Another episode, another week where we don't know any more than we did previously.

The series has such a roundabout way of getting to any concrete answers that the slow momentum is bound to leave fans frustrated, exhausted, or a little bit of both.

That's not to say that Manifest Season 2 Episode 2 didn't establish any brand new information, but it wasn't enough to blow our minds or provide clarity to the fuzzy mystery.

The episode confirmed that the Callings between Mic, Zeke, and Cal are definitely synced up and getting stronger the more they fight them.

At one point, the turbulence from the plane manifested itself into physical convulsions that were only felt by the three survivors. And yes, it looked just as odd to those around them as it did to us.

These convulsions led to Zeke getting restrained and drugged while in prison after foolishly pleading guilty to all the charges against him, which is concerning. Was this normal protocol?

Ben: You want me to do some poking around?
Vance: Stone, the last time you did poke around you ended up in the back of a van with a hood over your head.

Permalink: Stone, the last time you did poke around you ended up in the back of a van with a hood over...

Or does The Major have goons in the prison just like she has around the hospital?

It's looking as if nowhere is safe for the Flight 828 passengers anymore, but unfortunately, they don't know that. Not fully, at least.

On the bright side, Ben is on the cusp of linking Saanvi's therapist to The Major (he'll be in for quite the shocker when he learns the therapist is The Major) after realizing she ordered a DNA sequencer just like Saanvi.

The Major being the mole isn't outright obvious to the passengers, but it won't take a genius to put two and two together, especially now that they have Vance to help them spy on The Major's activities.

That is until someone realizes that Vance faked his own death. It's bound to happen sooner or later as I'd imagine The Major has people following Ben and Mic at all times.

But instead of focusing on the negatives here, let's commend Vance on not only pulling off such a feat but being smart enough to realize that he cannot trust his own government.

It's still unclear why Vance chose this moment to "come back from the dead," though.

He doesn't seem to have any concrete information other than investigating a black ops financial pipeline that's funding a shadow 828 investigation, but he could have kept looking into it without revealing himself.

It seems silly that he would risk blowing his cover to reveal absolutely nothing of value.

And don't even get me started on the fact that his wife knows he's alive. Family is collateral, he cannot be this clumsy one moment and brilliant the next!

Without Vance's intel, though, Mic and Ben would just be running around each other with conspiracy theories that make no sense. At least this gives them some upper hand since The Major has been playing them all like a fiddle, especially poor Saanvi.

Revealing that the Callings may be genetically transferable is dangerous information for The Major to possess.

There are several ways she can cause damage with that newfound information including controlling the Callings.

One of the most frustrating things about Manifest, aside from continuously providing no real answers, is that the focus is often split between the mystery of what happened to Flight 828 and these Callings.

It's clear the Callings serve a greater purpose, but as we look at them through the lens of the passengers, they're rather pointless.

Ben spent most of the episode with TJ, a college student who reached out to him because the Callings were confusing and too much to handle. TJ thought he saw his own death until he followed his hunch and dug up the body of a student.

Long story short, the Callings led TJ to the late student because she possessed some of his belongings from before the disappearance of Flight 828 including photos of him and his late mother.

While the storyline was touching, it didn't add any value to the overall conspiracy and, once again, felt like filler, a pattern that's continuing since Manifest Season 1. At least they're consistent, right?

TJ is listed in 10 episodes on IMDB, so he'll likely become a crucial part of the storyline and thus, there's hope that this "save the passengers" focus has potential and doesn't fall flat.

The TJ dilemma also created a pointless argument between Mic and Ben as Mic channeled her inner Jared and told Ben that despite knowing how the Callings work that she didn't believe they trumped evidence that painted TJ as a murderer.

Mic did the exact thing she hated about Jared, who, despite seeing the Callings in action plenty of times, continues to deny their existence or abilities.

Jared has seen Mic crack nearly every single case and yet, remains a skeptic.

Mom, you’re not sure about anything. And you are lying if you say you are.
Olive

Permalink: Mom, you’re not sure about anything. And you are lying if you say you are.

Mic should have known that TJ would never come forward openly about a murder he committed. She second-guessed herself and the Calling, and it was disappointing.

Oddly enough, the new Captain, Kate Bowers, also questioned Mic's impressive track record of solving cases and scolded her for it before adding that she didn't want Mic and Jared near the same cases in the future.

Why wouldn't she want the cases to get solved? There might not be a paper trail, but Mic is saving people at the end of the day. I don't necessarily see how that's a bad thing.

Also, how naive of her to think Jared would ever stay away from Mic's cases. He thrives on keeping tabs on that girl.

Then, we have Grace who is proving Saanvi's "the Callings are genetically transferrable" theory true as she got her first Calling to prevent her from getting a paternity test to determine the baby daddy.

While it seems like a stretch since the Callings have only ever affected the passengers and seemed to serve as warnings from their future selves, this answers the question of the baby's paternity once and for all. Sorry, Danny shippers.

Since Grace was carrying the child, she somehow inherited the gift/curse, depending on how you look at it.

I'm torn on this storyline. We're barely able to keep up with/figure out what Mic, Ben, Cal and Zeke's Callings mean, is it wise to bring in another player?

Grace's inheritance of Callings also begged the question of whether the 5-year "death date" was transferable. The verdict is still out on that one.

Transferable Callings seem to confirm the theory I proposed on my review of Manifest Season 2 Episode 1 that the "Holy Grail" the Major is looking for might not be Cal but rather Grace and Ben's unborn child.

This would explain why Grace's Calling warned her not to get the blood test because confirming it would give The Major exactly what she needs -- a look at the Holy Grail's DNA.

With Grace part of the Calling rat pack now, Olive feels isolated and terrified that she might lose her whole family in 5-years.

Her emotions are valid, yet how she's going about coping with them is very dangerous.

The Stones have enough problems on their hands, they don't need the Church of Believers to be involved in their business.

Since Grace warned Olive about how dangerous it would be if news of the miracle Flight 828 baby got into the wrong hands, you know that's exactly what's going to happen.

Olive will find herself opening up to her new "friends" at the Church and will let the baby news slip.

Dare I say it, Olive might be gunning for Grace's title as the worst character on the series.

Other Flight 828 Musings

Mic has a new partner and she's going to have to fill her in at some point because she will get suspicious.
Why is Jared always popping out to say something rude and negative to Mic? He's hurting, we get it, but give the girl some space.
Ben may have a new job in his future after reconnecting with his old friend/fling Suzanne, who is now a Dean at a university. Can she be trusted?
We're still wondering about that shared Calling. Some of you believe that Cal is unintentionally putting together two people that are the catalyst for all these events. Part of me thinks that the Calling is showing them the truth about what happened, though, that doesn't explain Zeke's appearance on the plane. Maybe they're supposed to stop another similar plane crash?