Manifest Character Review: Olive Stone

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Manifest. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

Being a teenager is hard enough. Add in the mysterious disappearance and then reappearance of family members only creates more stress and tension. On Manifest, Olive Stone (Luna Blaise) was living a completely normal life up until the age of eleven. Then her family returned from vacation and everything changed. Her father Ben (Josh Dallas), twin brother Cal (Jack Messina), and aunt Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) were apparently killed in a plane accident after the family took separate flights home. Five and a half years later, they have not only survived but have not aged a day.

During that five and a half years, Olive got used to being raised alone by her mother, Grace (Athena Karkanis). She also gets used to the idea that Grace has a new boyfriend, Danny (Daniel Sunjata). Then her father, brother, and aunt come back to the family fold, and everything changes.

Initially, Olive is happy to help her father and aunt figure out what happened to them. But then she becomes angry when her mother gets pregnant again and she is the only one who does not receive callings. Her anger soon subsides when she begins to accept her family for who they are. Olive also starts to date TJ Morrison (Garrett Wareing), another survivor of the flight.

To sum it up: In a sense, Olive Stone is your average teenage girl, with the ups and downs that come with that stage of life. But, in another sense, due to the uniqueness of her familial experience, she is not your average teenage girl. She may not have completely understood or accepted her circumstances, but in the end, Olive knows who loves and accepts her.

Which is why she is a memorable character.

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Manifest Character Review: Grace Stone

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Manifest. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

When tragedy strikes, we have two choices. We can either let it hold us back or find a way to move on. On Manifest, Grace Stone (Athena Karkanis) went through what no one should go through: the early loss of family. After returning home from vacation, Grace was told that her husband Ben (Josh Dallas), son Cal (Jack Messina), and sister-in-law Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) were on a plane that went messing.

For five and a half years, Grace raised her daughter Olive (Luna Blaise) as a single mother. Doing the best she could to move on, she started seeing Danny (Daniel Sunjata). Then she heard the news that the plane had landed, everyone aboard was safe and alive. But the happy news of the reunification only complicated things.

Torn between the new life she had been building and the life she had before the flight, Grace has to make a choice. That choice leads her back to Ben, a new baby, and another chance for happiness.

To sum it up: No one goes through life without experiencing a few potholes The question is how we react to those potholes. After grieving, she responds with strength and grit, allowing her and the audience to find some sort of inner peace.

Which is why she is a memorable character.