Manifest Season 4 Part 2 review: In the end, Flight 828's final descent is one big let-down

3/5

Story: The narrative is set 8-9 months after Angelina’s (Holly Taylor) delusions of being an archangel sent to bring vengeance upon the evil and lead the righteous to salvation saw her crack open a molten lava abyss in a church, followed by a brief altercation with Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and Ben Stone (Josh Dallas), at the end of which she was presumed dead. The passengers of Flight 828 who were rounded up by government agencies are in a detention centre, where they are being tested on to figure out their Callings. Their visions are relayed to a team including detective Jared, in the hope of solving them and getting to the bottom of it all. With Calling specialists Ben and Michaela also detained that’s a hard task, until they decide to get the latter back out in the field.

But with Angelina still out there and intent on saving only a few when the end of days comes, can Ben, Michaela, Cal (Ty Doran), Olive (Luna Blaise) , TJ (Garrett Wareing) and the rest of the gang, figure out how to stop her and the death date?

Review: Manifest was supposed to be a six-season show, that was cut short after only three by NBC. But then it got lucky, when a persistent fan campaign and good ratings for the show when it moved over to Netflix saw the streamer give it a chance at closure. There was no way they would get another three seasons, a long 20-episode final one was doable as far as the platform was concerned. Split into two sections of 10 episodes each, showrunner Jeff Rake had to condense the story and still try and tie up any loose ends in the narrative. While Part 1 that came out in November last year was largely spent on Ben trying to track down Angelina, who had kidnapped his baby daughter Eden, after stabbing his wife Grace to death, and some Callings and death-date research, Part 2 shifts gears and attempts to pick up pace. There’s a time jump of a few months as we meet the passengers in the detention centre and another as they get closer to the moment of final reckoning.

The detention centre is an extension of what the General was doing earlier - experimenting on the passengers. Only this time, they’ve got all but a handful of them who’ve managed to remain at large. Even Flight 828’s Captain, Dally is at the centre, mysteriously back with the ‘power’ to unleash Biblical plagues of locusts, boils and water turning to blood. As quickly as these appear, they disappear as well, with no explanation whatsoever. I stopped looking for logic in the series a long time ago, but if this was not a thread worth weaving into something, why bring it up in the first place? What they choose to explore instead are the love lives of the protagonists. Ben and Saanvi ‘get together’ only to realize that as much as they love each other, their hearts beat for significant other people. Michaela and Jared (JR Ramirez) are also back together, but their relationship’s always been complicated and it continues to be so, what with Zeke still around.

The bigger problem with Manifest, though, is that there was no major payoff eventually. From a possible scientific reason behind the disappearance of Flight 828, it wandered into mythological terrain. All the build-up around symbols from ancient mythology seemed like we were set for some mind-blowing reveal. But no, all we get is some lame Noah’s Ark reference, which was disappointing to say the least. The final reveal is predictable and an utter let-down.

Manifest Season 4 is the perfect example of a shamefully squandered opportunity. It’s not often that shows get a second lease of life, so when you do get it, you ought to make the most of it. Jeff Rake and his writers should have been far more judicious in picking up plot points from their proposed final three seasons and whittled them down into the 20-episodes they got eventually. This is a show that deserved better.

Read also: Manifest Season 4 Part 1 review: More callings and religious symbolism in the mystery about flight 828 

Verdict: When the final few moments of Manifest played out, I shook my head in disbelief wondering why Netflix paid for this. It felt like disservice not only to loyal fans who remained steadfast till the very end, but also to the streamer that commissioned this final service to give the series the closure it deserved. Manifest Season 4 is the product of some bad judgement calls by the showrunners reducing it to mediocrity. And that’s the sad part.