S04.E10: Inversion Illusion

[AnimeMania]

As the Stones race to find the Omega Sapphire Ben finds hope in a Calling that reunites him with a familiar face. Zeke faces a difficult choice.

Premiere Date:  November 4, 2022

[KaveDweller]

I knew they wouldn't actually kill Cal this early, but I didn't think they miracle save would be Zeke sacrificing himself. That kind of sucks. I like him and I like him and Michaela together. 

Since Michaela mentioned not wanting to have kids multiple times in these first ten episodes, I'm assuming she's going to find out she's pregnant? And will keep the baby since Zeke's now dead (or seems to be).

I don't get how the government could justify just locking up all the passengers if they haven't done anything wrong. Or what charges they are planning against Vance and Sanvi. 

I am thinking Angelina may actually be an angel of some kind since she is apparently impossible to kill. But she is full on evil psychopath at this point.

[CCTC]

You know the show is not perfect and has some issues, but I enjoyed it.  It is some fast-paced popcorn fun that has embraced its craziness.  The cast also really meshes together well.  In interviews, the cast says how much they enjoy each other and feels like family, and I think that actually might be more than the normal PR.  There is something genuine about the chemistry between the characters and how they seem to care about each other.

It is fortunate, they did a good job with the Cal recast.  That could have really sunk the lifeboat so to speak if he would not have worked.

I have to admit, the Michaela - Zeke phone call got to me a little bit.  The Stone family have not had the greatest luck the last few finales.  I thought there was a good chance Zeke would not be alive for the series finale, but thought he would be there close to the end until they started dropping the anvils.  Now I suppose there will be a Drea-Michaela-Jarrod triangle.   Nitpick about Drea - would her new employee really hire someone who was a partner of one of the more visible 828ers or at least not watch her more closely?  Police related, I missed their old boss, the female captain.

I do think the show is pretty good about bringing back characters and situations and events from previous seasons.  Well except for Lourdes and Danny...

I did not see Gupta's final entrance, and technically, she was not exactly wrong with anything she said.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Are they never going to explain what was going on in the Shanghai lab ?

It was Angelina that knocked out Eagen and stole the Omega Sapphire, and as she walks down the street with the glowing sapphire in her hand the sidewalk cracks behind her.

Cal really looks like death warmed over.

Mick is still beating herself up over Evie's death -- we've got bigger fish to fry people !!  Fate of the world, something along those lines.

Oh no !! The ghost of Grace decides to show up and have a chat with Ben.
And Grace wants Eden -- yeah, I'm thinking Grace Ghost is really Angelina (using the power of the Omega sapphire).

Mick (to Eagen): "Well, hey, the last time I saw you, you'd stolen a sacred object and left us for dead."
Eagen: "So yesterday. Move on, eyebrows."

Mick: "Angelina ? How'd she even find out about it ?"
Eagen: "Hell if I know."
Jared: "Do you know where she is ?"
Eagen: "Boiling a rabbit somewhere ?"

Mick's calling with the angel breaking into shards of glass was such cheesy CGI.

Ben takes Eden to Grace's grave. Grace appears at the grave site, and asks Ben to give Eden back to Angelina.  I snorted out loud.

Turns out it was an image projected by Angelina -- and Angelina now has a gun.  Is it a sapphire gun ? Wouldn't be any stupider than some of the other plot elements in this show ? 

Eden is given the choice to choose Ben or Angelina -- and chooses Ben. Ben runs off with Eden, and Angelina fires the gun at Ben -- hitting a gravestone. Umm, what if she had 'accidentally' shot Eden or even killed Eden ?  Angelina is almost a good a parent as her parents are.

Angelina grabs the Omega sapphire and screams -- and the sapphire makes all the other 828ers hear it, agonizing them all (but no one else).

Dumbest line of the episode -- by TJ:
"So, if she's got the sapphire, what chance does the lifeboat have ?"

Enough with the lifeboat already.  

Angelina: "I am the angel." 
How about no ?

Cal's scar tissue sample in Saanvi's lab begins to glow.  Sure, why not ?

Cal and Angelina have a final Calling showdown on the plane.  Because they can.

Angelina plays the fake image of Grace card again, and Cal seems to fall for it -- but then realizes it's not his mom, grabs Angelina's hand with the sapphire causing the sapphire to shatter in real life.

A decision was made by someone to detain all 828ers on American soil, and a strike team invades Saanvi's lab.  
Turns out that Dr. Gupta was involved.  How did she suddenly get so much power ?

I've never laughed so hard when the stained glass window of the angel falls on Angelina and shatters.

Zeke decides to sacrifice himself to save Cal.

Angelina survived the falling stained glass window, pulls herself free and spots a piece of the Omega sapphire -- which falls into the lava as she goes to grab it.  She manages to snag it in the lava as her hand and forearm burst into flames.

After saving Cal, Zeke dies in Mick's arms and Cal appears to be completely cured.

Angelina wanders through a graveyard, with the part of the sapphire embedded in the palm of her burnt hand, as lava fissures are opening up in the surrounding neighborhood.  WTF ?

Why did the first half of the final season have to be so Angelina-centric ?  Because it really sucks.

[ichbin]

9 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Why did the first half of the final season have to be so Angelina-centric ?  Because it really sucks.

There is a huge difference between a good villain and what is simply an unlikeable character.  Unfortunately they went for the latter.

[tv echo]

Disappointing...

• The Omega Sapphire plot device is ridiculous.
• Making Cal the special snowflake child who will be the savior of humanity is such an overused trope.
• Killing off Zeke was a lazy way to end that tedious love triangle.
• Angelina still being alive is very aggravating.

Overall, the acting all seemed too overwrought and the writing has sunk to almost La Brea-quality level. Yet, I'll probably still watch the final half of Season 4.

[ichbin]

3 hours ago, tv echo said:

Overall, the acting all seemed too overwrought and the writing has sunk to almost La Brea-quality level. Yet, I'll probably still watch the final half of Season 4.

I mean, it's all pretty much exactly the same as the three season prior to this.  Except perhaps that Josh Dallas has intensified his pained facial expressions probably to make up for those missing since Athena Karkanis is no longer there to provide those she could always be counted upon to display.  

[circumvent]

Was this the finale? Because if it was, are we supposed to go over to Walking Dead to see what Angelina is up to? And they saved CAll but the world is ending? 

Or maybe it was a part one of the last season, like they did with Stranger Things? 

[CCTC]

1 hour ago, circumvent said:

Or maybe it was a part one of the last season, like they did with Stranger Things? 

Just part 1 - there are more episodes that will air next year (they are already filmed).

Edited November 8, 2022 by CCTC

[Camera One]

Overall, I think this season was better than the past ones.  The plot was always ridiculous, but knowing the death date of the show and being constrained to an episode limit made the storyline tighter.  The character interactions felt more natural for the most part, and there were some nice moments, and neat connections to past passengers.  I think the season started well, and then it had a dip and then went back up.

Now, this mid-season finale, though, went a tad too far with the All Powerful Indestructible Angelina, to the point it was just frustrating to watch.  I'm not sure where else the character can go from here.  She's irredeemable and as said above, she's not a fun villain, either.  

I was wondering when we would get a cameo from Grace.  Though it was frustrating that she was just a trick from Angelina that both Ben and Cal fell for.  I sort of dislike it when shows bring back a dead character to do this kind of thing but at least they didn't have Grace morph into Angelina or something equally sickening.

I was happy that TJ was back, but again, he was poorly integrated back into the plot, so the character felt awkwardly shoehorned in.  We should have seen more of a reunion with Ben and Cal, with him getting a Calling or something.   What was up with the dialogue with Cal asking if TJ was coming over, and Olive said no, and later, she asked Ben if she and TJ could use the attic?  That scene when he walked in and spoke to a really ill Cal was very stilted.

I liked Vance's lab, so I'm disappointed it's gone for the second half.  Dr. Gupta's jerk personality came back in full force, I guess.

The government is as much the enemy on this show, with its treatment of the 828 passengers.  Though it's nice that everyone in the Registry is deaf and couldn't hear Drea saying out loud in the office, "I'm more help to the 828-ers inside the belly of the beast" en route to Jared's new desk.  Drea and Jared might as well have done a song-and-dance number called "We're the Moles!".

Why didn't Ben or Michaela try to grab the sapphire from Angelina while she was distracted in the Calling with Cal? 

Did Cal actually help anything since Angelina apparently now has the sapphire embedded in her hand, now?

When the stained glass window fell on her, I wondered if she was just going to get back up and that's exactly what she did.

Before I started watching the season, I saw a headline on Google News about the death in the Manifest season finale, and I assumed it was about Grace, but it was about Zeke, so I spoiled myself for what happened in this one.  I still found it sad, though.  That was a nicely done sacrifice.  

Edited November 13, 2022 by Camera One

[mythoughtis]

I am not sure Zeke is actually dead. In addition, when did he go from being able to take away  others emotional pain to healing them from cancer?   He’s not physically healed anyone else - including Beverly. 
 

So, the Dragon, as in Cal, touched and shattered  the sapphire. So the scales of Justice are tipped now. Yet, we still have lava and fires free flowing from Angelina?  With the bionic sapphire hand? 
 

How does  Dr Gupta know so much about the sapphire? 

[Camera One]

50 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

I am not sure Zeke is actually dead. In addition, when did he go from being able to take away  others emotional pain to healing them from cancer?   He’s not physically healed anyone else - including Beverly. 

Yeah, that made no sense.  Though I suppose they can just say that this was the next progression of his power, to take on the source of someone else's source of illness.  At first, I thought he was getting frostbite again or something.

Unfortunately, the interviews seem to claim he is truly dead.  

Edited November 13, 2022 by Camera One

[shapeshifter]

On 11/6/2022 at 12:24 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

Mick (to Eagen): "Well, hey, the last time I saw you, you'd stolen a sacred object and left us for dead."
Eagen: "So yesterday. Move on, eyebrows."

Jared: "Do you know where she [Angelina] is ?"
Eagen: "Boiling a rabbit somewhere ?"

I mentioned on another episode's thread that Ali Lopez-Sohaili (who plays Eagen) seemed to ad lib some lines because they were more clever than the rest of the script. Ali Lopez-Sohaili has a pretty opaque online presence, but IMDb does credit him as a writer, as well as an actor, so maybe they did let him improvise a little?

15 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

I am not sure Zeke is actually dead.

Zeke is better off dead now, since they threw all the anvils at us about Mic and Jared still having feelings while Drea wants to keep things with Jared casual. I mean, clearly there's going to be a Mic-Jared endgame, and I really hate triangles.
I'm okay with Michaela being pregnant with Zeke's kid. But that's enough Zeke for me in the last 10 episodes——although I should brace for the possibility of spirit Zeke coming back to somehow overthrow Fallen-Angel/Satan/Angelina——but isn't that what Dragon/Cal is here for? Young Cal was "responsible" for letting Angelina back in to kill Grace and kidnap Eden, so he can redeem himself by conquering comic-book villain Angelina, right? 

And, yeah. There may only be 10 episodes left to the show, but Angelina is so going to show up in a post-show comic book, right?

Edited November 14, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Archangel]

Well I’m home not feeling well with a possible blockage in my gut so I figured I’d watch “Manifest”. We watched the 3 episodes and then jumped to the last and to say I’m underwhelmed would be a misstatement. My guts feels like shit and so do I for giving up 4 hrs of time for this tripe. This used to be must watch TV season 1. Now it’s nothing more than a caricature of craziness even I can’t explain. I’m pissed off Angelina walked out of a burning building surrounded by police and fire and off she trods like Carrie from the fucking prom. Zeke dying pissed me off because I do like him an Micheala together. I like the older Cal because they got that character right. There is no explanation for why they are locking 828er’s up with no probable cause other than it’s the federal govt and they can do as they please. 
 

I’m not sure I will watch the back half of this 20 episode season. I think if I do I might not have a gut left at all. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Archangel said:

Well I’m home not feeling well with a possible blockage in my gut so I figured I’d watch “Manifest”. We watched the 3 episodes and then jumped to the last and to say I’m underwhelmed would be a misstatement. My guts feels like shit and so do I for giving up 4 hrs of time for this tripe. This used to be must watch TV season 1. Now it’s nothing more than a caricature of craziness even I can’t explain. I’m pissed off Angelina walked out of a burning building surrounded by police and fire and off she trods like Carrie from the fucking prom. Zeke dying pissed me off because I do like him an Micheala together. I like the older Cal because they got that character right. There is no explanation for why they are locking 828er’s up with no probable cause other than it’s the federal govt and they can do as they please. 
 

I’m not sure I will watch the back half of this 20 episode season. I think if I do I might not have a gut left at all. 

Hope you feel better, @Archangel. 🌸🌼🌺

You’re right about Angelina being like Carrie, which makes no sense since this is not the Angelina show.

Zeke dying would probably make more sense to you if you see episodes 4-9. Maybe some other time?

They did luck out with older Cal casting. I thought all of the Stone kids looked like they were related, but the 2 Cals was especially good.

And, yes, I too wish there was some obvious rationale for locking up the 828ers, but generally their visions saved lives, right? This just made the people locking them up look like WWII Nazis. 

Try to get rest! When I’m ill, I like to watch old quiz shows.

Edited November 16, 2022 by shapeshifter

[cincivic]

Holly Taylor is not a strong enough actor to pull off this villain role. The character is interesting, but in the hands of a weak actor, it doesn't have much life. 

Edited November 30, 2022 by cincivic

[natyxg]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:42 PM, KaveDweller said:

I knew they wouldn't actually kill Cal this early, but I didn't think they miracle save would be Zeke sacrificing himself. That kind of sucks. I like him and I like him and Michaela together. 

Since Michaela mentioned not wanting to have kids multiple times in these first ten episodes, I'm assuming she's going to find out she's pregnant? And will keep the baby since Zeke's now dead (or seems to be).

I don't get how the government could justify just locking up all the passengers if they haven't done anything wrong. Or what charges they are planning against Vance and Sanvi. 

I am thinking Angelina may actually be an angel of some kind since she is apparently impossible to kill. But she is full on evil psychopath at this point.

I think that Angelina and Cal are going to be mirrors of each other, each with sapphire inside.

I knew Zeke was a goner the moment he got ill after helping some drug addict in the first episode. He spent too much time on the verge of death before, for them to troll about that again without killing him for real. I didn't expect him to go how he did, though, and I thought the season did him dirty. He was quite possibly the nicest character on the show, imo, and deserved better than to kill someone then fall off the wagon and be depressed about it while Mick was off setting up the repeat love triangle between her, Jared and her best friend (now Drea).

[natyxg]

Quote

You know the show is not perfect and has some issues, but I enjoyed it.  It is some fast-paced popcorn fun that has embraced its craziness.  The cast also really meshes together well.  In interviews, the cast says how much they enjoy each other and feels like family, and I think that actually might be more than the normal PR.  There is something genuine about the chemistry between the characters and how they seem to care about each other.

I like the characters and the actors, but have always felt the real heart of the show is, or should be, the people drama (using the extraordinary situation as context for the people drama). My favorite scene from season one was Grace and Olive running through the parking lot to get to Ben and Cal after they came back. I thought it was such an emotional and wild situation, someone you loved coming back from the dead, after everything Grace and Olive had suffered during those five years. On the other hand, the whole mystery is just a convoluted mess and I don't even bother following it.

So I liked the first few episodes when we were dealing more with Ben's grief and his obsession with getting Eden back. I thought that was quite emotional. I liked the scattered flashbacks, too. Then halfway through the season we got sent back full time into "the mystery" and meh. Hard to get invested when you know that they're just pulling everything out of their ass right at that moment, and they will keep coming up with stuff to doom the day and then to save it, whenever needed. It reminds me of Lost Girl in that regard.

[natyxg]

Quote

Why didn't Ben or Michaela try to grab the sapphire from Angelina while she was distracted in the Calling with Cal? 

YES! I almost yelled at my tv. 🤬

Quote

Did Cal actually help anything since Angelina apparently now has the sapphire embedded in her hand, now?

I thought the whole point of that was to make Cal and Angelina both living sapphires, basically. Though I don't really know how the scar meant that Cal had sapphire inside of him or whatever. But I assume that's the idea.

[Paloma]

On 11/29/2022 at 11:21 PM, natyxg said:

I like the characters and the actors, but have always felt the real heart of the show is, or should be, the people drama (using the extraordinary situation as context for the people drama). My favorite scene from season one was Grace and Olive running through the parking lot to get to Ben and Cal after they came back. I thought it was such an emotional and wild situation, someone you loved coming back from the dead, after everything Grace and Olive had suffered during those five years. On the other hand, the whole mystery is just a convoluted mess and I don't even bother following it.

So I liked the first few episodes when we were dealing more with Ben's grief and his obsession with getting Eden back. I thought that was quite emotional. I liked the scattered flashbacks, too. Then halfway through the season we got sent back full time into "the mystery" and meh. Hard to get invested when you know that they're just pulling everything out of their ass right at that moment, and they will keep coming up with stuff to doom the day and then to save it, whenever needed. It reminds me of Lost Girl in that regard.

This is exactly how I feel about the show. (I tried to "love" your post but got an error message.) The initial mystery in season 1 of what happened to the plane and passengers was interesting, and the complications of the passengers coming back to a world that has moved on without them for 5 years were even more interesting. And for a while the Callings were interesting. But when they started getting all "woo-woo" and spiritual with the Omega sapphire and the Divine Consciousness (not to mention the lifeboat), I had a hard time continuing to watch. I only do continue because of the people drama, as you explain so well. But the writers seem to be in love with the woo-woo, so I'm sure I will be even more disappointed in the last few episodes.

[Fireball]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:13 PM, natyxg said:

I knew Zeke was a goner the moment he got ill after helping some drug addict in the first episode. He spent too much time on the verge of death before, for them to troll about that again without killing him for real. I didn't expect him to go how he did, though, and I thought the season did him dirty. He was quite possibly the nicest character on the show, imo, and deserved better than to kill someone then fall off the wagon and be depressed about it while Mick was off setting up the repeat love triangle between her, Jared and her best friend (now Drea).

I'm so annoyed they killed Zeke! I liked Zeke; he was one of the few characters I did like. I also do not like that Zeke died so annoying Cal could survive.  I'm not surprised the writers killed off Zeke because now the way is clear for the "one true love paring" Mick and Jared. Barf barf barf. 

I also agree the writers really threw Zeke under the bus. I felt like the whole point to Zeke's story was to show the audience that Zeke is messed up and Jared is the better option for Mick! The whole time I was like Mick your husband just killed someone maybe idk you should check in with him instead of hanging out 24/7 with your ex. I do not want to watch a love triangle between Mick, Jared, and Drea; we all know how it'll turn out. And I still don't understand why Mick still has feeling for Jared he was a controlling ass in the first seasons.  

[rr2911]

On 11/15/2022 at 5:31 PM, shapeshifter said:

Hope you feel better, @Archangel. 🌸🌼🌺

You’re right about Angelina being like Carrie, which makes no sense since this is not the Angelina show.

Zeke dying would probably make more sense to you if you see episodes 4-9. Maybe some other time?

They did luck out with older Cal casting. I thought all of the Stone kids looked like they were related, but the 2 Cals was especially good.

And, yes, I too wish there was some obvious rationale for locking up the 828ers, but generally their visions saved lives, right? This just made the people locking them up look like WWII Nazis. 

Try to get rest! When I’m ill, I like to watch old quiz shows.

The one character that didn't fit was Grace.  The kids look nothing like her.  I read that Athena Karaknis (Grace) is from Greek and Egytian descent.  They should've had one kid resemble her.

[Paloma]

On 2/14/2023 at 11:36 AM, rr2911 said:

The one character that didn't fit was Grace.  The kids look nothing like her.  I read that Athena Karaknis (Grace) is from Greek and Egytian descent.  They should've had one kid resemble her.

Funny that we could have such different reactions to the looks--I thought the kids (or at least the older two) very much resembled her in coloring and general facial features (Mediterranean).