On the wings of mystery:
If you are one of those viewers who has felt a bit lost amid the perplexing storylines of Manifest, do not despair. Series creator Jeff Rake says answers will be landing soon.
Sci-fi drama returns for a second season.
Fans of the series Manifest who are desperate to know what the sci-fi drama is all about have been given a lifeline of hope by creator and producer Jeff Rake.
He says the current season two will keep revealing more and more about the Flight 828 mysteries.
“The onion peels,” says Rake, about the revelations that will pepper the series. “The onion peels every season. We made one or two major mythological discoveries at the end of season one. And by the time we get to the middle of season two, another layer is peeled and, by the end of the season, yet another major one. There’s many incidental discoveries along the way.”
Manifest focuses on what happens when the people aboard Flight 828, which vanished without trace, mysteriously reappear five years later, not having aged at all.
Much of the series revolves around Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh), a detective, and her brother Ben (Josh Dallas), who were both on the flight and are now trying to find out what has happened to them.
Rake, who is aiming for six series, says there are a lot of pieces of the Manifest puzzle to be figured out.
“In the writers’ room we’re taking pains to make sure that we keep delivering just enough so that we feel – so that the audience as well as the characters feel – like they’re taking steps forward.”
Social media has been awash with theories about what Manifest is all about, some comparing it to the hit series Lost, while others try to probe for a religious meaning.
Rake admits the series does have theological implications.
“From the very first episode we introduce this idea of faith versus science. Is this an experience, a phenomenon that can be explained by science, by the laws of physics? Is this an extraterrestrial event or is there some type of divine intervention going on here? ...
“We make sure that the characters are exploring those religious themes, because that idea of Romans 8:28 (in the Bible) – all things work together for good for those who are the called – has become a mantra for Michaela and Ben.”