Manifest Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Return Trip
Lizzy Buczak
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When Michaela uttered "what the hell is happening" at the end of Manifest Season 2 Episode 6, I've never related to anything more in my life.
It's comforting to know that the characters are just as lost and confused as the majority of the audience.
The Callings have made it clear that they want Ben, Mic, Saanvi, and Zeke to "save the passengers," but these scenarios have taken us away from the core mystery and they've become a bit muddled.
Ben and Saanvi shared a Calling (Yay! the dynamic duo is back!), which showed a young, scared boy on Flight 828 and led them to a man named Finn, an 828 passenger who found out he had a five-year-old child as a result of a one-night stand with a woman in Jamaica.
You're probably thinking, "So now the Calling is here to reunite long lost families?" It's a valid question, and the answer is yes, sort of, but also, not really.
The immediate result is that Finn, Ben, and Saanvi saved Theo from liver disease, but it could be a temporary solution as Saanvi assumed that it's possible they only extended his life as the death date anomaly may be transferrable and thus, could kill Theo in five years. More on that later.
It also led to another joint Calling as Mic, Ben, Saanvi, and Adrian (no one saw him there) found themselves standing in the middle of a plane crash.
At first, it seemed like the wreck was from Flight 828, but as they looked closer, they realized they didn't recognize the passengers and figured it was a brand new flight.
The only passenger on board that looked familiar was Finn, and since he was holding the rock that his son showed him in this episode, it's safe to assume that the wrecked flight is a glimpse into the future.
In my review of Manifest Season 2 Episode 4, I said my off-the-wall theory was that they're supposed to save passengers from a future crash, and that seems to be the case here.
The title of the episode is "Return Flight," so could this be a flight coming home from somewhere? We've now successfully completed a full-circle back to Mic's question: what the hell is happening?
Adrian's inclusion in the Calling was surprising and sparked a new theory that maybe he's responsible for the crash.
He wasn't inside the plane with Ben, Saanvi, and Mic, but rather, on the outside. It could be alluding to the fact that he's an "outsider," but maybe it's teasing that there's more to his story than we know.
Shortly before the Calling, he told Isaiah that "another miracle was coming" and seemed confident in that as if he knew more than he was letting on.
The Callings have become frustrating because they don't have a clear directive that allows the passengers to act on them properly. Many times, they're two-parters, like in the instance of Finn and his son, making it hard to keep track.
Mic: I have a feeling...
Chief Bowers: Do I strike you as someone who is interested in your feelings? Stop pointing fingers and go catch a bad guy. Goodbye.
Even Grace's "open her eyes" Calling about Erika is still lingering without any resolution after two episodes.
Saanvi returned after her episode-long hiatus and wasted no time jumping into the action.
We should all be worried about her because she's taking the "save the passengers" Calling to the extreme by experimenting on herself after losing all of her research to The Major and her goons.
Saanvi is aware of the risks that come with being her own guinea pig but doesn't care because she's so determined to get answers.
Her decision is incredibly dangerous because Ben is right, how is she supposed to help anyone if she kills herself in the process?
We need her around if her assumption that the death date anomaly is transferrable through the liver transplant and by birth.
Saanvi's absence from the previous episode was explained as her "hiding out" from The Major, but now she's back and walking around without a care in the world. Does The Major no longer pose a threat?
What's The Major doing with all that research? And what about Vance? Is he still in hiding?
The introduction of Zeke's wife didn't have much of an impact on the storyline other than causing some drama between Mic and Zeke.
Courtney turned out to be his "fake wife" as they never made things legally binding. She came, caused a disturbance in Zeke's life, and walked right out without uttering a word after he almost relapsed while trying to pay off her debt.
Is it possible Courtney is working with the X'ers? Did she purposefully want to sabotage Zeke's relationship and put doubts in Mic's mind?
You're right, I do know Michaela Stone. And yeah, we were gonna get married. But then she went to Jamaica. I swear to god she died on that plane because 5-and-a-half years later, whoever came back, hell whatever came back, see that wasn't her. See, this person destroyed my marriage and then she threw me under the bus in open court to protect some drug addict she barely knows, which destroyed everything that I have worked for. Yeah, Billy, you want to know why I'm here? It's because Michaela Stone destroyed my life. My entire life.
Jared
If Cal is right about Mic and Zeke being the key to saving everyone, it's dangerous if they suddenly turn on each other or stop trusting each other.
Courtney told Mic that Zeke was never fully able to commit to his sobriety and sure enough when Mic checked his razor, she found a stash of pills.
While Mic assumed the worst, I'm going with Courtney put those pills there to sabotage the relationship.
It could also be an oversight on Zeke's part or it could be a red flag that we shouldn't trust him. Are you on team trust Zeke or team don't trust Zeke?
The scene with Zeke and Mic trying to bust Luke was suspenseful and had me worried about both of them for a moment. Thankfully, Mic knew how to get out of the situation, but it's a situation they shouldn't have been in the first place.
Also, did Mic really think no one would recognize her? She's a passenger and a cop. It's almost as silly as putting Oprah undercover. Her mug is recognizable now.
Olive: Does this mean it's happened before?
TJ: I don't know.
Olive and TJ committed to finding out more about the tarot card with the peacock on it and learned that it belonged to the Al-Zuraz deck. Legend has it the man disappeared and resurfaced ten years later only to hear God's voice.
TJ assumed that proved the death-date Callings true, Olive chose to look on the bright side and believed that maybe the man lived past the death date, and Ben was just happy that he could base his research off of something new.
However, the momentum of new information was lost and swapped for a romantic moment between Olive and TJ, which is fine, I get it, teen hormones are a thing, but can we maybe get some answers first?
I'm also not entirely sure I trust TJ just yet. He could be a teen who found comfort in having a family around again or he could be working with Erika, Simon, the X'ers, The Major, the list goes on and on.
Also, how does their age difference work? Is he five years older than he was on the plane? Or is he the same age as he was at the airport in Jamaica, and thus, Olive caught up to him, and their pairing isn't creepy anymore?
The series is trying its best to convince us that Jared has become one of them now and turned his back on Mic.
Billy: I've done a little digging.
Jared: What are you talking about?
Billy: Turns out, you were engaged to an 828'er
They even gave him a menacing buzz cut to make him look the part, but I'm not fooled.There's no way Jared believes the rhetoric that this hate group is spewing against Mic and her family. He may not be on the best terms with her, but he still cares about her. They share a history.
At the very least, he cares about her family and wouldn't betray them like that. Everything he said to Billy to "convince" him that he hated 828'ers was true, but it purposefully absolved him of any wrongdoing that led to these situations and outcomes.
Jared painted a convincing picture of a man scorned by his old love who returned "different" to get in with the 828er's, but in reality, he's protecting her.
I'd argue that he's well aware that his choices destroyed his own life and messed up his marriage in the process. Yeah, throwing him under the bus in court was a low blow on Mic's part, but Jared gave her no other option and acted like a jerk the whole time.
The biggest indication that he's playing a part to take the X'ers down for his girl is that he seemed surprised that Billy believed him.
He's playing with fire here, and I hope for everyone's sake that he doesn't get burned.
Do you think he's working this case with Captain Bowers' permission? Or do you think Bowers is working for The Major? Or is she an X'er?
Isaiah appeared briefly and wasn't pleased that Adrian sent Olive away because his whole game plan was to get close to her.
Without Olive, how is he going to enact the X'er's plans?
The Isaiah reveal was such a shocking moment on Manifest Season 2 Episode 5, and I wish they tapped into it more here. I know it's coming eventually, but it's frustrating when one storyline gets pushed to the back burner for other ones that aren't as compelling.
And then we have Grace, whose plan to pass off their unborn baby girl as Danny's daughter was inspired by Orlena and honestly, it was not the worst idea in the world.
A "miracle" baby is going to attract so much unwanted attention.
One publication already got wind of it, so it's only a matter of time before it leaks mainstream.
If they were to take the interview, they would be able to control the narrative and protect their baby girl.
Ben was flabbergasted at the suggestion, and from his perspective, it makes sense. His wife wanted to tell people her ex-lover was their baby's father. But he has to realize this is a unique situation, and the fib will be a small price to pay for the baby's safety and wellbeing.
Just think of the burden the child will carry from both fans and haters of Flight 828 if she grows up known as the miracle baby.
Ben might have to swallow his pride on this one. And it allows Danny to be a part of the cast again, which gives us the best of both worlds.
If you watch Manifest online, you might have found yourself wondering "where is Cal?" He seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth despite being so connected to Zeke and Mic's Callings.
He's supposed to be the "Holy Grail," and yet he's no longer critical to the storyline as has been pushed off to the side along with The Major.
Let's hope there's a good reason for all of this!
What did you think of the episode? Leave your comments in the post below!
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
