Where do we draw the line between faith vs science? Manifest, a new American drama series was brought to NBC by Jeff Rake. It premiered Sept. 24, questioning everything thought to be true.

The series begins with the premise of Michaela Stone and her family returning to New York from a trip in Jamaica. Her brother, Ben, has a son suffering from leukemia and is in need of new treatment. When their flight is oversold, they are granted a later flight and paid $400.

Michaela quickly takes this offer in wanting to escape her problems — whether to accept her boyfriend’s proposal. Ben convinced his wife to take this later flight so they could use the money for Cal’s treatment. Michaela, Ben and Cal boarded this plane along with 106 other passengers who did not realize that their lives were to be changed forever.

Their flight, Montego Air Flight 828 left Jamaica on April 3, 2013 and finally landed after a bumpy flight, in which they believed to have only been a few hours, on November 3, 2018. They have been presumed dead for over five years. No one could explain what had happened to that plane while in the sky. None of the passengers has aged at all; however, the world aged five years. Life has changed in an unexpected way.

This intrigued me into watching further into this series as to investigate what happened. Rake’s plot is one that many viewers have not seen, and it pulls the viewer further into the story. It brings in the supernatural while still alluding to the reality and faith of the characters.

All the passengers try to adapt to this new life they to which they are introduced. After only a few days of returning to New York, Michaela hears voices in her head and Ben worries she has gone insane. Once Ben hears the same voices in his head, he and Michaela realize that they have been chosen, but they are not the only ones. This raises many questions. Who is behind this? Could it be aliens or are there different dimensions?

Melissa Roxburgh, who plays Michaela Stone, strongly displays the emotion of her character through her great acting. Along with the other characters, their physical emotion helps convey the mystery and drama that the story plot contains. Although some might compare the story of the show to another series, Lost, Rake brings in his own twist to the big screen and there are differences between the two shows. Manifest explores this big mystery as to what happened during the flight.

The special effects bring the action to life on the screens. For example, when the plane begins to shake in the sky, everything in the overhead department begins to fly out and the flight attendant is thrown across. Moreover, the plane explodes into a million pieces right in front of the passengers’ eyes. These effects help the action look much more realistic in the eyes of the audience.

Problems continue to rise as passengers are “called” to do certain tasks. The story continues as they are all put in danger as the national security continues to investigate further into the mystery of Montego Flight 828. More interesting things are to be seen as the series continues.