Manifest Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Emergency Exit

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When Adrian warned Isaiah that there would be "another miracle," he didn't realize how far his believer would be willing to go to become a "returned" and prove the miracle of Flight 828 exists on Manifest Season 2 Episode 7.

Every "save the passengers" Calling has been building up to this moment, and by the end of the hour, everyone's lives were affected and changed as a result. 

Isaiah, who many of us believed was an X'er, turned out to be a devoted believer ready to die and transcend death to prove that what happened to Flight 828 was possible again.  

Challenging Her Trust - Manifest

In fact, he was so ready to prove it, he gathered all of the passengers and attempted to kill them all by blowing up the whole place.

It was dark, twisted, and a completely unexpected turn of events, but it also offered resolution to the Church of Believers storyline.

It was proof that the Church and its message were just as dangerous as Ben believed them to be.

What I found frustrating was the lack of clarity from the Callings. 

This is a Trap  - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

The way they manifested themselves made it seem like Ben and Mic were supposed to stop another flight from crashing, and yet, it turned out to be a warning about a party.

Is this possibly a clue as to what happened to the real passengers? Why do they keep seeing everything through the lens of a plane crash? 

The Callings would be much more useful if they actually gave detailed warnings with a place, a time, or heck, even the responsible party.

Ben spent too much time fighting Adrian instead of pursuing the true villain. Though, Adrian isn't without fault as his ideologies encouraged the events that led up to this catastrophe. 

It didn't take long for Ben and Mic to realize that something was way off about the party as they spotted all passengers in attendance, but it was too late as Isaiah's plans were already set in motion. 

Something Seems Off - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

What followed after was a scene of chaos as people scrambled to find an exit out of the club and out to safety.  

While Mic and Ben managed to save most of the people with the help of Zeke and Jared, there were a few casualties. Isaiah and TJ never made it out after the latter bravely sacrificed himself to save Olive from Isaiah's grasp.

Isaiah held a knife to Olive's throat hoping she'd keep Ben and TJ around long enough since passengers needed to be among the fallen. Olive suffered a great loss with TJ's death, which will likely force her to rethink everything she's believed in thus far.

She was so happy to believe in the miracle of Flight 828, but her beliefs put TJ and her family in harm's way. I can see her going to a very dark place as a result and blaming herself for everything. 

It was incredibly sad that, just moments before his death, TJ told Olive he finally "found something to live for."

Young Love - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

Many of us were suspicious of TJ's motivations and thought maybe he wasn't being fully honest, but, at least, this incident redeemed his character and proved that his only fault was wanting a family. 

Another casualty of the explosion seemed to be Finn as the camera panned to him laying unconscious in the building moments before it exploded. 

It could have been that they simply wanted to show us that Finn was in the same position as he was in the Calling, however, I found myself wondering about the significance of that scene.

Is it possible that they will all come back again since Isaiah died with two passengers? As messed up as his intentions were, maybe he was onto something?

I doubt so much emphasis would be placed on Finn if there wasn't more to the story. 

Working a Lead - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

While Ben and Mic were trying to help from the inside, Grace, Zeke, and Cal all shared a Calling that warned them about the attack. 

Again, the Calling didn't tell them where the party was happening, so it was up to them to figure it out using Olive's iPad. Seriously, these Callings need to step up their game. 

Whatever we're meant to save the passengers from, it's coming. It's violent.

Ben

Zeke helped Mic rescue Bethany, the flight attendant who was trapped under falling rubble. His strength was impressive in that scene, sure, but we need to talk about him lifting a flaming object with his bare hands.

The moment was incredibly odd until he got checked out by Saanvi at the hospital and learned his hands were covered in frostbite and not burns.

The death date is closing in on him, and symptoms have begun manifesting themselves. If Ben and Mic don't figure out a solution soon, Zeke will slowly freeze to death just like he did in that cave. 

Take a Leap of Faith  - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

Zeke's character is a little tricky to figure out because it's not immediately clear if he's trustworthy. 

When Mic confronted him about the pills hidden in his razor by placing a trap, he denied everything and seemed offended that she would question him.

But, as Zeke informed Mic, addicts lie, and it seems like he was lying to her as it was revealed that he knew where the razor was stashed and contemplated taking the pills moments before they got the Calling and he ran to rescue Mic.

Once he found out that he was on the cusp of death, he found himself professing his love to her and going all-in on their relationship.

On Friendly Terms - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

Zeke obviously loves Mic, but he hasn't been entirely honest with her about his addiction or now, his death date, and it's concerning. If he trusts her, why won't he let her in all the way in?

Then, we have Jared, who is also super suspicious as his motivations are murky -- is he working with or against the X'ers?

In my previous two reviews, I mentioned that I believed Jared was infiltrating the X'ers to bring them down from the inside, and I'm still leaning towards that because of how he jumped in to help Mic and the passengers when Grace called. 

He ran into a burning building and risked his life to help his ex-girlfriend. I doubt an X'er would ever do that. 

However, we cannot ignore the shady calls between him and Billy or how he went digging into Mic's files. 

Death Date Looms  - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

Where was he supposed to meet Billy? What did they have planned? And what is he trying to dig up on Mic?

I hope Mic realized that Jared was the mole when she learned he was snooping around. How will she handle it?

Despite having a hell of a night, Ben didn't stop looking for answers as he picked up the Al-Zura's journal that TJ dug up at Yale. When he opened it, he was floored by the image of TJ carrying Olive out of the flames. 

Was this attack on the passengers prophesized? If the "save the passengers" Callings started early on, they must have known what Isaiah was going to do, and thus, none of it was random. 

But what does that mean moving forward?

Why the Invite? - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

Are there more clues in the journal that predict the future?

While most of the passengers were at the nightclub, Saanvi reached out to her ex Alex to get help with the DNA anomaly. 

Now, I think because Saanvi brought up Alex while admitting to having a crush on Ben, we all assumed Alex was a male, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn she was an ex-girlfriend. 

The realization that she had skipped the flight to Jamaica because she was scared of leaving her husband, blowing up her family, and outing herself for nothing more than a fling made a lot more sense.

However, there seems to be genuine love and regret from both parties, and I don't think we've seen the last of Alex just yet. 

The Aftermath - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

When Saanvi collapsed to the ground after following Alex's advice, I thought maybe her ex tried to sabotage her, but thankfully, she helped Saanvi eliminate the anomaly and get rid of the Callings.

However, that might not be a good thing at all. Without the Callings, Saanvi was completely disconnected from everything that was happening. 

The Callings are essentially warnings about the threats being posed against the passengers. Without them, Saanvi has no idea what dangers are looming, and she no longer shares a connection to any of the other passengers.

She may have eliminated the anomaly, but that doesn't suddenly make her a non-passenger. 

There's a reason for the Callings, and I wish she spent more time trying to help Ben figure out their purpose instead of treating them like a burden. 

Looking for a Cure - Manifest Season 2 Episode 7

If you watch Manifest online, you know that if it wasn't for the Callings, Ben would have never connected with TJ, he would have never found the journal, they would have never saved Finn and his son, and they would have never saved the passengers.

Also, where has Vance been in all of this? The passengers became a target of an attack, and he was nowhere to be found. 

If you want more details about Manifest Season 2 Episode 7, check TV Fanatic tomorrow as I had the pleasure of interviewing Olli Haaskavi, the actor who brings Isaiah to life, to dig into the character's motivations, intentions, and more!

What did you think about the episode? Are you glad storylines are starting to fall into place?

Where do you think we go from here? Will Adrian shut down the Church after seeing what his teachings led to?

Emergency Exit Review

Editor Rating: 4.2 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.6 / 5.0 (15 Votes)

Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..

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