doesn't just tell her husband that she moved on. She didn't do anything wrong. Five and a half years is a long time and she thought he was dead; it's odd to me that Ben didn't even ask the question. The daughter clearly knows, and it's not fair to put her in a position of having to lie to her father. I'm guessing that she has feelings for her husband, which is complicating her new relationship, but she should just say that.

What gets me is that Ben and his wife have seemed to have mostly picked up where they left off, to include hugging, kissing, and I would presume, sleeping together. Or at least that's what seemed to be implied by the breakneck glossing over pace of the episode. It would be pretty shitty of her to go straight back into marriage, including all the sexual and intimate aspects, when she's moved on (and would basically be cheating on her new person, as well) and/or stringing along both people because she doesn't know what she wants and refuses to be honest about it. That is apt to make me dislike Grace and her and Ben's relationship real quick.

The show has some promise, but they flew really quickly over the actual main premise of the series, the plane ride, really quickly. Also, while it might share some similarities, Lost it most certainly ain't. The first episode of lost is still one of the best to air on tv in my opinion.

[Enigma X]

I just watched it and liked it.  I agree that more hoopla would have been made in real life, but this is not the first or last show where disbelief is stretched. I am in for now, but see there may be a tendency for it to go wrong soon. 

[partofme]

I disliked it from the beginning when the mom was pressuring her to get engaged to someone she obviously didn't want to marry.    And the voices were just a total turnoff.

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, partofme said:

I disliked it from the beginning when the mom was pressuring her to get engaged to someone she obviously didn't want to marry.    And the voices were just a total turnoff.

I think we’re supposed to think that she actually did want to marry him she was just punishing herself over something that lead to the death of someone that we don’t know the details about. 

Edited September 26, 2018 by biakbiak

[txhorns79]

Quote

You have to be missing for 7 years before you can be declared legally dead; hence, the plot-point of it has only been 5 and a half years.

My understanding is that is not necessarily the case.  Rather, after seven years, the burden of proof shifts from a presumption of life to a presumption of death.  Before then, you have to show through clear and convincing evidence that a person is dead.  For something huge like a plane mysteriously vanishing, a court may find that sufficient evidence exists to show the person is dead well before the seven years is up.  

And is no one guarding that plane at all?  Are there no cameras?  Wouldn't someone notice that all those passengers showed up at the exact time the plane mysteriously exploded? 

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

And is no one guarding that plane at all?  Are there no cameras?  Wouldn't someone notice that all those passengers showed up at the exact time the plane mysteriously exploded? 

I don’t understand why they took it out of the hanger but I imagine that there are cameras and that they will be suspected of having done something to destroy the plane the episode just ended before that happens.

[BitterApple]

Grace not telling Ben about her boyfriend (girlfriend?) doesn't bother me. Based on the characters' dialogue, the course of this episode took place within the first week the flight landed. While the relatives have dealt with the grief and moved on, the passengers have no sense of a big time jump. In Ben's mind it's only been what, twelve hours or so since he last saw his wife. That would be a massive bombshell for Grace to drop on top of all the other mind fucks Ben"s dealing with. However I agree with everyone that it's not something she should drag out indefinitely. 

Edited September 26, 2018 by BitterApple

[Skycatcher]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Surprised to see all the love for Josh Dallas, I have never seen him in anything but thought he was just as dull and uncompellong as his sister.

ABC, "Once Upon A Time", Prince Charming (married to Snow White), ran for 7 years. Fairy tale characters trapped in a modern small town. 

 I thought he was pretty dull there too.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Skycatcher

[KaveDweller]

10 hours ago, green said:

... and ...

Yeah this would be the news story of the century.  Or all of history for that matter.  The possibility of real time travel changes everything on planet earth forever.

And there wouldn't be two lone FBI agents there.  The Pentagon would have taken over.  There should have been cuts to the White House and reaction by governments and people around the world.  Scientists demanding access to the plane over Homeland Security refusals.  Philosophers and theologians debating what it all means.  And a conspiracy nut or two should be main characters.  (Also the shock of what stealinghome said above, heh).

Instead we get two boring siblings who we are suppose to feel sorry for because their "loves" gave up on having a life with a totally dead person after more than half a decade has passed.  That's it?  Oh yeah the kid saved by the miracle cure from the doctor from the same magic plane blah blah.

They did have references to media attention, but seemed more focused on getting to know the characters.  Sometimes pilots skip over details to get everything they want introduced. Hopefully they start having more time for people's reactions to the even next week, along with speculation about what people think caused it. I would think this would also lead to people thinking more missing planes are going to come back.

6 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

I thought they were hinting Cal had also developed abilities in the scene near the end where the family was playing some sort of game with dominoes. They all exclaimed how quick he was at it and had just learned the game.

The game was Banana Grams, it is kind of Scrabble-like. It's not really that hard to learn and includes a luck factor. I don't think you need abilities to pick it up fast or be good at it. I thought that scene was supposed to show that he and Grace were getting back to normal and being bickering siblings.

I did think they were hinting Cal had some abilities in the scene where he jumped up in bed, like he had some kind of premonition.  I'm kind of surprised they didn't have his cancer magically cured once he was back.

[pinky33]

19 hours ago, Lakebum said:

And as others have said... there is NO WAY that the passengers would have been released so soon (if ever.) They disappeared for five years then reappeared, having not aged a day. That is the very definition of BIG NEWS as well as BIG MYSTERY, and probably POTENTIAL PROBLEM. In real life, those people have returned only to spend the rest of their lives as lab rats... with about as much freedom.

Exactly... when they showed them just walking around society afterwards like regular people, I was thinking, "Um, whaaat???" 

In reality, they would be lifelong science projects quarantined by the CIA or NSA or some other government agency.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, green said:

Compare this to Mr Robot

Sacrilege!

 

 

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Surprised to see all the love for Josh Dallas, I have never seen him in anything but thought he was just as dull and uncompellong as his sister.

I think most of us were introduced to Josh Dallas as Prince Charming in Once Upon a Time, holding his baby daughter in one arm whilst vanquishing murderous princess-killers with a sword in the other--hence the JD love.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, candall said:

It's true that we're asked to handwave the quick assimilation back into society, but for me the issues related to everyone assuming you're dead for five years is more interesting than the squick of government anal probes and organ dissection.  (Weird to let everyone go home and then investigate the plane in hazmat suits, though.  Heh.)

Here's another plot point that could have been handily dispatched with a couple of lines between some bureaucratic flunkies about how they had nothing to hold them on. Dammit. The writers should be better than I am.

[TimetoShine]

I’m going to give this another watch and another couple weeks but the dour face on the sis/cop/lead is really hard to watch. 

[Anela]

I don't understand why people have a problem with someone who's depressed and guilty over an accident that killed someone. That isn't something that you easily let go of. Its hard enough to deal with a loss, when it definitely wasn't your fault. 

I missed parts of it, but I'll watch it again. The numbers reminded me of LOST, as usual. If it's heavy-handed religious, then I probably won't keep watching, but I have issues with specific religious people, right now. I loved Kevin (probably) saves the world, because it was basically about being a decent person, and helping others. It was my favourite show last year, and then it got cancelled. 

[nutty1]

I’ll watch a few more episodes, not because I liked it but because I’m curious. 

[BitterApple]

4 minutes ago, Anela said:

I don't understand why people have a problem with someone who's depressed and guilty over an accident that killed someone. That isn't something that you easily let go of. Its hard enough to deal with a loss, when it definitely wasn't your fault.

I don't think it's so much that people are disbelieving Michaela's emotions as they are eye-rolling the "cop with a guilt complex" trope that's been done a million times before.

[Anela]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

I don't think it's so much that people are disbelieving Michaela's emotions as they are eye-rolling the "cop with a guilt complex" trope that's been done a million times before.

I can understand that. It's like the one where someone becomes a cop or a doctor, because they couldn't save someone when they were a child. 

[Lady Calypso]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I just didn't think he needed to here it that very minute.

Hence why I'm being lenient and giving the show a couple of episodes for the secret to come out. I get that she wants to take it easy with him, but she can't keep the secret that much longer. She's gonna need to figure out a way to tell him soon.

[HazelEyes4325]

I wasn't sure I was going to give this one a try, but the hubs and I couldn't find anything else to watch that interested us, so we pulled this up on Hulu.  It was okay...I guess.  The acting was not great and there was a lot about it that didn't make much sense, such as how these people were introduced back into their old lives after only a few hours (or so it appeared).  I'm not a fan of love triangles, so the fact that we have 2 going on here is not promising.  I also really thought we'd get a lot of "What?  That happened in the last 5 years?" moments, but there was next to none of that.

I'm actually surprised that there is a religious bent to this show and, from what I saw in this episode, it doesn't look well-executed.  But, all that being said, I feel like I need to give this a 2-3 episode run before I decide if it gets a slot on my viewing list.

[reallyjustjen]

There were “191 souls” aboard Flight 828, but a much smaller subgroup was gathered in the last scene as they watched the plane explode, whom the clunky voiceover tells us our main characters will get to know well.  Does this mean that this subgroup was comprised of those who specifically passed on taking the other flight and ended up on this one instead?   But then the captain of the plane was among them,

so maybe not?   

[Mackey]

Since when can our government just grab people with no charges against them and keep them somewhere, while inspecting their orifices? I don’t think that would happen. I think that scenario is the unrealistic one. 

[green]

45 minutes ago, Mackey said:

Since when can our government just grab people with no charges against them and keep them somewhere, while inspecting their orifices? I don’t think that would happen. I think that scenario is the unrealistic one. 

Ever hear of Gitmo?  Or before it the Japanese-American interment camps during WWII?  They can pretty much do anything they want while cloaking it in "national security" since they always have in the past.

[thuganomics85]

Right now, I'm just approaching this like I do with every show in this genre: interested, but cautious and prepared to jump ship if things go south.  Because these types of shows either become something special or end up being squandered potential or worse (or maybe best?) total, laughable messes.  Definitely too early to tell, so we'll see, I guess.

None of the characters really grabbed me yet, but it was fun seeing Josh Dallas again at least.  The actress playing Michaela was... alright, but I thought the one playing the Indian doctor had more of a presence, and wished she was the lead instead.  Wasn't impressed with her detective ex (a.k.a. Oscar from the second season of Jessica Jones), but Athena Karkanis is always welcomed.  Right now, I don't blame Grace for hiding her new spouse/boyfriend (or girlfriend?) from Ben, but this is one of those things where if she keeps it hidden for too long, it can easily cross from understandable to being a cowardly dick about it, so I hope the show knows when it gets to that point before it is too late.

Not sure what to make of the hearing voices parts.  And all of the stuff with the numbers and plane just reminded me of Lost, and is already making me hope either Terry O'Quinn or Michael Emerson show up as the one responsible for all of this.

[ohwilleke]

@Lily H : "I'm put off by the strong religious overtones to this, which I wasn't expecting."

I think this is going to be more "Touched by an Angel" or "God Friended Me", than "Lost" or "4400", although hopefully it will not be another "Left Behind".

The coincidence of the Bible verse and the flight number, and the word choice of "191 souls" and the liberal use of the word "Miracle" and even Michaela's early statement to her mom that she's rejected her mom's Christianity when paired with the scene in the church near the end, seem like too powerful a connection for this show to really be about aliens and a wormhole. My guess is that our heroine's name is also not an accident, per Wikipedia: "Michaela (Hebrew מיכאלה) is a feminine given name. It is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means "Who is like God?"" Also, the script pulls a lot of punches in the racy/sexy department that it wouldn't have had to if it weren't aimed at an audience open to the spiritual angle.

An interview with the producer confirms this:

Quote

"Michaela is a cop but what we learned in the pilot is that she's kind of a lapsed person of faith. We discover that faith was a huge aspect of her mother's life and her relationship with her mother," Rake says. "And very significantly, in the opening moments of the pilot, her mother alludes to her own religious faith and Michaela says, 'Mom, you know I don't believe in that anymore. How can I?' And when she asks that question, that teases up a mystery about Michaela's backstory that we will reveal over the course of the early episodes. Michaela, as a lapsed person of faith, ironically, becomes the believer in our series.”

A core question of Manifest is whether the great mystery of this missing airplane can be answered by science, or whether it can only be answered by faith in some higher calling — or in something completely out of this world. Michaela becomes the believer while Ben, the scientist, is the skeptic.

 

The reference to a "Force" that emerges spontaneously from the characters keeps it ecumenical, however, and given the doctor character who is probably a not very religious Hindu, the spiritual angle may even go beyond "Judeo-Christian." But, the seeming moral purpose of the voices and the changes in people's actions in positive ways seemingly across the board suggests a cause that is more religious than pseudo-scientific. This seems to be a premise flowing from more of an Alcoholics Anonymous/Freemasons/Boy Scouts/SpiritualNotReligious generic "higher power" that happens to have a lot in common with what is known in the sociology of religion world as Moralistic therapeutic deism, than it does with a true science fiction mystery.

The lack of realism in the legal details/government/media reaction doesn't bother me much. The whole show is more of a thought experiment about what would happen if you we gone for five and a half years, and about how you act differently if some higher power were guiding you and a bunch of other people to do good things, than it is hard science fiction. This show is really more of an allegory of returning to your life after addition/rehab, or a long period of isolation caring for a sick family member, or a traumatic combat tour in the military, or time in prison, than it is an attempt to realistically depict what would happen if something like this occurred. Realistic levels of "guinea pig"/science/media frenzy/scientific revolution would detract from that, although these people may ultimately end up leading a religious type movement that has wide effect by the end of the series with the "191 souls" serving as disciples of it by the time the show has run its course. 

The same interview also confirms this general concept, as show creator/executive producer/writer Jeff Rake explains:

Quote

"When you watch a prototypical episode of Manifest, you will find that about half of the episode plays like a relationship drama," Rake says. "They're grounded stories of what would happen to a marriage, or to a relationship between a father and a child if one of you had disappeared for five years and then come back out of nowhere into that relationship. And those stories will continue and twist and turn throughout the course of the series.

But, for now, the show is playing in stealth mode for a few episodes with only dog whistles of the end game, in an effort not to turn off early audience numbers with an overtly faith based series.

I suspect that I will not find the show very compelling once it shows its stripes a little bit more fully, in the way that I'm disappointed when a potentially promising rock song on an unfamiliar radio station turns out to be Christian rock instead the secular kind. And that disappointment comes in part because songs the preach usually end up being inferior artistically to songs that don't try to do so, not just an aversion to the content of the message. The same is true of TV series. But, I'm willing to give it a couple more episodes to allow it to redeem itself, and to prove me wrong.

Edited September 26, 2018 by ohwilleke

[Wishing Well]

Made it halfway through the pilot to the scene where Ben has a heart to heart with his daughter and hugs her...and holds her head with his hand.

Gonna go watch season 1 of OUAT again, possibly season 2/3.  I did my Daddy Charming and Emma fix.

might come back to this later.

[GaT]

I thought it was an interesting first episode, I'll watch a few more at least.

[SoMuchTV]

6 hours ago, reallyjustjen said:

There were “191 souls” aboard Flight 828, but a much smaller subgroup was gathered in the last scene as they watched the plane explode, whom the clunky voiceover tells us our main characters will get to know well.  Does this mean that this subgroup was comprised of those who specifically passed on taking the other flight and ended up on this one instead?   But then the captain of the plane was among them,

so maybe not?   

As far as I could see, the sister, the brother, and the boy-twin were the only ones from their flight who were voluntarily bumped for the vouchers (but the reception was a little sketchy on my recording so I missed a second or two here and there).  I don't think think there's any way the airline would have bumped dozens of people from overbooking on a flight.  But maybe they each had their own particular reason they were on that flight rather than somewhere else...?  It sounds like we'll get more backstory on them ("get to know well").

[plurie]

The voices remind me of WONDERFALLS where the main character has voices telling her to do things (but cryptically) and if she doesn't, the force behind them makes her life hell until she does. (But WONDERFALLS was a LOT better!)

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, reallyjustjen said:

There were “191 souls” aboard Flight 828, but a much smaller subgroup was gathered in the last scene as they watched the plane explode, whom the clunky voiceover tells us our main characters will get to know well.  Does this mean that this subgroup was comprised of those who specifically passed on taking the other flight and ended up on this one instead?   But then the captain of the plane was among them,

so maybe not?   

That's an interesting idea, and could be a way to whittle down the number of magical heroes in the show, but maybe the others just didn't heed the call of their disembodied voices, or got stuck in traffic, or the budget for extras ran out.

[biakbiak]

It was also a plane from Jamaica to NYC and they specifically mentioned people needing to get connecting flights so it won’t surprise me if we eventually find people in other places and the people who were called to the plane were those close enough to arrive once they heard the voices. 

[Haleth]

It was... ok.  Worth a second look and likely something I'll continue to watch.  It certainly didn't grab me the way Lost did in the first 5 minutes but we'll see.  As others have said, I have no interest in Michaela and her ex.  It does look as if Cal is going to be the key.  The plane blowing up did surprise me.

7 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

It was also a plane from Jamaica to NYC and they specifically mentioned people needing to get connecting flights so it won’t surprise me if we eventually find people in other places and the people who were called to the plane were those close enough to arrive once they heard the voices. 

Right.  Not everyone on the plane lives in NY/NJ and could get to the hanger in time to see it blow up.

My money is on multiple time lines.

[shapeshifter]

19 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

It was also a plane from Jamaica to NYC and they specifically mentioned people needing to get connecting flights so it won’t surprise me if we eventually find people in other places and the people who were called to the plane were those close enough to arrive once they heard the voices. 

That's a better reason than mine. Now I'm picturing 828ers from around the country/world making their way towards the plane but not getting there in time, and then turning around and going home after it blew up. If this show was going to have any comic relief, this would be a situation ripe for it. But I don't think they're doing comic relief, which is a reason for me not to stay tuned.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

That's a better reason than mine. Now I'm picturing 828ers from around the country/world making their way towards the plane but not getting there in time, and then turning around and going home after it blew up. If this show was going to have any comic relief, this would be a situation ripe for it. But I don't think they're doing comic relief, which is a reason for me not to stay tuned.

There was a dude who was focused on the plane asking for another drink and he wasn’t highlighted as one of the people who heard a voice to get there which makes me think it’s true.

[Lady Calypso]

Ben's son was also not at the plane when it exploded, but he was in bed and aware of what happened when his eyes popped open. So I assume everyone on the plane has the same ability, but most weren't living close enough to get to the plane to watch it explode. I also noted that all of the people there were adults, and I'm sure there were plenty of kids on the flight so they probably found it easier to not have everyone there. That would be a whole lot of extras and they can introduce them later.

I'll learn the names that aren't Michaela or Ben at some point.

[biakbiak]

25 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

 

Ben's son was also not at the plane when it exploded, but he was in bed and aware of what happened when his eyes popped open.

 

Also I don’t agree with the person above who thought the scene of them playing the game was only to illustrate he and his sister were getting back to a place. It seemed to me that everyone marveled at his “luck” and that he might have other abilities that don’t rely on voices. I think he has probably been “chosen” in a way that will trump everyone else’s powers.

Watching it I thought it was slightly interesting with two bland leads but discussing it here has made me much more invested than I thought.

[HazelEyes4325]

42 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'll learn the names that aren't Michaela or Ben at some point.

 

You're a few steps ahead of me.  I remembered "Michaela" only because of course she'd be named Michaela.  Angel figures are frequently named Michael (Michaela, Michelle, Mike, etc).  Until reading this thread, Ben was still "the brother" in my mind, along with ex-boyfriend, wife, sick kid, teenaged daughter, doctor lady, doctor guy, etc.  None of the characters stood out enough for me to actually remember their non-significant names.  Sigh.

[Anela]

3 hours ago, plurie said:

The voices remind me of WONDERFALLS where the main character has voices telling her to do things (but cryptically) and if she doesn't, the force behind them makes her life hell until she does. (But WONDERFALLS was a LOT better!)

I loved that show! And Dead Like Me. I like a lot of Bryan Fuller's shows.

In this show,  if it is about a supposed god, why would they blow the plane up? I loved Joan of Arcadia, too, but it drove me nuts that there was never a straight answer from "God". 

Edited September 26, 2018 by Anela

[sjohnson]

On the issue of public reaction to their not aging being underplayed? My guess is that a lot of people don't understand they haven't aged. The doctors reaction to Cody's case was entirely based on the ingrained assumption. They were even surprised he was still alive. Saanvi had to reiterate the point. To be very even-handed, looking pretty much the same would really only be remarkable in children.

[surreysmum]

The whole bible verse thing has made me Very Leery. I'm OK with head-voices directing a flawed main character to his/her Good Deed of the Week, as long as they keep a few plot twists in for interest, but one more step towards Christian-specific preaching and I'm definitely out.

It's probably back to The Good Doctor for me.

[Blindfox]

I have to admit, this show was kind of a surprise for me. I only know it from commercials. I was expecting more of a drama about people coming home after 5.5 years and trying to re-enter their lives. (Some other show did that... 4400? The Returned?) I was surprised at the voice-hearing twist. Weird, but okay. I admit I might not have watched if I had known that was coming. Still, I think it could be interesting and fun. My one concern is the NYPD cop who looks more like a model. Maybe I’ll buy her more after a few more episodes. So far, I’m not caring for her, and enjoy watching the other characters more. It was pretty awesome when she rescued those kids, though.

[snarktini]

I'm quite glad they haven't focused on what would happen IRL if people evidently traveled through time and reappeared after 5 years. I don't want to watch a show about the science/politics/detainments! Or even a world freakout, really. A bit more freakout would make sense, but I'm more interested in watching a story about the displaced people than the world reaction.

Then the voices showed up and now I'm not sure what we're getting. But I'll give it a go, with a wary eye.

The fact that only some of the passengers were there at the end doesn't bug me, or even require handwaving IMO. Why does every single one of them have to be affected? Maybe the force selected those that need help, or can help. They all went through the time shift, but perhaps not all of them are important.

[Haleth]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

There was a dude who was focused on the plane asking for another drink and he wasn’t highlighted as one of the people who heard a voice to get there which makes me think it’s true.

Wasn't he the guy sitting at the cafe and heard the voice?

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Wasn't he the guy sitting at the cafe and heard the voice?

That was the pilot.

[Haleth]

2 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

That was the pilot.

Ah, ok. Old white guys all look alike. ?

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Ah, ok. Old white guys all look alike. ?

Truth! He was wearing a suit jacket and seemed to be drinking coffee which was my main tell. I seriously hope they highlight more none white people because given the blandness of the performances of actors across the board I will also be confused!

Edited September 26, 2018 by biakbiak

[Jadzia]

I enjoyed the pilot overall but I thought they missed an opportunity for a character to ask who was President in 2018 and then not believe the answer, a la Back to the Future.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Jadzia
typo

[green]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

That was the pilot.

And I thought that was the cranky middle-aged passenger that was threatening to sue the airline after the turbulence ended.  So I guess middle-aged white guys do look alike then, heh.

Edited September 26, 2018 by green

[QuePasa]

Someone above referenced the use of the word “souls” as part of the religious undertone.  There is definitely a religious undertone to the show so far, but the use of the word “souls” is standard aviation language for the number of people on a plane.  So that part at least was not meant to be religious in nature.

[blixie]

This is show is hoky and dumb AF, but it's not like that isn't my catnip. My favorite thing is Cynical and bitchy Prince Charming shooting his narcissistic sister withering looks while telling her how clueless she is. Why is it JUST us, why are we SPECIAL?!

Also why can't the voice be that guy from the Dr. Pepper commercials, the faux Prince?

Edited September 26, 2018 by blixie

[AriAu]

Quote

 

I found it kind of bad.  The main characters are all dull and we get like no personality to anyone.  Plus there's so little chemistry between characters.  The show deciding to gloss over the transition of these people into regular society again is a real shame as that's something that can't really be fixed after this episode.  The voice over was also kind of bad (the main actress has such an emotionless delivery).  Plus all these love triangles are not something I'm looking forward to for upcoming episodes. 

What they should have done is have use spend time with the characters (or at least the main ones) before they boarded the flight.  The 2 min (at most and all through voice over) they gave us did a poor job of letting us get to know the characters.  How do I know how these characters have changed when we never got to know them.

 

I agree with all of this....other than "kind of bad" part. I enjoyed it enough to want to not delete it from the dvr schedule. However, I think all of the other comments above are correct and much could have been fixed if this was a 2 hour pilot (bad pun, I guess), where the first hour was the back stories and the 2nd hour was them getting off the plane and readjusting....and the special powers were shown with something less dramatic than finding the missing girls which could easily have been the next episode.

My other criticism is that it was incredibly heavy, which lead to the feeling that it may have had a deeper or religious overtone. it would have been fun to see them adjust to all the things that changed in 5 1/2 years-think of the tech ("wait, the phone does what?")and the sports ("wait, the Cubs won the world series" )and the politics ("wait, who is President?") and it could have been a lot lighter.

And I am shocked that the daughter did not tell dad that mom has a new love interest....had to be careful, maybe it is not a guy.

[eel2178]

16 hours ago, reallyjustjen said:

There were “191 souls” aboard Flight 828, but a much smaller subgroup was gathered in the last scene as they watched the plane explode, whom the clunky voiceover tells us our main characters will get to know well.  Does this mean that this subgroup was comprised of those who specifically passed on taking the other flight and ended up on this one instead?   But then the captain of the plane was among them,

so maybe not?   

Maybe some of them were only flying to NYC to catch a connecting flight, so they weren't in the area anymore.