‘Manifest’ Boss on the Love Triangle in Season 3: ‘True Love Never Dies’
Just because Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh) and Zeke Landon (Matt Long) are married doesn’t mean that the love triangle with her ex, Jared Vasquez (J.R. Ramirez), is anywhere near over on Manifest.
Like Michaela and the rest of Flight 828’s passengers who mysteriously returned after being missing for five years without aging, Zeke came back from possible death. As they’d learned, they all have a “death date” — they’ll die as they should have after being back for the same amount of time they were gone. Zeke survived his but was left with a newfound ability that may make things for the love triangle much, much more awkward.
Showrunner Jeff Rake teases why.
Zeke has this new supernatural empathy power as a result of surviving his death date. Why? How will that help the others this season?
Jeff Rake: Viewers should pay close attention to the slow-burn evolution of Zeke’s new abilities. When we open Season 3, we find Zeke in a place of relief, joy, but also complacency, a little bit of confusion, and a little bit of anxiety. He’s asking himself, “Why did I survive? What’s the purpose of my survival and how can I be useful?” Not only to Michaela, his soulmate, but to the greater passenger community. It’s going to take him a while to understand the answer to that question. At first, he’s not even aware that there’s anything special going on with him. When you watch Episode 301, we the audience who are paying close attention are only vaguely aware that maybe something is up with Zeke.
As we watch Zeke’s journey evolve in the early episodes, he starts to become subtly aware that he has the empathic ability, but to what end? He’ll be unpacking that all season. And it won’t really be until the end of Season 3 when we have platformed the significance of Zeke’s abilities relative to the rest of the passengers. While Zeke’s abilities seem to be a small grace note to his survival and seem to pale in comparison to the abilities of Michaela and other passengers who get Callings, we’ll come to discover that his abilities are equal, if not more important than the passengers’ as we get to the end of Season 3 and platform his role in Season 4 and beyond.
NBC
We haven’t seen anything really from the Jared-Michaela-Zeke love triangle yet. What is coming up there this season?
We’re at that point in the sine curve of the triangle, right? There’s always dips and peaks, valleys and peaks in a good relationship triangle. We come into Season 3 with everyone on their best behavior with the best of intentions trying to just get along. Jared is trying to make peace with the fact that Michaela is married now. No, he couldn’t ultimately stand there and watch them get married, but he also didn’t break up that wedding. He’s trying to be a big guy, do the right thing, let her live her life. And he’s trying to move on.
Similarly, Jared and Zeke at times extend the olive branch to each other. They are trying to be friends. They’re trying to each support and champion Michaela in their own way. And Michaela and Jared are trying to be friends again. They’re going to do a really good job of that for a while. But at the same time, true love never dies, and it’ll only be so long before Jared can continue to just hold down what he feels so strongly in his heart. Given Zeke’s growing empathic abilities, once Jared starts to feel what he’s feeling, it’s only going to be a matter of time before Zeke becomes aware of it as well.
Peter Kramer/WBTV/NBC
How long can Michaela continue to keep the Callings and 828 stuff a secret from the others at work besides Jared?
It’s incredibly challenging for Michaela to keep these secrets. Obviously, she has Jared in her camp, but the first question is how long is Jared willing and able to kind of maintain that conspiracy to keep this information private. We’re going to see a slow burn between Michaela and Jared over the course of the season, when we may reach a tipping point where he realizes he’s being asked for too much by keeping this all to himself.
In the meantime, we have other people like Captain Bowers [Andrene Ward-Hammond] and Michaela’s partner Drea [Ellen Tamaki] who stands so close to Michaela every day at work that she too is going to get to a point where she can’t help but ask those probing questions. That will reach its boiling point very soon.
Manifest, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC
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Jared and Michaela need to get together! True love never dies.
I don’t like Zelle with Micheala.
37 5
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Michaela and Jared belong together. They loved each other through everything I hope they find a way back
34 5
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Love Michaela and Jared. You can feel the passion they share together. Michaela and Zeke, I feel, share a different kind of love. Like a love between best friends and not so much lovers. JMO...
28 5
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Michaela and Jared belong together this strange twist with Zeke who was not even on the flight is ridiculous i don’t like when shows switch things up so drastically that it’s not as enjoyable to watch put jared and Michaela back together enough with zeke already as they just don’t have the spark and don’t belong together
26 5
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Team Jared!!!
21 3
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Michaela and Jared belong together. They were given another chance to love each other, true love never dies. Michaela’s love for Zeke is different bc of their same situation and hope she ends up back with Jared and realizes that.
19 5
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I stopped watching once they put Michaela with Zeke 👎🏽
19 6
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u sum weak ash pusaye
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At this point I'm thinking Michaela doesn't deserve Jared, especially if she'd rather be with a guy like Zeke. If she wants to be married to Zeke, I hope the show runner brings a much suitable woman for Jared.
21 8
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im really angry because i really want michaela and jared together i literally stopped watching this show after that im hoping that one day i may hear that they’ve reunited on this show
14 4
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It's good to know they have a real life romance (1 1/2 years together).
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I hope the next season brings in a much better woman for Jared, Michalea doesn't deserve him 🙂
14 8
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Michaela dont deserve jared i hope he finds happiness
9 3
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wow everyone be hating the fact that zeke and michaela are together but im here shipping the hell out of them. sure jared and michaela are the greatest loves of each others lives, but i agree with zeke... him and michaela are soulmates imo. but just like beverly said.. zeke cant compete against the 12 years michaela and jared were together. michaela married zeke because she thought he was gonna die.... but i def think that jared and michaela need to get over each other and move on.....
4 1
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Am I the only one who is team zeke? Jared married micks BEST FRIEND! Girl code and all that. Just because they 'love each other' does not mean they're meant to be together. They don't understand each other anyone. Zeke is 100 percent the one for her! Team zeke! His character has grown so much and hes patient. Kind. Cals and olive and zekes bond is stronger than it ever was with Jared.
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ion savvani either she's a " pick me , pick me " type person . But , atleast she killed the Major . 😂
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please who ever is making this show put them back together , lol i honestly take this show so serious i hope someone important is taking my comment seriously
jared and michaela
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Zeke and Michaela end game!!!
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Im losing interest Jared and Michaela need to be back together.
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Team Jared and Michaela 100% 🙏
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I continue to watch hoping Michaela and Jared get back together. The whole Zeke love affair doesn’t even make sense. One second she’s telling Jared that Zeke has nothing to do with them, then she’s in love with him? It came out of nowhere. I don’t feel it and sure as heck don’t root for them as a couple. As a fan, you have to be invested in the characters. I can’t be invested in Zeke because he’s in the way of Jared and Michaela. I love Manifest but hate the Michaela/Zeke storyline. I had to stop watching when it became apparent Michaela and Jared wouldn’t get back together and there was no chance of a season where they might. 🥲
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I agree. I can’t watch Michaela with Zeke. So want her back with Jared. It’s very hard to watch… but hard not to.
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No Season 4 (hasn't been renewed) sadly.
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I love Zeke and Michaela together. They just look right. Idk about y'all but I'm team Zechaela. Jared was married and cheated on his wife technically, so it's just right for Zeke and Michaela to be together.
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The theme of the mystical story is that true love never dies. Jared and Michaela’s love is true love. Marrying Zeke was out of obligation to fulfill a dying man’s selfish wish. If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have put her though a wedding ceremony knowing he was dying. That was only for his own benefit and backed her into a corner.
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Either i think MJ should get back together or its just making me feel weird watching zeke and Michaela.
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I hate Jared but I think I want him to die to see if michela like Jared 🤔
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Zeke and Micheala love episode is a mediocre scripting. There should be more strong reason for Micheala to dump Jared and date Zeke..Its abusrd a woman just fall in love for no reason other than calling from her nephew. This is where the show went flat on emotional drama
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Michaela has no room for love since her chin takes up all that space for it. Jared and Zeke can do better.
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michaela did jared wrong. Very wrong! She’s a hoe in my opinion for ditching her love of over 5 years to a dude she barely met.
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I was so happy when Zeke died!!! Cheering it on thinking finally Jared can be the guy. Why even have the best friend leave him? Jared poured out his heart and I felt that. His scenes are fire. Zeke looks like a little punk. He didn’t even tell Mick he was married. And they just look awkward. Jared is smooth and genuine love. Callings should not have put them together. Let Mick and Jared be together and Zeke be the one fighting his feelings because of the callings. To call that guy her soulmate is a dumb twist. I came here just to see if they got back together in season three. I hate watching Zeke. I’m waiting every scene for true love to come back with Jared. Huge disappointment. Won’t be watching anymore unless I see a spoiler they put them back together. I was hoping she got pregnant by Jared to complicate things. This was the first show where true love didn’t appear to win and this fraud that nobody enjoys watching is the highlight. No thanks. On to a different show. Just break up all the couples and send them their fraud soulmates too. Then the show will make sense. A bunch of screw ups who don’t love people who love them and rather a stranger because of callings. Two thumbs down.
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Zeke should have died. It’s just ridiculous
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I love Michaela and Zeke. I hope they stay together in season 4. I don't dislike Jared but Michaela is married now and I hope he can move on.
13 23
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PERIOD. after reading all these comments, i thought no one liked zeke and michaela together.
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I know! I thought the same thing. You would be surprised. I found other Zeke and Michaela fans on fan sites
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