This changes everything!
With the hunt for the sapphire stone in full swing, the Stone family was once again pulled into a very realistic Calling that took them all in different directions before bringing them all together—along with many of the clues they’ve dug up and unearthed over the season— for one interconnected moment.
The characters are constantly using the phrase “it’s all connected,” so I’m glad that the writers are tapping into it. Even Olive and TJ were surprised by how connected it actually all is. It seems that they’ve had the answers this whole time, but they simply didn’t have the roadmap to figure it out. But as the Callings intensify, they are making a lot more headway… though, don’t be fooled—we still have plenty of questions.
The overarching Calling—the ashes falling around them—reappeared again, and we were right to think it might be the final Calling ever. And it was quite foreboding as it made them all realize that the Death Date goes beyond the passengers; the warning, which found non-828ers on the plane as it took a nose dive before lava from a volcano began to consume it, proved that the Death Date was of world ending proportions.
Adrian may have been onto something with his “horseman of the apocalypse” ramblings, which just proves that the answers have been here, cryptic they may be, this whole time.
But this newfound end-of-the-world information alters everything we thought we knew.
This season has been spectacular, and that extends to the penultimate episode, Manifest Season 4 Episode 9, which moved a million miles a minute, connecting pieces from prior seasons to the present day on the journey to locate the Omega Sapphire, the supposed rock that would allow them to tune into the God frequency in order to generate more Callings and defeat the Death Date.
I wish the Callings would stop being so cryptic. They’re so advanced and intense now, why couldn’t they evolve and become more straightforward? Do we really have to look to ancient texts and tarot cards to make sense of a pressing danger to humanity?
The episode kicked off with Mick and Zeke gearing up to celebrate their three-year anniversary, a party that Jared crashed, unintentionally. When Zeke welcomed him into the home and allowed him to stick around, he likely didn’t expect that he’d be spending much of his wedding anniversary teaming up for a “good cop, bad cop” role with his wife’s ex-boyfriend. But honestly, I like that these two can be cordial around each other, with Jared even giving a toast to the happy couple and acknowledging that while he didn’t always ship this relationship (you don’t say!), the best man and woman won. Does this mean that Jared and Mick shippers should give up? Jared’s being friendly and civil, but I fully believe he would betray bro-code the moment Mick allowed it to happen; he’s never going to get over her.
When the Calling pulled civilians into the mix, it threw everyone for a loop, and they all had to play their part to get the much-desired answers.
Mick and Saanvi grabbed the compass and went out into the city to locate Thomas, the 828 stowaway, who they saw in the Calling desperately trying to lift the cargo hatch at the back of the plane.
Meanwhile, Cal and Ben figured out that the seat light that turned on in the Calling was above Marko’s row, and somehow, in that moment, Cal knew he needed to connect to him. Since Cal’s cancer progressed rapidly—Alex informed him he had probably had a few days left, something he kept from the family so as to not take away from their happy moment—Zeke and Jared went to the nursing home to try to attempt to bring Marko to the house.
Jared’s been hesitant to join the registry as a detective since it means he has to moonlight as an 828 hater, but this mission proved to him how critical it is that they have a supporter on the inside. Drea can’t keep holding it down on her own.
They were able to break Marko out of the facility temporarily so that he could deliver his message to Cal—via drawings—and his sketch revealed a volcano ready to erupt, which honestly, was just a forewarning of the dangers to come.
There has been plenty of volcano symbolism throughout, including the snowglobe that Eden gave him, Cal seeing a volcano while looking out the window, Ben’s Calling of him holding Eden and talking to a mysterious figure in a volcano (is it Daly?), and even the Noah’s Ark driftwood that Saanvi threw into the fissure.
It’s not a new development, but the fact that the volcanic lava made its way onto 828 surely is. Are we to believe that 828 flew into a volcano? Does it have something with the natural disasters that occur and seem to connect to Flight 828? Or is the volcano simply supposed to be an omen? Did Flight 828’s return mess with the natural balance of the universe and is their existence now causing the world to end?
The volcano card also played a role in Mick and Saanvi’s mission, which brought them to a boiler room where they previously helped hide Thomas. Once inside, they heard a pounding as Eagan, and his volunteer buddy, Kenroy, crashed through a wall. Eagan, as we know, has been volunteering at the Masonic Temple in hopes of finding the Omega Sapphire for himself.
Together, the foursome solved the puzzle inscribed in the walls of the underground room that matched to each individual tarot card, before taking a hint from the volcano card that they needed to light the final piece on fire, which revealed the Goddess Maat that Olive previously saw on the papyrus during her research at the college. And lo and behold, that’s where the last remaining sapphire was hidden.
You would think that they would all learn by now that they can’t trust Eagan, but nope, Mick allowed him to grab the sapphire, and he bolted with the moment the opportunity presented itself. Even worse, he trapped them inside the underground room, and while it wasn’t entirely certain how they would find a way out, especially with Kenroy, who was revealed to be Leo, injured, it was soon a non-issue as Thomas walked through the door and reunited with his true love. It was a slice of happiness amid a pretty bleak episode all around.
Since the sapphire is the only thing that can help them tune into the Callings and possibly save themselves—and now the world—from destruction, not to mention it might be the only thing to save Cal, losing the rock was a huge blow.
But Eagan was the worst of their problems!
When the apocalyptic Calling finally hit again, they were all back on the plane, and they saw Eagan standing with the sapphire in hand. He was so close to handing it over to Mick when he just poofed out of the Calling. In reality, someone knocked him out and stole the precious rock from him.
Who could it be? Considering that Cal got a call from an unknown number, and we later saw that Eden connected with that call for over 40 minutes while sitting downstairs with everyone, my guess is that Angelina is the culprit. Her storyline is far from over, and in a way, I’m happy about it. If Angelina played such a huge role in the beginning, we’re overdue for a final altercation between her and the Stone family so that they can get their revenge on the heartache she caused.
Eagan may be selfish, but the true villain of the season with the potential to sink the Lifeboat and drown everyone in it is Angelina. By being on the phone line, she would’ve heard everything that the family was talking about, thus making it easy for her to locate the sapphire. And something that powerful in the wrong hands is dangerous.
Part of me wonders if there’s even a point to the whole sapphire hunt, or if these Callings are even going to help them stop the inevitable.
And the big question of “why” remains. I think there’s a good chance that their existence is bringing on this destruction, but we’ll see.
Why did Cal come back after going into the light? What was he meant to do? Was he meant to die? The scene with Olive coming to terms with the fact that she might lose her brother again was devastating. And it doesn’t make sense if he’s such a crucial piece of the puzzle—the Holy Grail with all the answers. Why did he get cancer again? The timing of his diagnosis comes just after the dragon tattoo appeared. Is the dragon a metaphor for the plane, which can help get everyone through the volcano and onto the other side? Does it even matter that Cal is sick when they’re all set to die? Did Cal simply accomplish what he was meant to and now he must go back to “peace” and “bliss”?
And what about connecting with the divine will help them prevent what’s happening? Why is Marko such a heavy presence lately? Can they someone use his connection to the divine to get the answers they’ve been looking for? Maybe they don’t need the sapphire after all.
The season has been pretty forthcoming with answers, moving the plot along splendidly, but there are a hell of a lot more questions now as we see the end in sight. I just hope Manifest manages to wrap it all up in a way that’s logical and satisfying, and most importantly, deserving of this second chance.
The worst thing that could happen after being renewed is an ending that is less than satisfying, but if this season is any indication, I think we’re in good hands.