Angelina’s actions in the Manifest season 3 finale create the concern that the Lifeboat has already been sunk. At the end of the episode, Holly Taylor’s character crossed the point of no return when she killed Grace and kidnapped Eden. Clearly, she’s not the ally Cal hoped she would be.
Allies are exactly what the passengers need going into Manifest season 4. With a two-year time skip confirmed for the beginning of the new season, the dreaded Death Date isn’t that far off anymore. With June 2024 getting closer and closer, time is running out for the main characters to find a way out of their predicament. And if the Lifeboat theory is true as Ben suspects, the Flight 828 passengers are in for a tough challenge. If Pete and Kory sharing the same fate as Jace is any indication, the Flight 828 passengers all have to follow the Callings and remain on the right path if they have any hope of surviving. One person making the wrong move can doom everyone.
What Angelina did in the Manifest season 3 finale spells bad news for the passengers in regards to the Lifeboat theory. After all, one of their own just murdered an innocent person, which is the very scenario Ben has been working hard to avert in season 3. So, if Ben is right about how the Lifeboat works, then theoretically, the passengers’ chances of surviving the Death Date aren’t looking good after season 3. However, Saanvi’s story is a sign that not all is lost. She lost her connection to the Callings but got them back by restoring the tailfin, effectively redeeming herself in the process. In other words, mistakes can be fixed in Manifest.
How The Lifeboat Can Still Be Saved In Manifest Season 4
The problem with Holly Taylor's Angelina gaining redemption is that she’s become such a fanatic at this point that a scenario like that is hard to imagine. Plus, she went a lot further than Saanvi, who killed a villain and not an innocent. Another way of handling the problem with Angelina comes from a hint tied to Al-Zuras’ backstory. Ben discovered that people on Al-Zuras’ ship either jumped (or were shoved) into the ocean. The implication was that these people were trying to solve their own Lifeboat dilemma. What this might mean for the Flight 828 passengers is that Angelina now has to be removed from the Lifeboat to keep her from bringing them down with her. In other words, she may have to die.
Flight 828 passengers killing each other is obviously an answer that Ben would never consider and would likely send characters into extremely murky territory. However, the continued divisions between the passengers could result in these sorts of solutions being seriously discussed, especially among morally ambiguous characters like Eagan. If they all come to accept the Lifeboat theory, whether or not they have to save themselves from Angelina’s mistakes will need to be addressed in Manifest season 4.