Manifest Review: Deadhead (Season 3 Episode 2)

Manifest keeps rolling down the runway, and although Manifest Season 3 Episode 2, “Deadhead,” overuses some of its recurring cast, it decides to reinvent at least some of the Meth Heads moving forward and in a really surprising way. 

Manifest also introduces another new member to the Stone family and a forgotten one at that.

While Tariq is interesting, the conflict between him and his step-sister, Grace, does no favors to an already somewhat unlikeable character, the weakest link of Manifest’s family unit at that. 

Manifest makes a big gamble bringing back the Meth Heads, and although Pete comes out better for it, this bet doesn’t win the pot. 

The return of these three feels redundant, turning the strides made by Cal, Zeke, and the others on Manifest Season 2 Episode 13, “Icing Conditions,” into something less meaningful. These three are guests overstaying their welcome. 

They worked well as a way to wrap up a season, but “Deadhead” is certainly less fresh than Manifest Season 3 Episode 1, “Tailfin.”

Hopefully, these three will end up being a way to introduce more lore, but Jace’s obsession with revenge is overplayed and skirting the line between believable and not. 

Despite the drag that these characters bring when they’re on-screen (which is even more obvious juxtaposed to the strength of dynamics in the Stone family), Pete has the beginnings of a unique storyline here. 

Generally, narrowing in on the connection between a new character and a short-term recurring character wouldn’t play well with audiences. But with the added guidance of Olive, this has the potential to redeem Pete, provide Angelina clarity, and give Olive a calling (joke intended) and a more clear sense of purpose. 

Olive is shafted a significant amount of time on Manifest, but it seems like she has an important path moving forward in this season, especially if it doubles down on exploring the lore of what happened to the passengers. 

When it comes to lore, Manifest not only reveals its mythos between the main characters such as Michael and Ben, but Zeke also appears to be front and center, introducing a called who survived their death date. 

Zeke is an interesting character on his own, and it’s great to see the supportive spouse be the husband, breaking some stereotypical gender tropes.

To see him become suspiciously wise not only says a lot about his character but about the religious nature of Manifest’s mythos. He’s almost like an angel and in many religious texts, Ezekiel is.  

But the weakest character in this episode is Grace, consistent with most of the show. She doesn’t have the charisma that Olive has, and she doesn’t have much going on. Even with the introduction with Tariq, who also plays amazingly off of Cal, she’s easy to forget. 

And while Tariq could be a great addition to Manifest, isn’t this tumultuous backstory rather convenient for this arc?

The introduction of Tariq and his cabin in the woods doesn’t feel genuine, and it probably shouldn’t. It would have been convenient for him to be around in Season 2, or even the first season, and yet, we just now meet him.

Even if he were only mentioned once, it would help Manifest become more sincere.

Action, conspiracies, and hidden codes are all good and fun, but at the end of the day, relationships tend to captivate and touch viewers the most.

“Deadhead” has great foundations for these necessary components, and with a little care, this show could easily become known for its deliciously trope-y twists and turns, but most importantly, its dedicated, passionate fans. 

The ingredients are there, but can Manifest get the right measurements?

What did you think of this episode of Manifest? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Manifest airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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