With a jam-packed debut that introduces new challenges and deftly sets up several narratives, Manifest season 3 is off to a flying start. No one was surprised when Manifest returned to the action right away in the season 3 premiere “Tailfin,” and to its credit, it didn’t spend a lot of time elaborating on changes made to the dynamics of the investigation into Flight 828, choosing instead to just show us. The action continues, and first episode in particular does a great job of setting up numerous fascinating tales, albeit continuing to rely a little too heavily on the narrative conveniences the callings bring.
Tension between Michaela and Jared increased significantly after a confrontation with Eagan, who along with another 828er suddenly found himself holding Vance’s son hostage. This was especially true once Jared learned that Saanvi was responsible for the Major/demise. Sarah’s mother’s Zeke evidently sensed lingering thoughts as Jared and Mick sparred on the street where Vance resides, and he then said to his wife, “We need to speak,” to which she shyly agreed.
Ben and Saanvi led a U.S. Coast Guard vessel into the ocean with the goal of returning the stolen tail fin to its rightful location while Vance attended to the aforementioned family crisis in the hopes that doing so would bring back Cal, who had mysteriously disappeared after insisting on touching the tail fin at Eureka. The captain felt uneasy as they sailed approaching a strong storm of black clouds, and with the consent of persons in places higher than Vance, he started to turn around. Ben jumped in to assist Saanvi as her tail fin almost pinned her to the ground. Saanvi had hurried onto the deck to free it when it fell into the water. They then encountered Cal aboard Flight 828 and asked about his whereabouts and how to get rid of whatever his dread was before they were both taken into a calling. But all Cal would say was, “This is the way it needs to be.” In the meantime, Michaela, who is in the same calling, discovered that the 828er who is attempting to harm them is Angelina!
Speaking of the devil, Angelina entered the Stone household undetected and took baby Eden, her “guardian angel,” to perform a spooky “baptism” ritual in the bathtub. What the audience learned is that when Grace was startled by her appearance, Angelina viciously killed Eden’s mother, leaving her for dead on the bedroom floor, and then fled with the child.Who would swarm to the side of a bleeding Grace? As the tail fin descended to the ocean below, Cal, who had previously inexplicably gone, appeared to have returned to his bedroom.
The Cal who held his dying mother, however, was suddenly 17 years old, the same age as twin sister Olive, and is now portrayed by Ty Doran (American Crime), as we witnessed in the season’s last moments! Grace commanded her “beautiful, lovely boy” to “take care of each other.” And youngster Cal reassured her, saying, “It’s OK,” but perhaps he should have also called 911 at the same moment. We now know what to do, thanks to me. However, there’s still more! Because Captain Daly emerges in the cockpit of the recovered jet as Dr. Gupta clocks out for the evening at Eureka in the last scene! He lets out a gasp, but as soon as he does, the entire plane disappears in a flash from the research facility.
The central theme of this series is the origin and ultimate meaning of the callings. There are numerous, smaller mysteries within that. There was a government plot in the first season that needed to be disclosed and unravelled. The central theme of this series is the origin and ultimate meaning of the callings. There are numerous, smaller mysteries within that. There was a government plot in the first season that needed to be disclosed and unravelled. The Season 3 finale of Manifest featured a number of surprises, both personal and supernatural, so many fans will undoubtedly be outraged if NBC does not pick up the show for at least one more season.
