#manifest finale

[fairypowerful]

The Ship That Was Endgame Since the Beginning (confirmed)

Narratively, Michaela and Zeke were always meant to find each other and be together.

Narratively, Jared and Mick were not meant to be.

From the very beginning – S01E01.

(Edit: The show’s creator, Jeff Rake, said this was always the ending, “just tightened up along the way.” You got that? Zekaela were planned since long before Matt Long got the role as Zeke – Matt said that his first phone call with Jeff in 2018 after getting the role was himself being told that Zekaela were soulmates! LMAO 😂 I didn’t need this double confirmation in order to know that, because in hindsight, the clues were there from the way everything led to them and when looking at their first two episodes together.)

The offscreen event that led to Mick being in a bad place mentally/emotionally (her BFF Evie’s death) had also led to her hesitation of Jared’s proposal, which led to her getting on Flight 828 because she didn’t wanna have to deal with that and her family pressuring her to accept. (“It’s not just about you. This family needs something to celebrate” / “And I know you love Jared” / “Why are you fighting this when all it’s gonna do is make you happy?”)

It was a domino effect. The plane disappearing led to Jared marrying Mick’s other BFF, Lourdes, four years later, and the plane reappeared a year after that.

Mick became the other woman in that marriage, which she deeply regretted; and she not only destroyed her now-ex BFF’s marriage, but also lost another lifelong friendship on top of being too wrought with guilt over Evie (which she forgives herself for in the final season). Jared didn’t really show any remorse, but Mick now had all of that weighing her down and didn’t want to continue with him. And Jared certainly didn’t make it easy on her.

Really, these two were not right for each other. Not to mention, Jared unnecessarily stirred up trouble and a lot of stress for Mick due to his possessiveness over her, and his immediate jealousy and rather extreme hostility towards Zeke upon first meeting. Very toxic. Just gross. Not right.

~~~

I think it’s important to remember, too, the original series order was 13 episodes – the “find her” Calling was in the tenth episode, Zeke appears in the twelfth episode, and the thirteenth ended with him and Mick in front of the petroglyph of two stick figures holding hands, outside under the stars.

Those episodes would’ve been written in cohesion with the preceding storylines, especially considering the nature of the show and its mythology needing to be mapped out instead of written on the spot – meaning that Zekaela was not shoehorned into the show. Keyword, “cohesion.”

Those episodes and the character would’ve been written long before the actor was even cast into the role. It was always planned.

🤭 It’s also confirmed.

Their soulmatism was sprinkled all over their story, starting in their first two episodes together.

“It’s all connected,” didn’t you know? 😉

The show’s been consistent about that.

Look at the acting choices in Season 1 from before Zeke’s introduction. In multiple scenes, Jared told Mick they were supposed to be together and she’d shake her head ‘no.’ Like her heart knew, but she consciously didn’t yet. When Jared told her she’s his soulmate, Mick said, “No, I’m not.”

Narratively, her heart always belonged elsewhere. After she met Zeke, she always chose him over Jared from that point onward. Everything that happened led her to him, including her conscious choices post-Pilot and pre-Vanishing Point, which basically worked in tandem with the universe. The cheating/ruining BFF’s marriage/losing her BFF was a major deciding factor for her in not getting back with Jared anytime soon … and then she finally meets Zeke whom the universe had also brought forward in time.

~~~

So, I want to put my thoughts to some of the things I’ve read by antis…

“The only thing Zeke and Mick had in common were the Callings”

That’s not true. You had to have watched the show with your eyes closed to come up with that.

A Calling brought them together, sure, but it didn’t make them connect and fall in love, or be happier around one another. A Calling isn’t a love potion or a magic spell.

Zekaela was a pretty peaceful relationship in a sea of turmoil (the government, the X-ers, the hatred and violence against 828ers), whereas Jachaela was an angsty teen drama amidst the external turmoil. 😶

I’m going to quote a character from a different story who chose his wife over someone else he had feelings with, because I think it applies very much with Mick choosing Zeke over and over again every single time. “Passion is … it’s fire. And fire is great, man. But we’re made of water. Water is how we keep living. Water is what we need to survive. My family was my water. I picked water. I’ll pick water every time.” And I’ll add another quote from the same character talking about his wife and what it was like in meeting her, replacing the name with Mick’s because it is very much in alignment with Zekaela’s story. “But when I met [Mick], it was something different altogether. She just … made the world make sense to me. She even made me like myself more. And there was a calmness to her that … nobody else had. It felt like when I was with her, I knew everything would be fine. It was like I was following the North Star.”

Mick being Zeke’s North Star is literally canon, by the way.

(S01E13 and S04E18).

~~~

“The only reason why Zeke and Mick got together was due to the time travel and the Callings”

Yeah, that’s how storytelling works.

Crying about this is like complaining that the only reason the Doctor regenerates is because he’s an alien from Gallifrey and the Doctor Who writers in 1966 came up with a way to replace the leading actor without getting rid of the main character. Or rather, it’s like complaining that the only reason Mary Margaret and David fell in love despite the Dark Curse amnesia is because they were Snow White and Charming in the Enchanted Forest.

Trying to belittle Mick and Zeke’s love by attacking the narrative, that’s pathetic.

“But it’s forced”

No, it’s not. The little things the writers added years later, like Afterlife!Zeke telling Mick about them having moments in their lives where they almost met, is not forced, because the audience (who don’t have blinders on during their story) already knew they were soulmates and it’s literally how storytelling works.

Heaven forbid TV writers foreshadow, expand, and give callbacks to scenes from previous seasons ever again! Heaven forbid we ever get flashbacks in later seasons! Heaven forbid you ever watch another TV show with more than 1 season because “they added this years later, so it’s forced”!

“But Mick and Jared knew each other the longest”

So? That doesn’t matter. Do you actually believe length is an indicator of whether or not someone is the love of your life? Just…wow! Heaven forbid anybody not get back together with an ex simply because they knew them longer. Heaven forbid anybody leave behind a former or current longterm relationship without getting told, “But it’s been years, so you belong with him forever/were meant to be with him.”

Mick wanted Zeke. She chose Zeke. I think that’s a good indicator of whom the love of her life is.

In S01E13, Mick tells him that she wished she could redo her re-entry into 2018 but wasn’t sure what she would’ve done to change the way her situation at home turned out.

In S02E01, Zeke tells Mick he wished he’d met her some other way in some other time. (Edit: With Jeff implicitly saying he always knew how he wanted the story to end, and explicitly confirming that Zekaela was always the plan from the very beginning, along with Matt implicitly saying they were written as soulmates since before he got the role, Zeke’s line is now major foreshadowing).

In S04E19, Mick tells Ben she doesn’t regret taking a later flight because it led her to Zeke.

It’s very telling. Ben’s heart belongs with Grace, and Mick’s heart belongs with Zeke.

“She would’ve married Jared if Flight 828 landed in its proper timeline in the Pilot episode”

There’d be no show to watch if the plane landed in 2013, for one thing.

Those 5 years gave Mick an experience where she learned what and whom she really wanted, without the enormous pressure of immediately accepting a proposal, and she also got the opportunity to meet her real soulmate. It’s okay to not want the same thing you wanted a few years ago. It’s called growth.

~~~

“Mick only stayed married to Zeke, after he survived his Death Date, out of pity and duty (because he survived, and she expected him to die)”

I remember seeing a remark like this, and you must dislike or hate Mick if you think she’s like that. Even as a joke, that’s just cruel.

Mick was so happy and relieved when Zeke survived his Death Date. She loves Zeke, or did you just close your eyes to their whole love story?

She told him she’d continue to choose him even if he had one day left, or ten thousand left. And with or without empath powers, Zeke knew she loved him too.

“But she still had feelings for Jared”

Okay, and? Even if the situation were reverse, she’d also still have feelings for Zeke. It works both ways.

And as Mick told him, she chose him instead of Jared. Sure, she loved Jared, but as Zeke told Mick in S04E02, her huge heart has room enough for anyone who’s lucky to be loved by her. Loving Zeke doesn’t mean she has to stop loving anyone else in her life. Love isn’t limited.

It’s canon that the only way she could choose Jared is if Zeke is dead. He didn’t look happy at all when he saw Zeke survived.

Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’re the one for you. She chose Zeke.

~~~

“The writers only made Drea pregnant to put her and Jared together”

Do I need to be petty and remind y’all that pregnancy happens when two people regularly have sex, and protection isn’t always a 100% guarantee? 😶

Jared and Drea match really well, that was quite clear when they first got together. Their relationship grew organically. Just take off your blinders. Even Mick could see that Drea is perfect for him.

It helped Mick to see that Jared was compromising his happiness by being with her. She didn’t want children, and she was confronted with the fact that they could never have a full life together, not without compromising her vision for her own life.

By the way, that breakup post-reset was made before she remembered Zeke telling her about one of their almost-meetups where he was a cab driver at the airport on the night Flight 828 was supposed to land. So, it was fully her choice to end things with Jared going forward and starting anew; Zeke didn’t even need to be alive for her to choose that for herself. But she was so happy when she remembered. If you truly like the character, her choice makes complete sense narratively and character-wise.

~~~

“But Jared and Mick have more chemistry”

If arguing and fighting is chemistry, then yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I do think JR and Melissa have chemistry outside of angst and volatile tension, but if you think “more chemistry” is a reason why a fictional couple should be endgame, you have a juvenile view of an adult romance. This ain’t a teen drama. So, congrats, what a way to reveal you don’t care about the story or a cohesive narrative! 👀

Zekaela have a calmer romantic chemistry, and their sweet love story is so much better than Jachaela’s constant tension-filled drama where Jared put on tantrums when she wouldn’t give in to him. Their story up until Season 4 was volatile in a bad way, which only went away when Jared stopped chasing after her and let her live peacefully married to Zeke. I’m glad his character got better, thank goodness!

~

And don’t even get me started with “We won in real-life because JR (Jared) and Melissa (Mick) are together,” because we’re here for the TV show, not real-life. It’s entertainment, so chill out.

~~~

I think that 2013-Jared calling off his proposal to Mick, because it was for the wrong reason (“to help you get past [Evie’s death]”), isn’t forced/lazy writing.

Consider for a minute that, in 2013, he’s not the character you were introduced to in Season 1 (the now-former 2018 timeline). He’s not unhealthily obsessed with her like the Joker is with Batman, or Eobard Thawne is with The Flash. And he never got the trauma from losing someone in a perceived airplane accident. As for his breakup, he got time to think, and ultimately he didn’t want to take advantage of her in a vulnerable state.

And consider for a moment, at the time, 2013-Mick was grieving and didn’t believe she deserved happiness – and it’s been a year since Evie’s death. I don’t imagine there were many smiles and laughter for the past year in their relationship, meaning it was dying. So, Jared not being heartbroken over 2024-Mick’s breakup kinda makes sense.

To him, Mick broke up with him because she wasn’t gonna heal any time soon, and wanted him to move on with someone who can give him what she can’t.

But to her, Mick grew in those 5 years since getting on Flight 828 the first time, and the life she thought she wanted back then isn’t the same anymore (and that’s okay, we’re not the same person we were half a decade ago) and she got to meet the real love of her life whom she can be with now. Zeke.

I don’t believe love is a choice, because you can’t force yourself to love or not to love someone. But I believe happiness is a choice, you can choose to walk towards it or away from it. Mick walked towards happiness by choosing Zeke. It’s really beautiful.

~~~

Credit for most of the Manifest screenshots and tweets go to @gracestone

[stalltherain]

Manifest finale spoilers. I'm about to rant.

What the f-ck was that ending?

It might as well have all been a dream. Other than Mick meeting Zeke, a few people disappearing, and Saanvi's cancer treatment coming out soon enough to treat Cal, nothing is different than if the show had never happened.

I'd have preferred the characters find happiness in their shitty world. Or heck, even all of them dying in their shitty world to sacrifice themselves for people they love (that would have required a different setup from the beginning of s4 so that we saw the people that the passengers loved).

This ending reminds me of the dilemma in scifi where a character has to chose to live in a happy fake world or a tough & gritty real world. The show writers chose the happy fake. I'd have preferred to see the real world.

I was optimistic for this season and really had hope this show was going to be better than previous shows about explaining the mystery. Of all the theories of how it would go, resetting back to the plane not crashing was the most boring one & what I really hoped wouldn't happen. I guess it's a satisfying-ish ending if you had low expectations.

I just thought we'd actually get some answers, and was also disappointed by all but one of the character's endings. Since the show chose to ignore the mystery and focus on character stories, I'm going to address my issues with those.

TJ lost Olive, but immediately seems to forget her because another cute girl shows up.

Mick ends her relationship with Jared, because he wants kids and she doesn't, but how did that never come up for them in conversation before. Took my opinion of both of them down a bit. Then, 5 seconds after Jared got dumped by the woman he wanted to marry, he's already flirting with another woman. Took my opinion of Jarod about as low as it can get. Shame because I had actually liked him.

The Cal, Olive, and Grace we knew are all gone. Never going to even exist. They're basically fake versions of themselves now. Grace is reset back to season 1, which means she's the annoying version I wanted Ben to dump. Also, how is Ben going to explain that he had sex with someone on the plane? Season 1 Grace would not be open to the whole "hey, we went to another world or whatever" story. She didn't believe anything Ben said about it until she saw it affecting Cal. There's no way she believes his story if she hears it led to him sleeping with someone else. Unless Ben plans to lie to his wife, she's leaving him soon. If he does keep it a secret that he slept with Cal's doctor, that just means she'll leave a little later. Keeping that secret will destroy their relationship. It was a really terrible writing choice to have Ben and Saanvi hook up and then just go back to their previous partners like nothing changed. I think they're great together, but I'd have preferred nothing happen if that was how it ended.

The one thing I really wanted was for Saanvi to realize that she deserves better than the person who kept rejecting her over and over, but nope. Zero growth. I felt so bad for her and feel like from what we know of Alex, she'll go right back to her family soon. Or maybe Saanvi will get enough self esteem to get angry at how Alex treated her (both by not taking the flight and by how she repeatedly rejected her in the real world).

Vance is back to being kind of a jerk who knows none of them. I suppose I'm glad he has his family back, but his character development was meaningless. I'd rather have seem him get his family back in the real world.

The only ending that didn't suck was Mick found Zeke based on what he told her in the real world. I personally wasn't attached to Mick with either guy, so I wasn't expecting her ending to be the most satisfying. At least one story we watched ended up having meaning.

After so many shows have ended disappointingly, I just really wanted one to stick the landing. (pun not intended, but I'm keeping it) This ending was a major (pun also not intended, but I'm also keeping it) bummer.

I don't know how go wrap this up, so I'm just going to drop this. In five years or less, Ben and Grace are definitely split. So are Saanvi and Alex. Hey, maybe Benvi will get back together then. Lol.

[gonna-need-you-to-not]

Soooo we've been watching Manifest in my house and we finished it yesterday and I have questions.

What was the point of the sapphires. What was the point of the peacocks. What was the point of literally any of it.

If Ben was just going to carry Angelina onto the plane of his own accord, why did Olive need to bother going through all those slides to find the page number etc. Turns out none of the puzzles actually needed solving, because it was all going to be fine anyway.

Who or what was that figure on the plane, and why did shouting "we did our best" defeat it.

If the whole thing was about getting a second chance, then why wasn't Angelina allowed a soft reset. Surely she should've been allowed to go to find Pete.

The exploding into dust thing seemed to stop if you forgave yourself ie Eagan and Saanvi, (lighten your heart etc), and there was that whole balloon releasing moment, so why wasn't that even mentioned in the finale.

Why didn't Fiona and Daly come back.

Why are we supposed to be happy that entire character arcs were erased (Vance, Jared, Mick's relationship with Evie's parents).

Will all the stuff that they stopped just happen again in 5 years ie those girls being kidnapped, those kids being trafficked.

Won't Grace wonder why her husband is all of a sudden best friends with a random doctor he met on the plane.

I still dont understand why Zeke and Griffin got resurrected in the first place.

In conclusion I wish writers would plan what they're going to fucking do instead of laying down a really cool premise and dropping loads of exciting crumbs, but not actually having a clue what their plan is. It really felt like they got to S3 and went oh shit how can we tie all this up, and then failed to tie any of it up. So many shows go this way and it's really annoying. It makes me feel cheated because I'm very much someone who will invest emotionally in characters and storylines, and when the creatives decide that they don't give a shit about that person or that plot point, it's like oh cool glad I cared.

[ragazzadellearance]

So turns out the passengers that got killed in the og timeline were really the lucky ones: they didn't need to do shit and they just showed up at the end like they just draw a get out of jail for free card

[psycolynx]

Here’s to a show whose message is “Live better, forgive yourself and others, don’t be a dick or God will smite ye, be kind 😊.”

[mexican-melon-lord]

GUYS, I’m so upset. I just finished manifest season 4 and TJ remembers being with olive but obviously she is a child and he just lost her in a sense. I’m so upset they won’t be together cause of course the writers have him immediately after seeing child olive and getting his heart broken to seeing a cute girl who was on the plane. I JUST WANNA CRY

[once-i-was-hopeful]

Obviously I have thoughts about that finale, but right now I’m just thinking of TJ’s face when he saw Olive, who doesn’t know him and is now way too young for him.

Those two deserved better.

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[reneemauricesings]

We're so close to seeing the final 10 episodes of Manifest and I am so freaking excited!

I don't know if Ben and Saanvi are endgame or if they're even gonna go there, but they're definitely going to be getting closer in these last 10 episodes and it has been clear since day one that they have for sure come into each other's lives for a reason.

But anyway, I wanted to write a scenario in which they explore their feelings for each other, whether it comes real or not. I can't WAIT to find out on June 2nd!

Peace and love,

Renee.

...

Ben and Saanvi were equally exhausted as they were wired. Running for your life at a Top Secret Government Facility will do that to a person.

Knowing they'd gotten far enough away to evade the authorities and escape immediate danger, they began to slow the pace of their walk.

They were still a few miles out from basecamp and although desperate to get back to the others to tell them what they had found, they knew they needed to rest first.

They had no shelter of course and very little to eat or drink. Their surroundings were quite barren which left them exposed to the elements.

But they had each other, and the stars were magnificent.

After picking a particular patch of dirt on which to sit, Ben curled his legs up to his chest and shivered.

"Cold?" Saanvi softly queried.

He nodded his head against his knees. "Don't know why though, it's nearly Summer and the air's pretty warm."

Wrapping her arms around herself, Saanvi gave him a sympathetic smile. "You've lost body fat. None of us have had enough to eat these past few months."

She was right. You couldn't exactly order takeout while living off the grid.

The passengers had formed a sort of commune, a self-sufficient one. They had learned to grow their own food and had really only been living off that and the few basic supplies they received from trusted outsiders on about a once-a-month basis.

Being on the run from the registry was a case of self-preservation for them all. They knew if they had any chance of surviving the death date and saving the world, it wasn't going to happen with them all locked up in prison cells.

Despite knowing they had a bigger mission to fulfill, the comforts of home were missed by everyoneBen could barely remember the days of sitting in his living room in front of the fireplace - with his family. It seemed like a whole other lifetime ago. What he wouldn't give to live in the comfort of those moments again.

Ever perceptive to him as she was, Saanvi asked shyly, "Do you wanna…warm each other up?"

He turned his head to her, snickering bashfully at what it sounded like she was suggesting…until the look in her eyes confirmed it.

Off his immediate lack of response, she shook her head, feeling embarrassed. "Forget I said anything."

But Ben didn't want to forget. He wanted to be reminded. Of what it felt like to lie in a woman's arms, to be held gently and tenderly. To be wanted, to be craved. To be loved.

Pressing his palm to her cheek, the action already a good start to warming both of them, he brought his lips to hers. Against his mouth, her breath was sultry, by both meanings of the word. They became wrapped up in each other, no longer nervous or afraid. More fearful of not having a deeper connection than of upsetting the balance of the one they already shared.

There was an undefined trust between the two of them that had been there from the day they met. With that trust at the fore, they gave themselves unreservedly to one another.

Protecting the back of her brilliant, beautiful head, he lay her down on the unforgiving ground and covered her with every bit of the love in him he still had left to give.

No two people lived more in the knowledge that nothing happened by accident, everything that occurred in the universe did so for a reason and a purpose. To not find the purpose out of the slew of tragedy that had befallen them would be a tragedy in and of itself.

And so they were both equally unabashed in honoring their mutual feelings. For Ben, being with Saanvi and for Saanvi being with Ben, sharing their time, their intellect, their passions, and now in baring their spirits completely to one another, they each felt like the freest versions of themselves.

They both wept, crying with relief to be here together now as well as for all the lost time. Then again, they knew it had been time needed to heal, to grieve, to trust again, to relearn how to give themselves, mind, body and heart, to another person.

The years they had been in one another's lives had passed so swiftly, yet it felt like they had known each other forever in their souls. The journey they had been on was perilous beyond anything anyone else on Earth could imagine. Whatever happened next, Ben and Saanvi were bound forever.

They lay together, beating heart to beating heart. Satiated, content and more than warmed.

Sensing he may have been suffocating her for holding her so tightly, Ben released his grip on her a little but Saanvi whimpered and pulled his arm back around her. "Mm-mm, don't let go."

He kissed the top of her head and softly whispered. "No. Not until the very end."

There was nothing around them for miles and nothing comforting or safe guaranteed for their future.

But they had each other, and the stars were magnificent.

[happyheidi]

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ ﾟ. May will bring blessings.

ﾟ･｡･ﾟ

[egophiliac]

you know, I've been thinking about it, and there is actually one single scenario in which I would be okay with not getting a big ol' "Silver Vanrouge" out of Lilia.

(just kidding, I still need some "call me Silver, Mr. Vanrouge is my father" in my life, please don't let me down on this one Twst)

[hansoeii]

It's about who.

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[ithinkdogshouldvote]

POV: you are Willy Stampler

[alicenpai]

a dance with you lasting for all eternity 🐇🖤🤍 inprnt

[afaimscorner]

Manifest Finale

I am actually really happy about this one. (And believe it has been a long time since I said that about a Series Finale, I mean, the last one I just saw a couple of weeks ago was “The Flash” - ugh - and before that there were all those cancelled even though they thought they were going to continue ones, so at this point I am kind of jaded). Yes, along the line during Season 4B I had my doubts that they could pull it of. But why I would have done some things differently - especially never have Mick and Jared be in a relationship again this long only for the sake of showing everyone why these two actually very much belong with other people - overall I really respect the storytelling this show did. The fact that I knew going into the Finale how it would end and it did end almost exactly like this (I am more forgiving than the writers I guess) is I good thing, because why I did not know how and why it would get there, it did get there.

And yes, we did never really get any kind of how, why or who, but “Manifest” was never about answers, so I am not sure people did expect them this time around. What we did get though was the ending we deserved, and yes, along with this we got  a clear lesson, which is something a show like this should deliver (I am looking at you, “The 100″!). So yeah, forgiveness does actually lighten the heart, I guess. The Finale did make me forgive the show all the misteps it made and all those misteps that actually were part of the plan all along and therefore never were misteps at all.

Well played, writers. You gave me my hope that somewhere out there decent television writers who can write endings for shows still do exist.

If the strike ever ends and TV Shows are still a thing after it, do a workshop or something like this on how to pull that off for your mutals, please.

[ragazzadellearance]

Manifest really said forgiving yourself is important but also if you don't repent you're just gonna get pulverized... Second chances? Lol, never heard of those

Wtf

On a serious note, though... Setting aside the fact that on this show the 'good' side has always coincided with the Stones' side and whenever a passenger didn't agree with them was automatically labelled as bad, which, you know... cringe... But anyway, even from a purely narrative perspective, I think it would have worked much better if the pulverised passengers turned up in 2013 with all the others and with their memories in tact, with the knowledge that they failed and they estranged all the other passengers, and with the question of what they're gonna do with that.

I mean Mick said it at the end, that all this experience did was basically to teach them what's important and what to live for. And guess who'd have a valuable perspective on this?? Ah yes the guy who just got a glimpse of eternal damnation

[psycolynx]

I don’t hate the Manifest Finale

I’ve been seeing hate and couldn’t understand why until I realized.

<b> I was not watching the same show as everyone else. I saw the Biblical themes and immediately went “Ah. Yes. An Allegory.” <b/>

The main theme has been these are all messed up people who need help and find help with each other.

We are all connected, and we can make good in the world because the entire world is a lifeboat. We can absolutely take each other down.

We need to learn how to forgive because holding onto resentment will only hurt us in the long run.

They have grown as people. Getting to go back with what they know and live better is their reward. (Ben is, quite literally, given Grace for what he did.)