Entertainment
Manifest

The 'Manifest' Season 2 Trailer Raises Even More Questions

by Ani Bundel
NBC

Manifest was the big breakout hit for NBC in 2018. The series follows the fates of the passengers on Flight 828, which reappears five and a half years after being disappearing from the radar on a routine three-hour flight from Jamaica to New York City. But the show was more than just "What if Lost, but found?" The layers of mystery kept piling on until the Season 1 finale suggested those who survived would die five and a half years after their re-appearance. But the Manifest Season 2 trailer seems to indicate that this "race against time" isn't all that it seems.

Manifest centers on the Stone family, which had three members aboard Flight 828: Ben, his sister Michaela, and his son Cal. Cal, who was undergoing chemo at the time, seems to have been far more affected by whatever mysterious force the plane experienced, showing signs of ESP and perhaps even telepathy upon arriving back.

The adults aren't unaffected either. Michaela and Ben both have "callings" in Michaela's terminology, where they sense things they "have" to do, though trying to interpret them doesn't always work out how they expect. And that's on top of trying to put relationships back together. Ben has to reconnect with his wife and daughter, while also convincing them his "callings" are real. Detective Michaela is torn between coworker and former-fiancé, Jared, and Zeke, who experienced his own disappearance and has "callings" as well.

Season 2 is only going to make all of this more complicated.

The synopsis also suggests that the Stones will be going back to that fateful flight to try and change the future:

Ben and Michaela Stone find themselves back on Flight 828 and on a mission to save the passengers before time runs out.

With so many twists and turns throughout the first season, one can only assume that Season 2's current direction is going to be a misdirection, like everything else. That being said, the images of Michaela and Ben wandering through the crashed version of Flight 828 is about as creepy as the show's managed so far.

Season 2 of Manifest is currently slated to run for 13 episodes, as Season 1 initially was. The first season order was eventually increased to 16, due to popular demand. It remains to be seen if Season 2 follows suit, but the decision to hold it as a mid-season premiere suggests not.

Manifest Season 2 premieres Monday, January 6, at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.