High Flight
Episode 3 of Manifest Season 4 starts with Eden experiencing a Calling. She notices ash falling from the ceiling and begins drawing. At the same time, Michaela and Call experience a Calling of their own, with thunder rumbling overhead. Interestingly, Ben does not hear this. Jared shows up and sees all the evidence that Ben has collected in the attic. As a result, he decides to try and spearhead this case, giving it to the Registry in a bid to find Angelina. Cal meanwhile, heads to see Saanvi and as she plays the Black Box recording for him, he overhears all the Callings bleeding through; they also inexplicably move Cal’s scar too. It seems they’re onto something. Showing up at the Registry, Michaela overhears another rumble of thunder and realizes it’s connected to the co-pilot Amuta. She knows she needs to speak to him and find out exactly what he saw. Outside, Michaela questions him but he shrugs her off, hurriedly getting in a taxi and leaving. That librarian from last episode also has a lead for Ben, reporting in that she’s seen Angelina and Eden. When he shows up at the library, they uncover another drawing that Eden has doodled, which happens to be of a flower. The librarian reveals that Angelina definitely matches the portrait picture he has of her, and Ben has another lead to go on. It’s not much, but up in the attic he sees someone (Eden) drawing a flower up on the roof. It would appear that Eden’s connection is actually with Ben, not Angelina. Ben decides to draw over her chalk outlines with his own. Michaela sabotages Amuta’s flight and forces him to meet them at the Nest. He’s not happy but soon changes his tune when he learns Michaela and the others have the Black Box. Amuta hears the Callings and reveals that it seems impossible. He’s convinced they all died that night. Lightning was all around and they flew into a pure ball of light, which could well be something else. Amuta has been living with guilt for a while, believing he should have saved Daly and that he wasn’t capable of flying that night. Since then, he’s had a weight hanging over him. Back at the Stone household, Olive notices all the drawings Ben has scribbled up on the roof, and realizes that it’s the familiar nursery rhyme she and Cal were chiming this morning. Ben writes “Dad” up on the roof but when Angelina sees it in Eden’s bowl of cereal, and sees the young girl giggling, she immediately goes on the offensive and throws the bowl across the room. Angelina also goes on to tell Eden she doesn’t have a father. Meanwhile, Cal presents himself to the co-pilot and admits that he too has been having a similar Calling involving bright lights. It would appear that the storm flew into the plane, rather than the other way round. Furthermore, the two pilots had a phrase for what occurred after they experienced it: “The long delirious burning blue.” This immediately brings up memories for Cal, way back when he saw Daly in his earlier visions. After revealing what he knows, Amuta receives a ping on his phone confirming his flight is back on. He leaves after giving some compliments to Michaela and giving the group a solid amount to work with. Elsewhere, Saanvi begins looking through details regarding ULFs online and there appears to be connections with different animals – including peacocks. As the episode closes out, Eagan rings Ben and tells him he has news. He knows where Eden is.
The Episode Review
So Manifest returns with an intriguing revelation, one that confirms the peacocks are very much a part of that’s happening and it seems to be linked to these ULFs. That’s a nice touch and something that helps reaffirm that the mystery does actually have some connections and isn’t just some random parts with no correlation to keep you watching. This episode actually has some answers too, which is surprising, and links back to the earlier seasons nicely. The ending certainly hints that we’re getting closer to uncovering the truth, while the series continues to dabble in character drama too. Manifest is just starting to pick up and get interesting.
