Ben and Saanvi finally make contact with Vance as they seek the answers to Ben’s peculiar hand issues and persistent calling. Michaela and Zeke adjust to life in their new home looking after Beverly. Jared continues his search for answers relating to Kathryn Fitz.

Finally, after three episodes of meandering, it seems as if Manifest knows where it’s going, and it actually picks up a lot in this instalment.

Saanvi and Ben end up at the secret location where Vance is overseeing the NSA project to study Flight 828. It’s not the happiest of reunions as Vance isn’t all that happy that Ben interfered, or that he’s back in his old life again, but that soon becomes the least of anyone’s concerns as Vance reveals the work being done there. Ben is convinced he has to be reunited with the Tailfin after numerous visions and the recurrent glowing of the hand which originally touched it. But when Vance reveals the details of what specifically happened to the tailfin, things take a turn for the very creepy very fast.

On the one hand, these new revelations colour the way in which Ben sees himself and the other survivors, as well as the content of the visions that he’s been having. On the other, the specific timing of certain things unnerves Saanvi, who starts to convince herself that her own actions may have set terrible events in motion. The ongoing subplot of Saanvi and Vance being the only ones who know exactly what transpired between her and The Major/Kathryn Fitz are starting to get more and more interesting, and it feels like it can only be a matter of time before the truth comes out.

That of course is helped by Fitz’s daughter and her persistence in finding out what’s happened to her mother and Jared’s associated determination to not let go of the investigation. Jared is persistent and very dogged, and it’s not likely he’s going to let go of this particular thread unless he’s forced to – even then it’s a fifty-fifty, and suddenly you can see things getting very complicated, and that’s without accounting for the way Michaela’s new partner Drea making increasingly flirty eyes at him.

Meanwhile, Michaela and Zeke are making their own adjustments to living with Beverly. Zeke’s reliably good at dealing with her even as Michaela struggles with her outbursts and memory loss, but Zeke’s talent isn’t purely based on his own charisma – he may not have callings anymore but he seems to have another extra sensory talent in their place – one that becomes useful as the episode wears on.

Angelina refuses to give up on Pete, and her impassioned plea leads Michaela and Zeke to go and talk to the unfortunate prisoner themselves. A calling he is experiencing suggests something to them which they follow up with some unexpected results. Clearly, fate has more planned for Pete and his brother and their friend.

As the episode draws to a close, Ben makes a discovery that tips his whole understanding of the world on its head. Suddenly, it seems as if there may well be some answers for the mysteries of Flight 828, but they aren’t ones which are going to be easy for anyone to believe.

Verdict: Finally, the show I remember is back! Tight pacing, a decent number of surprises and good character work. More please! 8/10

Greg D. Smith