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Manifest: Turbulence

"For there is nothing hidden that will not be exposed, nothing concealed that will not be illuminated.  What have you concealed, Michaela, even from yourself?"

In "Turbulence," we learn a little more about the past lives of our characters, Kelly's murder is solved, and new crop of mysteries sprouts up.

Keep your seatbelt fastened, because this episode lives up to its title.

After a whirlwind fifteen minutes of fame spouting conspiracy theories on television, Flight 828 passenger Kelly Taylor is dead, shot at close range while watching herself on TV.  It turns out that Kelly was answering a calling of her own, to "own my truth," a phrase she managed to slip into every interview.  Michaela finds the same phrase running through her head.  It leads her and Ben to conduct their own, quite unofficial probe into Kelly's death.

This leads them to encounter "the followers," a group of people holding a candlelight vigil outside Kelly's home.  One of the "followers," Isaiah, is arrested as a suspect in the murder.  Michaela goes to interview him in his jail cell, and he already knows her name before she introduces herself.  Isaiah identifies her as one of "the chosen" and asks some armor-piercing questions.

It also leads Michaela to visit the parents of Evie, the friend who died in the accident.  Evie's mother Beverly has dementia, doesn't remember the accident, and thinks her daughter is still alive.

It turns out that the government didn't kill Kelly, nor did the followers.  The Taylors' maid developed a relationship with Kelly's husband over the last five years, and resented Kelly's return.  "She was supposed to be dead."  Michaela ends up unintentionally cracking the case, a coincidence that Jared is pretty sure isn't a coincidence.

Meanwhile, Saanvi discovers a protein in Cal's blood, and in her own, that is consistent with having a stroke, as though they'd been to the brink of death and bounced back.  She'd like to get a sample of brain tissue from Kelly to confirm it, but Kelly's body is not in the morgue.  The government has her.

"828" Watch

8:28 is briefly visible on a digital clock during the chase sequence in the shopping mall.  Fans of Person of Interest will recognize the mall as the location of a running gun battle in the fifth-season episode "SNAFU."

Also on the manifest...

There's a beautifully directed, beautifully acted scene where Olive and Cal are talking through the awkwardness in their relationship while playing Cat's Cradle.  "Twins rule," indeed.

Some of that awkwardness comes from the fact that one of Cal's best friends is now Olive's boyfriend.  Olive sneaks out of the house at night to see him, and when Cal catches her in the act, she swears him to secrecy.  Those of you with siblings can easily guess how that turns out.

We now have a name for Grace's USO (Unidentified Significant Other): Danny.

According to his resume, Ben has a PhD in applied mathematics.

Director Vance tries to recruit Jared to spy on Michaela.  Jared, to his credit, refuses to do so.

We're also shown some flashbacks of the night of the accident: Evie was seriously drunk and insisting on driving herself home.  Michaela, though a bit tipsy herself, took the keys from Evie.

Michaela's PTSD manifests itself in a panic attack when she tries to drive a car.

Grace's pet name for Cal is "Calimander."

Quotes

Kelly, in a flashback: "I'll never fly Montego again.  I'd rather die."  Be careful what you wish for.

Jared, to Michaela: "Don't waste your miracle on your pain.  You deserve better."

The first sentence of the quote at the top of this review, from Isaiah's scene in the jail, is either a direct quote or a paraphrase (depending on what translation you're reading) of one sentence from the parable of the light under a basket, found in Mark 4:22, Matthew 10:26, or Luke 8:17, take your pick.

Three out of four jealous housemaids.

Baby M does not have a degree in theology

3 comments:

  1. Perfect timing! You put up your review right after I watched the episode. :)

    What I liked about this one was that intriguing protein marker that the doc found in both Cal and herself. Sounds an awful lot like suspended animation, and that might mean aliens, after all. Even though the way the NSA covered up Kelly's death also suggests government conspiracy.

    It's interesting that the important relationships in this series seem to be between brothers and sisters. Michaela and Ben, Olive and Cal. That's different. Except on Supernatural.

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  2. As much as the Big Spooky Mystery interests me, I'm really enjoying how much we're getting of the very human aspect to an event like this and the possible consequences of people being displaced from the normal flow of their lives. The characterizations have been very well done so far, the characters' actions feel appropriate to the situations, making them both relatable and likable.

    I'm very curious what the protein marker will end up being. Were they all pulled back from the brink of death or beyond by some mysterious force? Billie, suspended animation is an intriguing idea, though it brings up the question of how the flight didn't seem to be interrupted.

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  3. "Don't waste your miracle on your pain." I loved this line and kept hitting the back 10 seconds button to listen to it.

    The best part of this show for me so far is the two timelines. 5.5 years vs. 4 days is interesting to watch. For some, they grieved and moved on. For others, they were just there yesterday. The human aspects of all this is intriguing as hell.

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