'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Jared and Adrian go from bad to good, but what's the mystery of shadows?
Spoilers for 'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 10 'Course Deviation'
Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention. But can anyone really judge what a man's real intentions could be? 'Manifest' embarks on that path with a bittersweet twist in the love triangle of Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh), Jared Vasquez (J. R. Ramirez) and Zeke Landon (Matt Long).
What's more, Adrian (Jared Grimes) makes a new impact on Ben Stone (Josh Dallas) and Grace Stone (Athena Karkanis) and it will fill your heart with warmth. Keep a box of tissues handy as the supernatural drama steals the show with more mystery.
The shocking cliffhanger last week left Michaela behind the bars. As the episode begins, Zeke comes to meet her and blames Jared. "His actions say he is a X'er. Why do you still trust this guy?" he asks and Michaela replies, "There is something else going on. He said he is saving my life." Jared interrupts their brief moments of holding hands and when Michaela asks him to talk to her, he tells her again: "Keep your mouth shut." Michaela is confused.
Jared: The good guy or the bad guy?
As the drama intensifies, Michaela gets out of the prison but Jared warns her again, "Look, this isn't over," and hands her a piece of paper with the note, "Our place." She goes to the park and heartwarming memories of how Jared went down on his knees and proposed to her right at that spot come back to her mind.
In the present day, Jared hops over to see Michaela and tells her he clicked with a bartender when she was gone. When he found out she had a connection with the X'ers, he gained their trust to go undercover. "The bartender, is she one of them?" Michaela asks and Jared replies 'I do'. Is Jared putting on a front or is he really developing feelings for the girl?
Michaela and Jared team up to arrest the X'ers. In a discussion with their senior, they find out Simon White (Maury Ginsberg) is at the top of the X'er chain and he has convinced himself that all 828 passengers are aliens. What's more, he also has access to Ben's research. In all of this, it is Ramirez's performance that really makes an impact and fills hearts with awe. The various shades of his character on display add quite a lot of depth to the scenes.
Breaking into the X'er chain
Jared gets a call from Tamara (Leah Gibson) who leads him into a room where the X'ers manage to capture Zeke. Jared puts up a false pretense of siding with the X'ers and when Simon comes in, his wife Erika (Susan Pourfar) suggests they shoot Zeke and put the blame on Michaela's head. In total 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' style, Jared and Michaela get together to bring the troops down. When Billy is about to shoot Zeke, Jared comes in between and tells him he wants to be the one to pull the trigger.
However, he finally reveals his true intentions and shows what a good cop and a human being he is. He did it all to save Michaela and ends up losing Tamara too. She confronts him if he simply "used" her to capture the X'ers and walks away.
A calling at Harlem River: What's the connection?
Grace gets a calling where she finds herself near the High Bridge at Harlem River. She rushes to the spot with Ben and realizes someone is watching them. Of course, it is Adrian. "Where the hell have you been? You are the suspect in a murder investigation," Ben asks. Adrian confesses that he simply shared details of his calling with Isaiah (Olli Haaskivi) and he made it come true.
When asked how he landed at the same place as them, he tells them he also had a calling to save someone. Adrian, however, expresses his disdain. "You follow the callings blindly. Have you ever considered the possibility the callings could create more bad than good?" he asks. It seems like quite a pertinent question, but right then, Ben has to rush with Grace as her water breaks.
Adrian, meanwhile, tries to figure out what the callings really want from them and his head starts spinning out of control. He hears someone asking for help in the river and jumps to save the man's life.
Grace or the baby: Who will be safe?
The writers almost gave us a scare with this one. When Grace is taken to the hospital, the doctors tell her that she wasn't expecting the delivery for at least two months. As the threat to mom and baby's life looms, Ben and Grace look into each other's eyes like they are about to lose each other.
"Take care of our kids, no matter what," Grace asks Ben to promise her. While Ben tells the doctor to save the baby, he sees his kids Olive Stone (Luna Blaise) and Cal Stone (Jack Messina) hugging their mother and changes his mind. He tells the doctor to save his wife.
Soon, Adrian lands at the same hospital with the man he saved. Turns out it is Dr Roy Gutierrez (Mark Torres), the only surgeon who can save both the baby and the mother. Post-surgery, the doctor says Grace is fine and the baby girl will be in the incubator but will be normal soon.
The mystery of the three shadows
Olive and Ben decide to make a guide book for the newborn to explain to him the 828 flight connection and the meaning of the callings. To show the callings, they go back to Cal's old drawings. When we see the first one with all four of them, Cal says he could never figure out what it meant and calls it "creepy." The shadow grows in the drawing and Cal turns it over.
After the surgery, Ben finds out the surgeon is the same man who was saved from the Harlem River while kayaking. Ben meets Adrian and the two argue again. "If you needed any more proof that the callings could be good, this is it," Ben tells him but Adrian argues that the callings could be "manipulating" them and turning them into "false prophets" who are saving lives but are also putting them in danger.
Adrian even calls the 828 passengers "Agents of the Apocalypse". While both have good points, who could be right?
The episode ends with the shadows growing into three large ones and they even enter Cal's room. What could the shadows signify?
Written by Laura Putney and Margaret Easley, the episode is terrific. Jared manages to slightly redeem himself. And while this episode ties all loose ends with emotional twists, it also leaves behind many questions. However, no glimpse of Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur) was a slight let down.
As 'Manifest' airs every Monday at 10 pm ET on NBC, it may slowly lead to the real meaning of the callings.