Warning: Spoilers for Manifest season 4
Manifest season 4 indicates that season 1’s wildest idea was actually right. The first ten episodes of Manifest’s final season have led to a number of major developments related to a mysterious divine consciousness. It would seem that a higher power truly is responsible for both the plane’s disappearance and the Callings.
Long before becoming a proponent of the idea that the Callings are evil, Adrian was introduced in season 1 as the leader of the Church of the Returned, a cult devoted to the passengers. At the time, Adrian was calling the passengers miracles “sent back to heal the world”. While his views inspired some, the character was largely depicted as a manipulative cult leader fooling people into believing his misguided doctrine. In response to Adrian’s seemingly outlandish claims, Ben said, “you and I both know that whatever happened to the plane was not the result of divine intervention.” But in spite of the strength of Ben’s convictions at the time, nearly everyone in the core cast – Ben included – has come around to the notion that a divine consciousness is behind the Callings and the vanishing of Flight 828.
Manifest’s Big Reveal Doesn’t Justify Adrian’s Season 1 Arc
Adrian’s teachings are nowhere near as far-fetched as they once sounded in the series, but it’s important to note that Manifest season 4’s big reveals don’t vindicate the character. After all, Adrian’s defense of his actions, “I don’t have to believe it,” signaled that he didn’t necessarily believe his own message. In other words, Adrian was knowingly manipulating people for his own gains. And while he has occasionally performed some good acts since then, Adrian was indeed responsible for a number of challenges encountered by the passengers over the course of the series.
Adrian has certainly held an antagonist role in the series, but he’s not a full-fledged villain or someone who feels unredeemable in the same way that Eagan and Angelina were in Manifest season 4. In previous seasons, he used his charisma and influence to put himself on a pedestal, but most recently, Adrian expressed a real desire to help the passengers. All things considered, Adrian really does have the potential to be an ally to Ben, Michaela, and Saanvi, but he has a long way to go before he can fully earn his redemption.
What The Divine Consciousness Wants From The Passengers
Whether he believed it or not, Adrian was apparently right about the divine consciousness, but he only partially hit on the reasons for why they were chosen. In his season 1 debut, Adrian argued that they must have been sent back to do good and help people. Based on what they found out in Manifest season 4, that too is true, though Adrian’s original claim hardly describes the scale of what the Callings intend for them. Now, the passengers understand that the Death Date is for everyone. A volcanic apocalypse is set up to be the show’s endgame and the final obstacle for the characters to overcome.