I watched the first part of Netflix’s saved show “Manifest” last weekend, and I’ve been letting it digest for a little while before writing a review. This review will be spoiler free while also highlighting the pros and cons of the season itself. I don’t want any Manifesters to be upset with revelations that happen too soon.
Fast-Paced, and Interesting
Season 4 starts off right where last season left off. The aftermath of Grace Stone’s demise after Angelina steals the Stone baby. The first half of part one is primarily searching for Eden and watching Ben Stone devolve further and further into madness when he can’t locate his daughter. The callings are still coming and they are still trying to solve them, but Ben Stone remains checked out for a while.
Michaela and Zeke are still together and stronger than ever, even when Zeke senses lingering feelings for Jared. Cal is back and older now. Now aged 5 years just like he should have been when the plane landed. It’s really cool how they worked that in and almost like they planned it to be that way. There was a hiatus when the show was in limbo and they weren’t sure if it was going to continue, but I think that actually helped them with the story line they’ve used in this season.
Saanvi, Vance, Eagan, Drea and Adrian all have a lot to do. Saanvi of course pulling up all kinds of scientific experiments to try and figure out how to stop the death date of June 2, 2024. They reveal more about the death date as the story goes on but that would be spoiling. Angelina plays a huge role in this and so do many of the other 828rs. They all now have to report to check in with officers just like people have to if they’re on probation. Olive Stone has a big part in this which is refreshing to see. She seems to be the most grounded in all of this.
Too Complicated for one season?
Part 1 of Season 4 is fast moving, interesting and easy to watch. They account for you forgetting important moments and add in a bit of flashback for context. This really helped the show move along because to be honest, I’m a TV watcher who often forgets if it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. The ten episodes released so far of season 4 speed along hurriedly. Under showrunner Jeff Rake, “Manifest” was originally going to run for six seasons. Those plans changed when Netflix saved it from cancellation.
Since a fifth season is not guaranteed at this point, they’ve crunched in everything they can into part 1 which could have been a full season if they let it be. I would consider the first 10 episodes which are available now to watch for part one an entire season. It leaves off in a very “WTF” place and I was actually kind of upset… until I realized that this was just Part 1. The ending scene is visually disturbing setting up an apocalyptic atmosphere that will be hard to combat. Lets just say that the future of the world is set in.. Stone?
With the quick pace and all of the bits of information thrown at you it may take a while to absorb it all. That’s why I waited a week to write this to see what would stick. I could probably watch it again and still pick up things I missed the first time around. There are a lot of weird connections which is what this season was all about, I’m going to assume next season focuses on why they were “Chosen” as they illustrate in the teaser trailer.
What’s Next?
Rake said previously that he thought a possible “Manifest” movie would finish the series. Those plans were seemingly scrapped when it moved to Netflix. There is room for more, which will be season 4 part 2. There are 10 planned episodes for part two, which does not have a release date yet. Fans of the series are pretty set on that being June 2nd, 2023, AKA The “Death Date.” That would be pretty epic to have the show release on the death date itself but we’ll see what Netflix decides on.
Catch season 4 on Netflix now.
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