Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 13
Duration: 40 min (per episode)
Manifest: Season 2 (DVD) – Series Review
The passengers of Flight 828 are trying to adjust back to their normal lives, even though they have come back after being missing for five years, not having aged a single day. Some treat them like a sign of something bigger, a miracle of sorts, while others see them as an abomination that should be removed from this world. Nonetheless, these prejudices aside, the passengers also suffer from strange visions which they call ‘callings’, where a certain event is always shown in a cryptic fashion. These callings, if interpreted correctly, may save many people’s lives.
The story of the second season is actually quite simple. The main characters have all learned about the ‘death date’, which is basically the day they will die. Saanvi (Pareen Kaur) is desperately looking for a cure that might prevent them from dying horrible deaths. Ben (Josh Dallas), however, is investigating the weird visions the passengers have been having and is also trying to pick up his old life with his family. Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) is caught between a crossfire of a new love interest, as well as her old one. Overall, the story will envelop the callings, the prevention of the death dates, and the passengers trying to live normal happy lives.
Truth be told, the flow actually feels fairly right for a series such as this. Even with the overfocus on interpersonal relationships amongst the passengers of Flight 828, the main story does progress at a nice and steady pace. There is not too much filler content, and outside of an episode or two, the show does get to the point fairly quickly. The choice to have only thirteen episodes for a season does work well for a series such as this.
Truth be told, the quality of the acting performances in Manifest is subpar. Does this mean the overall experience is bad? Not at all. We do feel like these cast members are sometimes more suited for generic soap operas, but it also adds a certain mundane feeling to the series. Because of the somewhat low-quality experiences, things sometimes actually feel a bit more enticing to watch. It’s a bit odd to describe, but it sometimes makes it more realistic that the characters are also struggling with whatever is going on around them. In a way, the cast helps to make the series unconvincingly convincing.
A DVD copy of the second season of Manifest sadly comes with no special features at all. While we understand there is not that much to show in terms of ‘making of’ content, it would have still been nice to hear the cast’s opinion on certain matters, or just some deleted scenes, commentaries, or even a gag reel. We do believe that adding some additional content to a physical copy always adds some extra value, motivating collectors to buy editions such as this. We would have loved to have a bit more meat on the bones of this release.
Conclusion
Manifest: Season 2 is quite entertaining when looking at the overall concept and story value, but it is often held back by the cheesy acting performances and its very high drama level. We feel like the bigger plot is overshadowed by the soap opera elements, making it hard for the interesting story content to shine. Nonetheless, underneath a thick layer of B-quality acting, you’ll find a fairly captivating series. Fans of season one will certainly find a fun experience here, and even those on the fence should perhaps consider looking into this one.
Manifest: Season 2 (DVD) - Series Review,
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