Manifest definitely served as an intense and thrilling finale for season 3, and while everything that comes next is still on the line as season 4 is still hanging on the balance, the ending of season 3 will definitely make you want to have more.
Imagine having a normal flight back home then you experience a few minutes of severe turbulence then upon landing, you realize you have been missing for five and a half years and even declared dead considering the circumstances of your disappearance, and just when you thought life could go "back to normal," you experience callings and discovered strange things like glowing hands or the death date? This is what Manifest is all about.
191 Passengers aboard Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica en route to New York City mysteriously disappeared in thin air without a trace for five and a half years, to everyone's surprise, they arrived all in one piece after they landed on the Stewart International Airport. They are in for another mysterious ride as they try to discover what happened to them.
Warning! This portion may contain spoilers for Manifest. Read at your own risk!
The Ending of Manifest Season 3 Explained
What happened in Manifest Season 3 Finale Episode?
In Manifest Season 3, Mayday Part One and Two, Michaela experiences the most powerful calling she ever had. In her calling, she sees herself aboard Flight 828 once more and the plane is oozing with blood. Michaela interpreted this as a fellow passenger who is either about to be hurt or die, and it is telling her to stop this from happening.
On the other hand, Cal, the son of Ben and Grace snuck out and went to the headquarters of Project Eureka. He wanted the NSA to stop their experiments on the tailfin of the plane and he exclaims, "it can't be here anymore, otherwise, something bad will happen." Ben, while on house arrest, managed to get to the lab with his wife, Grace, to get Cal, and when they had him, he was starting to have burned.
As for other passengers, Eagan, Adrian, and Randall were jailed and they concluded that the government, along with Ben and Michaela, are persecuting them and that the end times are nearing with no one else to blame other than Ben. They revisit the story of Noah's ark and their interpretation is that Noah was an agent of the apocalypse, in Flight 828's case, it's Ben. They treat him as the executioner who is a traitor to them. They figured that shedding blood will save the world.
Back to Michaela, she realizes that Adrian is the key to her calling, as it appeared to her again, this time, she sees Adrian as if he did something wrong and guilt is consuming him. She thinks that it will not be about the death of a passenger but rather a passenger killing. By the time she realizes this, Eagan, Adrian, and Randall already escaped their prison cell and are about to take arms against Ben and the government.
In Ben's case, he tries to blow up the tailfin but he failed, as he was trying to save the life of his son. He realized that if it cannot be destroyed, it could be returned to the ocean where it was found. As Vance tried to stop the NSA from studying the tailfin, Cal, with full bravery, shows the NSA that he was right and he touched the tailfin. Right before the eyes of everyone, he disappeared into thin air.
Come Part 2 of the Finale, Angelina was convinced by Eagan to join them, as well as Erika, who with Randall, hold up a gun store for ammunition. Erika was unfortunate, though, as she was caught and pushed to give the address of the hideout. Adrian and Eagan did not take the capture of Erika well and they argued. Adrian suggested putting the plan on hold until further knowledge about the condition of Erika.
As for Eagan, he wanted to continue and he is in for a bloodbath. Adrian is now thinking that such should only be their last resort. The police and Michaela were too late as the hideout was already empty. They found blueprints that Michaela thought would help.
Back in Cal's case, Dr. Gupta believes that science can bring him back, but now, she knows that the callings are real. Dr. Zimmer who tries to stop Ben and Vance from bringing the tailfin back to the ocean was vetoed by Gupta and she even tried to help them bring it back. Saanvi and Ben determined that the tailfin has to be returned to where it belongs.
The blueprints were Vance's house. Eagan and Randall break in and try to look for proof against the government. The son of Vance saw them and Eagan doesn't want to kill the child, even preventing Randall from doing so. Instead, they hold the son hostage, one which Vance learns about and Jared comes to help him. As Eagan and Randall were arrested, Jared confronted Michaela and she tells him she is aware of what Saanvi did. Still disappointed, we see Jared having feelings for Michaela.
Saanvi and Ben, who were at the ocean, managed to return the tailfin despite Saanvi almost drowning. Despite being returned, Cal did not reappear, and Ben experienced a calling with Cal telling him, "this is the way it has to be" and he is aboard Flight 828 with Saanvi. And this is where everything gets serious, Adrian and his conscience abandoned Angelina who went to Ben's house.
It was Angelina all along, she stabbed Grade to death and it was her in the calling of Michaela. Grace sees a teenage version of her son, Cal, just as she succumbs to her injuries. Cal tells her he now knows what to do. The season ends with Gupta having the 828 planes appear before at the Eureka headquarters, still with the pilot inside, and it disappears quickly, too.
What does the Manifest Season 3 Finale mean?
The finale is definitely packed and definitely, it all means one thing: Manifest needs to have a fourth season! There are still a lot of things to discuss, with Cal disappearing, with Angelina stabbing Grace to death, with the callings of Ben and Grace about Cal reassuring them that such is meant to happen and he now knows what to do, Eagan and Randall being taken into custody, and Adrian having a change of heart.
To start, it only means Cal is onto something. Despite his disappearance, it seems that Cal would be back once more, this time, a teenager. He would not do what he did had he known the consequences, but instead, he pursued to do it and as he tells his mother he now knows what to do, surely, Cal will be returning.
Gupta, despite being a believer of science, now understands that callings are real. She even helped Saanvi and Ben take the tailfin back to the ocean. That tailfin is one big piece of evidence they just discarded, and yet, she allowed them to take it back to the ocean. She will definitely be of more help in the future in discovering the real fate of Flight 828.
With Michaela's callings, we find out that sometimes, it is not who the person saw who is concerned. They could only be a key person to what is about to happen like in the case of Adrian and Angelina. Ben lost more than he could ever lose in this finale and he will surely be determined to find out how Cal could return.
Originally, Manifest was sold to NBC as a six-season series which have everything mapped out until the end. That in itself gives three more seasons to run, but everything will be dependent on whether the series would be renewed, or canceled by NBC. It seems that there is a high chance for the renewal of the show considering it as well it is one of the highest-rated shows in terms of viewers.
Hopefully, we hear news about season 4's renewal soon because there is still a lot that needs explanation in Manifest.
Related: How Many Episodes in Season 3 of Manifest on NBC
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