Manifest – Season 3 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Deadspin

Episode 2 of Manifest Season 3 begins with new girl Angelica experiencing a Calling, this time involving a menacing winged creature. As we soon come to find out, this is actually the archangel.

Downstairs, Ben is determined to find Vance and bring him back. However, that hits a massive snag when the Director from the Pentagon arrives, asking to talk, They sit him down and question Ben over who he’s working with. Grace eventually interjects, asking if they need to get a lawyer. This is enough for the suited men and women to leave.

Meanwhile, Michaela returns to work where she congratulates Jared on his promotion. Only, this is short-lived when she’s called into the Director’s office. Catherine gives her an ultimatum – follow her rules or leave completely. Well, Michaela agrees to play ball, eventually leading her to ask whether she can reopen the case in Jace and the gang or not.

As she checks footage from the lake, she notices all three of the men walking out unscathed and unharmed. When word gets back to Ben and Grace, they believe Cal’s life may be in danger, and decide to try and keep their son safe. Olive confronts the family and explains that Angelica is having a Calling and she wants to help her. This choice though essentially splits the family in half.

Grace and Cal show up at her brother Tarik’s place, but he’s not exactly happy to see his sister. Eventually though he warms up and starts playing basketball with Cal.

Olive goes hunting for the truth with Angelica. Eventually, this leads the pair to a church where they look up at the stained glass windows. There, they notice the faceless archangel. Based on this, Angelica and Olive believe the Calling is leading them there. Well, before they press on, they head out for a slushie. Only, Angelica drops an old photo on the ground when she leaves.

Michaela heads down to the lake and finds a bloodied woman on the ground. She claims the three men grabbed her and took off with an RV. Well, Michaela goes hunting and eventually finds the trio of meth-heads out on the road. Unfortunately Jace throw a gas canister at them, prompting her and Drea to swerve the car. The canister explodes on impact and stops the chase.

After a brief visit with Saanvi, Ben breaks the news to Vance’s wife about the capture. He’s determined to bring him back though, as she shows the wedding rings they both have. The words engraved within read: “love will set you free” – which we’ve heard before. Well, this brings him to Robert Vance’s grave.

Meanwhile, trouble brews with the RV gang. One of the men finds that picture of Angelica on the ground and strange whispers telling him to “Go to her.” Entranced, he stands on the spot as Michaela shows up with the cops. It’s soon revealed that the kid in the photo behind Angelica is this man. The trio of meth-heads has been reduced to a duo, as this man is taken off to prison.

That evening, news of the Flight 828 tailfin breaks. While it does, Ben finds his hand glowing – along with a handprint on the tail of the plane too.

The Episode Review

Manifest’s mystery box continues to widen as we’re left with more clues and lots to unravel going forward. The show is nowhere close to actually explaining away its plot points, but it does seem like religion is playing a big part in this.

There has been a lot of religious symbolism throughout the three seasons so far, from the three wise men, Abraham and now the archangel too. It’s also interesting to note that peacocks are a recurring theme and certainly not showing up by accident.

On top of that, Manifest continues to add in its character melodrama, with the attention this time turning to Grace and her brother Tarik. This soapy drama is obviously synonymous with Manifest but the mystery is sidelined somewhat for more character drama.

It’s still early in the season but already you can see the show is turning away from its sci-fi opener back into more familiar and predictable soapy drama – especially if next week’s preview is anything to go by.