'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 11 Review: Zeke is dying, will Michaela and Jared get back together?
Spoilers for 'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 11 'Unaccompanied Minors'
'Manifest' has been dropping one twist after another and it is difficult to put the missing pieces of the puzzle together. As the episode begins, it takes back to the three looming shadows. Swinging the suspense in full gear, the big question emerges again: Are the callings good or bad?
With great performances and a set of mysterious events, the episode sums up all things perfectly. Desperate for answers, Ben Stone (Josh Dallas) and Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh) find a revelation that weirdly echoes Adrian's (Jared Grimes) apocalypse theory. Remember how, in the last episode, Adrian called the 828 passengers: 'Agents of the Apocalypse'? Ben seems to agree with that thought.
He reads out a verse from the Bible: "I saw three spirits coming — out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the Beast, out of the mouth of the false prophet." If that could somehow be true, then 828 passengers are all false prophets, indeed. Maybe the callings are deliberately creating bad scenarios to turn them into saviors in the end.
Zeke's death date: Clock ticks by
As Zeke's frostbites worsen, it is a major cause of worry. In the episode, when Michaela is asked, "How is Zeke?" she tells Ben, "It is hard to tell. He never complains." It is clear that Saanvi Bahl's (Parveen Kaur) remedy isn't working and he is running out of time.
At a group therapy session, Zeke is asked, "You've been so focused on seeking forgiveness, who do you want to forgive?" Right at that moment, a lost memory comes into Zeke's mind. Who is he thinking about? It is in such moments that 'Manifest' strikes the right note as suspense is what keeps the show going.
Subway symbol's significance
Cal Stone (Jack Messina) and TJ Morrison (Garrett Wareing) get together to decipher the meaning behind the "dark phoenix" that the latter saw. Does it signify life and death? TJ says, "The picture was bright and cheerful, but I felt so sad and hopeless." With Grace Stone's (Athena Karkanis) help, they decrypt the meaning to find out a painting at Bowery Station is exactly similar. Moreover, Ben sees a train in his calling.
The two rush there to find an old man, who is about to jump onto the tracks. Ben and TJ save his life and discover the matchbox in his hand is in fact, a music box, that plays the same tune as Grace's lullaby. Turns out, the man is Zeke's father, who abandoned his family long back. When Ben tells Zeke, he is still angry but finally forgives him and gets closure.
Michaela and Jared's day out
A guy steals a candy bar and Michaela gets hold of him. But right at that moment, she gets a calling to "let him go." The candy bar was a decoy and he had meth in his bag. Along with Jared Vasquez (JR Ramirez), she heads out to find out the guy. With her partner, Drea Mikami's (Ellen Tamaki) help, Michaela gets a hold of that guy on camera.
In a candid confession session, Drea confronts Michaela about the liaison with her ex-husband. "It is good to be friends again," Mich comes clean. Are they just friends or is their scope for more? Later in the episode, Jared and Michaela share an adorable moment as he tells her, "I can handle not being with you anymore, I can't handle not having you as a friend."
Zeke's condition is getting worse by the day and that only means he could die any time soon. Jared is worried and asks, "Wait, you have this too?" If Zeke dies, is there a chance that Michaela and Jared get back together? In the previous episode, there was a flashback to show how Jared got down on his knees and proposed Michaela. Was that a hint that their love story could get a second chance? Well, only time will tell. But looking at how things at going on, there is a strong possibility it might come true.
Zeke and Saanvi: Too many closed doors
After meeting his father, Zeke confesses to Michaela: "I got so much anger and hurt but now it seems so small. I am stopping my treatment. I have been staying alive but I haven't been living." In the end, Zeke proposes Michaela. "Will you marry me?" he asks, to which she says, "Yes, Yes I will. The two say they love each other." The two may still be together, but there seems to be much less chemistry between the couple. Michaela seems to look perfect with Jared, who understands her and shares the same work background.
Meanwhile, in a big twist, Saanvi cannot access her research at the hospital and is escorted by security guards as her door access is revoked.
Later, in the episode, Jared and Michaela pull another detective stunt. Mich breaks into a house and arrests a man. A shocking calling, however, repeatedly murmurs, "Let him go." But, Michaela has made her mind. The three men are put behind bars. Defying the callings for the first time, Michaela feels uneasy. "I think you made the right choice," Jared tells her. But did she? Will her decision put her in harm's way?
Written by Jeannine Renshaw & Marta Gené Camps, the episode ends on a suspenseful note as the three shadows are shown to be the three men who have been jailed. As more episodes of 'Manifest' roll-out, it is yet to be seen how things transpire and what the three shadows can actually do. Until then, we would say this episode brilliantly connects the dots and yet leaves you with an incomplete feeling.