Manifest Season 4 Part 1 Review: The Lives of Passengers Are Increasingly In Danger, But Something Will Drastically Change
Cast: Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Parveen Kaur, Daryl Edwards
Creator: Jeff Rake
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
November 4th is the day that Flight 828 lands and it is also the day that the first part of the fourth season of Manifest Season 4 Part 1 lands on Netflix. These are the first ten episodes made by Warner Bros (the studio that makes the series) directly for the streaming platform that saved the series after the cancellation by NBC. The creator of the series Jeff Rake had envisioned his creation for development over six seasons but after the cancellation, he had to “settle” for a last fourth season of 20 episodes.
A miracle possible thanks to the success of Manifest, especially in the USA, on Netflix in second/third viewing, which confirmed that the drop in ratings of general American TV is not linked to the type of product broadcast but to the medium. And precisely for this reason, the series does not pervert in its passage on Netflix. An explicit request from the platform as explained by Rake in an interview with the deadline, with an episodic structure that, in terms of duration and “advertising blacks”, follows the generalist one.
Manifest Season 4 Part 1 Review: The Story
Defined as a story halfway between Lost and Back to the Future, Manifest tells the story of a group of 191 passengers who survived Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York. The flight number becomes a sort of mark that marks all the passengers who find themselves experiencing what in the same series is called “the impossible”. When they land in New York, only a few hours have passed for them, while for the rest of the world five and a half years have passed (since 2013, when they took off, they find themselves catapulted in 2018).
Everyone thinks they are dead. And the real life of society and their friends and relatives has completely changed (for example, Michaela, one of the protagonists played by Melissa Roxburgh, finds her boyfriend of the time married to her friend). But being confused and displaced by this time lag is the minimum. Why do they begin to be tormented by what are termed “called”: visions, sounds and sensations that come from a supernatural entity: a divinity that uses them to do good? Who knows, in the meantime all they can do is carry out the orders received. But without understanding its meaning. To unravel the mysteries, you need to understand what happened to Flight 828 and avoid the evil that haunts the passengers. Above all, the mysteries must be solved before the date set for their death (2024). A date that could mark the whole of humanity.
Manifest Season 4 Part 1 Review and Analysis
The fourth season of Manifest doesn’t just keep up with the pretty good level of previous seasons. The new episodes are even of a much better quality. Probably the credit goes to Netflix, which invested heavily in the series after its cancellation by NBC. As often happens, the streaming platform bought the series to prepare for a truly rich and compelling final season. First of all, compared to previous seasons, the plot develops more clearly: the public can follow the various steps and then make any hypotheses.
In each episode, we see the stories of the passengers of Flight 828 continue: in addition to Ben and Michaela, the episodes focus on one or two subplots at the most. There are also some flashbacks, useful for understanding the events included in the two years of the ellipses. In this case, the use of filters that opacify the images seems appropriate. They underline the temporal detachment and the nostalgic veil, always present in the season. In general, the photography of the series is particularly impactful, especially for the use of contrasting colours during the “calls”.
During the fourth season, the deepening of the protagonists continues. Ben and Michaela have always been two very interesting characters, but they are shown compellingly and believably in their new roles. Ben presents himself as a man who survived a tragedy, the loss of his wife and daughter. Josh Dallas interprets this situation in depth, and also benefited from the change of look that highlights his desperation. Grace (Athena Karkanis) doesn’t appear in the first half of season four – it’s not a negatively impacting absence. Her character was not particularly convincing, on the contrary, she is remembered poetically by Ben and his family.
Michaela, on the other hand, develops her spirit as a leader, only mentioned previously. But in addition to her duties as head of the lifeboat, the woman finds herself in a complicated sentimental situation. In one of her episodes, we see her celebrating her wedding anniversary with Zeke. The two appear as a close-knit couple: their story fascinates the public without appearing too sweet and surreal, but certainly mature. Meanwhile, Michaela realizes she still has feelings for Jared, the former policeman’s boyfriend. In the parts they share – often at the crime scene – the two characters show a particular harmony, with convincing interpretations by Melissa Roxburg and JR Ramirez. For the moment, these interesting dynamics haven’t gotten much space, but we’ll probably find out about the developments in the final part.
The plot of Manifest is characterized by numerous supernatural elements, such as the “calls” and the “date of death”. The main puzzle of the first part of the fourth season is undoubtedly the presence of Cal. At the end of the third season, the child played by Jack Messina has disappeared to return in a grown version, brought to the stage by Ty Dorian. The young actor offers a more mature interpretation of Cal. The boy is suddenly confronted with the challenges of adolescence, as well as with his responsibilities for the kidnapping of Eden … At the end of the first part of the fourth season, then an unexpected twist occurs. The change undergone by the character makes the series more dynamic and creates interesting interactions with the other protagonists, such as Olive. However, we find a small error in the representation of Cal. As a child, he has quite dark eyes, while as a boy he has blue eyes. This is a more than negligible oversight, but it would have been easily remedied.
During the fourth season of Manifest, passengers on Flight 828 continue to search for a possible solution to cancel their “date of death”. Olive, for example, is still looking for clues in mythology and ancient stories, and then another character will come to help her with an unexpected return. There are also some very accurate action scenes, capable of creating adrenaline and tension, thanks to the use of the cramped space. This type of scene corresponds to highly emotional, more introspective moments. It is no coincidence that Zeke has recently acquired the power of empathy… The series is coming to an end and is preparing to move fans: the tension increases and the challenges faced by the protagonists are becoming more and more oppressive.
Precisely because of the conclusion on the horizon, Manifest has accelerated the pace in the last episodes of the first part. If on the one hand the richness and excitement of the episodes keep the attention high, on the other hand, some developments need time to be credible. For example, the relationships between the various members of the Stone family evolve excessively suddenly. These kinds of changes need more breathing room and, in general, several details are likely to get lost in the rush to create a grand finale. In a plot characterized by tragedy, the irony is almost totally lacking. In most of the scenes, it doesn’t seem like a heavy absence, but in the long run, it would have been useful to vary the tones more.
From the beginning of the series, the Stone family has occupied the centre of the series. In addition to the various developments related to Cal, the first part of the fourth season shows new aspects of the relationships between the protagonists. For example, we see a lot of interaction between Zeke and her grandchildren, Olive and Cal. This choice offers us a more complete vision of the family unit, as well as more likely. For the first time since the beginning of the series, we see the Stones all living under one roof, as they seek a new balance despite the emptiness left by Grace. The family gives rise to numerous moving scenes: the tenth episode in this sense amazes the fans with a very strong emotional charge, with deep dialogues. This affirms the choral soul of the series.
Robert Zemeckis confirms himself as a brilliant and varied creative mind with Manifest, a series that could establish itself as the new Lost. Even if some passages – for example, those relating to the kidnapping of Eden – are sometimes barely predictable, the plot is well articulated and capable of capturing the attention of the spectators. The forty episodes of episodes go by really fast. Even one of the main antagonists, that is Angelina Meyer, contributes to creating a lively atmosphere, always on the razor’s edge. The essential interpretation of the actress (Holly Taylor) manages to make her skin crawl with a single glance, transmitting anxiety.
Manifest Season 4 Part 1 Review: The Last Words
Manifest Season 4 Part 1 surprises audiences with a moving and detailed storyline. Netflix prepares the perfect foundation to end the series in style. With a few fairly insignificant shortcomings, Manifest develops complete and deep characters, such as Michaela and Ben. The personal stories of the protagonists are effectively intertwined with the supernatural events characteristic of the series. Meanwhile, Micaela decides to follow her instinct and finds herself at the port among the containers, and one in particular inside which she finds an oriental man with one arm where he wrote on the skin, in blood, stone 828: which seems to be an 828 passenger who died two years earlier, and who has a package for Cal containing a secret of calls through a deeply emotional, engaging and unsettling journey.
