'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 12 Review: Zeke and Michaela's happiness could be shortlived, but who will save Cal?
Spoilers for 'Manifest' Season 2 Episode 12 'Call Sign'
The mystery and mayhem continue in 'Manifest' with a slice of emotional twist. A little love and longing in the heart, the feeling that stings the most, they can create a painful landscape and this week's episode does that with a masterstroke.
The cliffhanger at the end of the last episode left us with the question: If the shadows are created by the three criminals, what do they want? Are they connected to the callings? Out of the three men, one is Kory Jephers (DazMann Still), a metro bus driver who helps deliver stolen cold medicine to a meth lab run by two brothers, Jace (James McMenamin) and Pete Baylor (Devin Harjes).
As the episode begins, Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh), Jared Vasquez (JR Ramirez) and Drea Mikami (Ellen Tamaki) interrogate the three men, but to no avail. Michaela is worried and when Jared asks her what's troubling her, she drops a huge bomb on his head: She's getting married to Zeke Landon (Matt Long).
Michaela-Zeke's romantic wedding
One of the most heartwarming moments of the show is when Ben plays a video of Michaela's childhood when she wore a wedding dress. Meanwhile, Zeke's frostbite seems to be getting worse by the day. The two write vows to each other and right before the D-day, Zeke tries to make it up to Cal Stone (Jack Messina) who seems to be annoyed at him.
"What's fun about... dying?" Cal tells Zeke. But the latter manages to get him back on his feet. The two play Monopoly and have a unique bachelor's night. The next day, Zeke and Michaela's wedding ceremony is no less than a fairytale as songs like 'Beyond' by Leon Bridges and 'Truly, Madly, Deeper' by Savage Garden plays in the background. The expressions on everyone's faces are enough to say a million words. The episode is filled with emotional moments reminiscing and reliving moments with their parents.
The highlight, however, is Remirez's marvelous performance. Jared shakes hands with Zeke and tells him: "It's all good." The scene will make you fall in love with Ramirez's character. The look on Jared's face says everything he feels. It is poetically unjust. After a glimpse of Mich in the wedding dress, Jared rushes out to hold his feeling still. In a suspenseful twist, the three criminals are waiting in a car right behind him.
Michaela and Zeke say their vows to each other. The adorable moment makes Olive and TJ hold hands and everyone has a glint of a tear in their eyes as the two exchange rings and kiss each other.
Ben's mysterious calling
The callings don't seem to leave sight anytime soon. While putting up fairy lights at home, Ben gets a calling in which Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City blows up in smoke. Later, in the show, Ben goes to the spot he saw in his calling and notices another passenger there. The other passenger takes the blame on his head and says, "I'm the one who okayed the flight to take off from Jamaica. It's all my fault."
"Why the hell am I being haunted by the flight being exploded," he wonders. That's when Ben explains that it happens to all of them. "The vision brought me to meet you. We need to figure out what happened together." What does his horrendous calling mean?
Saanvi, Robert Vance and the Major
Saanvi knocks at a closed shutter door. With her being fired, she cannot access her research and it is a major concern. She remembers Robert Vance (Daryl Edwards) told her to call the travel agency. She books a non-stop ticket to Havana. "It's an emergency. It's like death," she says.
At Michaela and Zeke's wedding, Saanvi is sorrowful as she couldn't help Zeke with his frostbites. But soon, she gets a text saying her ticket is ready. Robert Vance finally comes to meet her and expresses his disappointment over the fact that Saanvi and Ben contacted his wife. When he finds out what happened to Saanvi, the two speculate if the Major is behind all the misery.
Who will save Cal from the three criminals?
While being taken in a van, the three criminals play a cheap trick. One of them acts like he's getting a seizure. When the cops stop to see what happened, the three get together and kill them all. The episode ends on a tricky note. Zeke and Cal share a loving, heartwarming moment where he thanks his little bud for giving the best bachelor party. Cal gives Zeke a toy car to say how he will always be with him.
However, Ben has that calling again after looking at his baby. In the end, Michaela gets a call from the three miscreants on how they have Cal as captive. Will the Stone family ever be able to figure the meaning of the callings and who is behind it? With only one episode left to go, there are many more mysteries to be unlocked. Was Michaela's decision to capture the three criminals right? The family may have to pay a heavy price for going against the callings and only time will tell what it's going to be.
Written by Simran Baidwan and Ezra W Nachman, the episode strikes the right chord with drama and action. However, only time will tell if Zeke and Michaela's happiness is shortlived or will they last together forever.