Manifest - Grounded

Discussing Ep. 2.2

What gets me about this particular season is how they all seem to have forgotten what happened last season. First, it was Jared who is sceptical of the callings. Now, it's Cal and Ben that are so quick to jump to conclusions without recalling what happened before.

While I could understand Ben's trusting nature and his belief in the innocence of TJ, I had to sort of agree with both Jared and Mick. You can't just assume that every 828er is some angel or saint that is receiving a calling is both genuine and innocent. Last season, they had TWO people who received callings that weren't quite innocent. One was that guy who drowned and was a career criminal. The second was a passenger on 828 who was an abusive husband and his wife was hiding from him. I was totally expecting the twist that TJ had, in fact, killed that girl and concocted this plan to throw everyone off his scent. Then again, that would have been TOO calculating on his part but nonetheless, Ben should have shown a little bit of caution. Then again, I suppose that's his character but throwing Mick's relationship with Zeke as being on par with his situation with TJ was not fair and I'm surprised Mick didn't bring up those two examples that I did. In the end, Ben's instincts were correct but they could have easily not been.

Then we have Cal and Olive. Again, I understand Cal's natural tendency to want to discuss his callings with Mick or Ben or even Grace at this point, but for him to completely dismiss Olive as a person with whom he could talk with is head scratching. She was instrumental last season with locating him and with helping Ben figure out his visions. So I don't understand why they are singling Olive out just because she's not getting callings like all the others. And I'm sceptical about her attending this new church and what they are going to teach her. Frankly, I'm sceptical about EVERYONE now!

I'm sceptical of this guy, Troy Davis. Wasn't he the one who referred Saanvi to The Major in the first place? He seems nice, if a bit too forward, and though I get his interest in Saanvi (who wouldn't be interested in her....she's hot!), he seemed a bit TOO interested. Though I could be wrong but I have a feeling he's somehow involved with The Major and is going to be leaking any info that he discovers by working with Saanvi straight to The Major. At the same time though, I could see him falling for Saanvi and his loyalties would start to come into question. It would sort of be like that mole from last season, where the 828er was working for The Major because her family was put at risk but she defected in the end. Perhaps it will be the same thing here.

Speaking of Saanvi and her work....

From what I could read here, it seems that Ben really is the father. I was positive that it would be Danny. And for all we know, it still could be. They never really confirmed one way or another. Ben's name isn't on this form, it only lists Paternal Subject A. I'm assuming that's Ben because why would they list Danny as Subject A and Ben as Subject B, right? If they somehow make it that Danny is the father instead of Ben, then nothing in this episode will have made sense.

As for Grace's calling, I want to know why it's in her own voice that she heard the calling. What does that even mean? Is it her future self talking to her? Is it her subconscious? Why would it be in her voice? I suppose it makes sense for her to not get the paternity test done in the hospital since those records would easily accessible by The Major, so perhaps that's why she got the calling to stop. But then again, who or what is warning her? And why would they not warn Saanvi to shut the hell up when talking to The Major?!? I kept yelling "Noooo....shut up, Saanvi!" when she was talking about the genetic sequencing and all of that in her therapy sessions. I'm glad that Vance is keeping track of things and it will be interesting if they put two and two together and are able to reveal The Major as Saanvi's therapist, or at the very least someone she cannot trust. My guess is, she'll blame Troy, which might also be fair game.

I'm sceptical of Det. Mikami. Sure, she's probably been at the precinct for a long time and maybe she's a good cop....but I'm still sceptical. Her background as a rich kid felt rather significant and so I'm not totally trusting of her. Still, her attitude seems to complement Mick's and she seems willing to look the other way when Mick does things that aren't 'by-the-book' and so she could be a good ally. And I have to say, I loved it when she was introducing herself to Mick and Jared interrupted and asked "Do you mind?", indicating that he'd like to talk to Mick. Mikami had no problem replying "Yeah, I actually do!" before they were both interrupted by the captain. So I like her attitude but I'm still not sold on her yet.

Speaking of the captain.

As much of an obstacle that she is going to be, I like her attitude as well. She's very no-nonsense but not in an annoying kind of way, if that makes any sense. She's just not someone who is going to put up with bullshit and so I could see her making things very, very difficult for Mick from now on. Having said that though, I could see her being a good ally too....IF she's able to be convinced of what Mick is telling her. Right now, she's nowhere near that but I could see Mick having a calling that has something to do with the captain that would turn her point of view around. We'll see.

I don't get Zeke. He's gone and fucked himself up real good by getting himself convicted. He's still getting the turbulent callings but now he's all doped up and he can't do a damn thing about it! He just goes and makes things all the more difficult for everyone. How in the world is Mick going to get him out of jail now? He pleaded guilty to all the charges so the judge isn't going to reverse any of them. And according to Cal, he's an integral part of the Mick's future. So now they have to find a way to get him out of jail. Idiot! I have a feeling that The Major may get him out if she finds out that he's not an 828er but is getting callings as well. Then, he's going to be in Major trouble!

HA! See what I did there? I'm funny!

A good episode. I'm glad that TJ turned out not to be a killer and that he was able to see the old photos of his mom. That was very touching. Also, I'm hoping we see more of this lovely lady, Suzanne. She's rather hot as well!

At the very least, she'll get a job for Ben, which is good. I'm curious as to how the Stone's are paying for any of their bills and groceries with Ben having been out of work for months now.

Then again, she might be working for The Major. I'm sceptical of her now too! 

Legacies - I Couldn't Have Done This Without You

Discussing Ep. 2.9

This was an entertaining episode and I am somewhat intrigued by the potential of a Dark Josie making her appearance.

Let's start with a bit of Ted talk. Well, less talk and more Ted. Was that his real name when he was a human? And how in the world did he get that job or that apartment when he no doubt he has no ID, no Social Security, no proof of his identity, no job record....nothing.

Magic!

Well, perhaps not quite since he didn't seem to have that either. I do wonder if we're going to get more history into the guy or was that it.....was all we ever learned of the famed Necromancer was that he was once a guy named Ted, if that was his real name, and that he didn't start out as a supernatural being, per se, but had to work his way into being the Necromancer, starting out as a fledgling warlock. I have to say, at first I was a bit disappointed that it turned out that those two druids in red walking around were actually Ted and Chad. But as the episode went along, I became fine with it because it was humorous to begin with and it seemed to make more sense. And maybe because I liked Chad.

I'm really hoping there's a happy ending for Chad in all of this because he has been a really good friend to Ted, aside from trying to kill him that one time. He believed in Ted and his absurd story.....he encouraged Ted to follow his dreams of becoming the Necromancer once again.....he picked Ted up when Ted had fallen and didn't even want to get himself back up again. And then his idea of pissing into Malivore was just fucking hilarious! It was the most immature thing a person could do and such a frat boy/guy thing to do at the same time. And what does he get for all of that? Ted kills him. There was a bit of a Thanos/Gamora thing there since Ted admitted that he needed to sacrifice someone he had grown fond of. So now Chad is relegated to being Ted's minion. And what is Ted's plan? He goes and re-opens Malivore (I didn't even know it had been closed.....was Clarke's death responsible for that?) and pulls out this thing.

Who is this guy? At first, I couldn't help but recall Meg Mucklebones from the movie Legend. This guy could be her husband or brother.

 
Judging from what Ted said, this guy is another Malivore resident who was promised peace and never found it. I liked that Chad had put it all together as to why Malivore returned Necromancer as a human, that Malivore rewarded him with peace by making him human and allowing him to relive his life in peace. I have to agree with Ted on this one.....if that was the reward, that reward sucked! Living a human life does not give anyone a sense of peace! Not in this world. And I think they showed a bit of that by having Ted work at that ice cream store. He was never going to be at peace, especially since he remembered his previous life as the Necromancer. So, I'm on Team Necromancer here.....fall to the dark side of the Force, by all means, and create chaos.

Speaking of the dark side....

That is a sexy look for Josie! I don't know if we are to take this as a premonition of things to come or if it's merely a warning. I kind of feel that Hope's line of Vincent (name drop) telling her about that hour glass thingy and it's properties was a bit contrived. I mean, when would he have told her that? And why would he have told her that unless they had encountered it before. That sounded really tacked on that Hope remembered talking to Vincent, of all people, about that specific artifact. Hey, maybe Vincent will make a cameo! One can only hope!

But now, that hour glass is doomed to shatter and all that negative energy will come out. Again, felt a bit contrived. Either way though, I'm glad that they haven't abandoned the Dark Josie storyline with the death of Clarke/Vardemus. I was also glad that Josie even asked the question: why her? Why was she chosen by Clarke? How powerful is she? And will she truly fall to the dark side? I do hope so, if only for a little bit.

On a side note, while I'm somewhat glad that Josie reconciled with Hope and Landon, it was a bit too easy. Now they're all friends again and they're all happy? Yeah, it doesn't really work like that. But fine, whatever. I suppose it's good that they didn't dwell too much on their individual misery and jealousy since they do have other characters and storylines to attend to, but that happy moment of Josie and Landon just talking and wanting to be friends again.....a bit too simplistic for me.

I don't know what to make of this storyline. Drowned Pirate always gives me that Damon vibe, but more British. If Damon were British and a pirate, he'd be Sebastian. I could see him being useful as a temptation for Lizzie but that's about all I see him being good for as far as an addition to the show. The fact that he has a history, that an entire chapter of a book was named after him.....Sebastian, The Merciless....makes him an obvious threat. But to what end? They have bigger fish to fry with Malivore and The Necromancer and Kai, in due time. If they're trying to pitch this idea that he wants to be good for the sake of Lizzie, that's just bullshit. Like I said, it's like Damon all over again, the bad boy vampire wanting to be good for the sake of a girl. No, we had enough of that on TVD, we don't need it again. Lizzie couldn't possibly be a big enough motivation for Sebastian to abandon his marauding vampire pirate ways!

I can appreciate the storyline of a villain wanting to be good again, and Drowned Pirate stopping MG from turning Ripper sure made it seem like he was sincere in his efforts to fit in. But unless he has a larger role to play this season, I don't get the point of him being there if only for that storyline. We already have characters there with nothing to do (Kaleb, MG, Hope). While I don't think that Alaric killed him, I do believe he has him locked up somewhere and is wanting to give him a second chance. Why Alaric will give him a chance? Well, maybe Drowned Pirate reminds him of Damon too!

And I have to say, I like this little nod that the CW did in reference to their big DC Crossovers that they're doing. I don't watch those other shows (though I should) but I do know what's going on and how they're referencing all these different DC properties on CW shows like Arrow and Supergirl, and so I had to laugh when Josie is reading this particular comic. Very good advertising. Also, props to MG for standing up for his beliefs, protesting Lizzie's assessment that the comic was a mere comic and instead was "a seminal work of fiction!" I have to say too, it's fucking brutal when the girl you like starts talking about banging another guy.....I'm really hoping MG finds love with Kaleb's sisters because he really needs to get his mind off of Lizzie!

Overall, a good episode and it sets up where Ted is going to take things to the next level and what his grand scheme is. And of course, we are counting down to the arrival of a beloved TVD Big Bad.

Evil - Room 320

Discussing Ep. 1.11

Damn, this was a freaky episode!

It was really difficult to distinguish what was real and what wasn't and left me with a whole bunch of questions and a bit of a disappointing revelation.

Nurse Plague! If her first name was Julie instead of Nancy, I'd have been very suspicious as to why they called her Plague! It was such a great build up because Harlan described her as Squeaky Shoes and I was totally expecting some old woman or someone far more intimidating looking. And to be fair, when Nancy would become annoyed with David's antics, she looked intimidating! But her demeanour totally betrayed her killings. I couldn't help but wonder if they took a page from a real serial killer here in Canada. Elizabeth Wettlaufer was a nurse who killed 8 seniors in nursing homes across Ontario, and to look at her, you'd never suspect she was a serial killer.

Her methods were somewhat similar to Nancy's, overdosing the patients with insulin instead of painkillers. But her crimes when unnoticed for a number of years. I don't know how long Nancy has been killing patients, black patients in particular. I'm hoping we're going to get more answers as to why she was killing black patients and what was real and what wasn't. Was Father Douglas real? What the hell were these things?

These were the creatures that took Harlan away. Were they nurses that David saw as monsters? Who was that priest that was with them? Was Harlan actually missing his legs or was that imagined by David? So many questions. And it didn't help that Grace showed up in David's visions, admitting that he was dreaming, although throwing yet another puzzle piece into it all.

What does Matt 13:25 have to do with the triangle that David saw?

"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."

I have no idea what that verse has to do with that triangle image. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I have to say though, I was nervous throughout David's time in that hospital. They really had Nancy give off that Misery feel to it, that it felt like she was really capable of doing anything. I was fully expecting her go all Annie Wilkes and whip out a sledgehammer and do some orthopaedic work on David!

In the meantime, we got a bit more of a backstory to David's crew, where we were introduced to Kristen's predecessor, Judy James.

I didn't know what to make of her. She seemed really young to be a psychologist and I'm somewhat intrigued by her spirituality, even going so far as to not answer the door on Friday's because she's exploring the universe! I'm curious to know if she will stick around and what role she will have to play, and if she feels any resentment at all towards Kristen for taking her spot. She did refer to Kristen as "the new me." And while she seemed friendly with Ben, they don't seem to have the same chemistry that Kristen and Ben do.

In their investigation to find David's attacker, they came across an old case involving Richard Ghana, who turned out to be the person behind Rose390. I have to say, I was majorly disappointed with this revelation. The idea that this crazy guy, who was doped up on a drug called Flaka, was the guy behind the Rose390 avatar and the game itself? That didn't make much sense at all and I was hoping for a more supernatural explanation....or at the very least, an explanation that tied in with The Sixty. And perhaps it still does but there is still a lot to explain. It never explained why, when Kristen's daughters played the game, they could still see a demonic entity in the real world.

They really made it seem like the game, just like that "hacker" that was able to hack into Ben's Alexa device, as well as Brenda, were all mysteries that didn't necessarily have a natural explanation to them. Are they going to go back and put a natural explanation to those other mysteries now too?

And yet, before they even answer those old questions, they throw out these new ones. Why did David dream of Grace? Was she giving him a true revelation or was it just his imagination? Why would that monster, who was the same ones that took Harlan away, attack her? Who is Father Douglas? And how in the hell does Matt 13:25 tie in with that triangle?

All questions that I hope are answered, and answered logically!

Manifest - Fasten Your Seatbelts

Discussing Ep. 2.1

I knew it! I fucking knew it!

We never saw Vance's body last season, and I pointed that out as a reason for him not being dead so I was sceptical. They did a good job of making everyone believe that he died but I still held out hope that he wasn't dead. And lo and behold, he isn't! They sort of gave it away when they showed that clip of last season of his 'funeral,' which gave a clue that he was going to have something to do this season.

It was somewhat difficult to remember everything that happened last season. And it seems like I wasn't the only one who couldn't remember.

I'm going to be all over the place with this review so I'll start with Jared and Mick. I was totally rooting for Jared last season. For all the weird shit that Mick put him through, for all the crazy callings and hunches that Mick put out there and Jared kept helping her out, even risking his own career to do so....for all of that I thought he was a stand up guy. He essentially dumped Lourdes for Mick, only for jealousy to get the better of him at the end by attacking Zeke and nearly getting Mick killed in the process. Now, the callings are back and Mick is out there once again, following the callings and Jared isn't buying it anymore? While I suppose I understand his unwillingness to help her out again after she seemingly avoided him after her stint in the hospital, I don't get how he could be so obtuse about it. Brushing off the disappearance of the Vasik couple as just an ordinary disappearance when Mick is getting callings about them? That was just all kinds of bullshit. I really would have thought that Jared would be A LOT more understanding regarding Mick and Ben and all these callings and visions and what not. Maybe his emotions are getting the better of him and I suppose that's in line with his character. But he better not revert to what he was last season where he becomes sceptical of everything. He's seen too much to go back to that.

The Grace and Ben storyline is seriously messed up! First, she confesses, rather awkwardly, that she suffered a miscarriage with Danny's child. Awkward! And then she wants to wait until this child is born to see if it's Danny's or Ben's! Not that necessarily I blame Grace for anything here (because she's doing the best she can), but this is a situation that I give much respect to Ben for putting up with. The idea that NOTHING changes if the baby turns out to be Danny's is just absurd. EVERYTHING will change. I don't see how Ben and Danny could co-exist with each other while trying to raise that child while at the same time Danny clearly still has feelings for Grace. When Ben kissed Grace's stomach, essentially kissing the baby, while it was a rather touching thing for him to do, I have a feeling that the baby will be Danny's and Ben will just not be able to deal with it, no matter how hard he tries. I could see Danny asking for custody of the baby and Grace fighting that with Ben caught in the middle. I mean, how could that even work. Danny would never allow Ben to raise his child and no matter how understanding Ben tries to be, I can't see him working through this. This is just not going to work out at all!

It's going to be interesting to see where the Zeke/Mick storyline goes. I don't know why but I don't really feel it between Zeke and Mick. This scene in particular....perhaps it was the long break in between seasons that cooled the chemistry between these two but I didn't feel much of anything in this particular scene. Certainly not like Mick and Zeke are like soulmates that are meant to be together. He clearly still has a part to play though he may be on borrowed time. I'm hoping what him and that guy who drowned have to do with the passengers of 828.

I am also curious to know why Mick alone is getting these weird visions, now by touch. She touched Zeke and Cal, and started getting this weird warp-like visions about the future. What is strange though is that, like Cal, she's more of an assistant now, helping those with visions and callings to get a better understanding of them. She seems to be getting more in-depth visions than Ben and the others are getting. Had she not touched Zeke, she wouldn't have gotten the vision of that bridge and helped that couple out. Was it because she nearly died that she now has this ability?

The Major kind of reminds me of Townsend from the Evil show on CBS. Like him, she's portraying a therapist with seriously malevolent ulterior motives. You could sort of tell that she was becoming somewhat frustrated with Saanvi's answers, though she was able to discern her feelings for Ben. I think it's a bit of a tease how they're keeping Baanvi alive here. As I said, with the chaos that will come with Grace having Danny's baby, I could see Baanvi materialising out of that chaos. Also, considering Cal's message of "save the passengers," will The Major have anything more up her sleeve in regards to kidnapping more passengers? Considering how well she was able to operate under Vance's nose, it's going to be intriguing to see this chess battle, of sorts, between these two as they both try and out-covert each other.

I'm also curious if this Bible verse will have any significance. They already threw out a Bible verse (Rom 8:28) and now this one. Was it only for this episode? They kind of threw away the previous Bible verse so I am curious to know if this and the other one will play any kind of role.

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Couple that with Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Is the second death meaning the passengers of 828? Do they all have a purpose to serve and then die out?

Can't wait to find out!