'Manifest': Just like Grace, Jared too lost his hero status and went on to become the bad boy in fans' books
As much as 'Manifest' has seen a steady development in its mystery about the missing Montego Air Flight 828, the characters, on the other hand, have been pretty much stagnant. Whether it's Ben (Josh Dallas), Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh), or anyone else, the characters have mostly one shade. Perhaps a tactic used by creator Jeff Rake in order to keep the viewer's concentration stuck to the mystery. However, there are only two characters who have seen massive ups and downs in their lives, and those are Grace (Athena Karkanis) and Jared (J.R.Ramirez). Yet more than Grace it is Jared whose character actually went for a roller coaster ride on the show, and yes, we feel his pain.
A lot like Grace, Jared was left estranged when the plane suddenly disappeared with Michaela in it. He had already proposed to her for marriage and was awaiting her response, once she would return from her trip. However, when the plane went missing, Jared had no other option but to fall back on something, exactly like Grace did. He waited for quite a long time for Michaela to return, but finally, he was told by her mother that since there was no point in waiting for the return of a dead person, it would do him good to move on. Lourdes (Victoria Cartagena), Michaela's best friend who was already attracted to him approached him when he got his promotion as a detective.
Although still in doubt about Michaela's death, Jared succumbed to the situation and agreed to marry Lourdes. However, when the plane returned and he was told that Michaela was alive, his feelings for her reignited. Leaving Lourdes was not an option but for a moment, Jared pretended to be Michaela's partner in crime. He assisted her as she chased around following the "Callings", and although she refused to speak much about them, he did not show any reluctance in helping her. Throughout Jared behaved like a well-bred man, who understands the woman he loves and at the same time, would do anything to save his marriage. However, things for Jared changed considerably when 'Manifest' returned from its fall break, and he shared an intimate moment with Michaela.
While on one hand, he was vigorously trying to persuade Michaela into loving him back, he also spilled out the secret to Lourdes who asked him to leave immediately. To make matters worse for himself, Jared lost control of himself when he met Zeke (Matt Long). He soon developed a significant sense of envy towards him, and crossed every line to prove to Michaela that Zeke is actually a bad guy. We cannot blame Jared entirely because, just like Grace, he is confused about everything. While Grace was able to leave Danny (Daniel Sunjata) since she is after all married to Ben, Jared has been unable to do so as Lourdes is right now his lawfully wedded wife. He needs to do something soon because honestly all of this will hurt no one, but him.
