Manifest: How Sapphires Work And The Ancient Myths That Inspired Them, Explained
After being canceled in 2021, the NBC drama "Manifest" defied its death date and returned, with the ending of Season 4, Part 2 hitting Netflix on June 2. The series is full of religious symbolism throughout four seasons, including several plagues pulled straight from the pages of the Bible. The show also draws from other longstanding mythology, including the supernatural properties traditionally associated with the rare gemstone sapphire.
In Season 3, the recovered tail fin from Flight 828 is discovered to have fragments of sapphire embedded in it, and Dr. Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur) learns that a connection exists between the DNA of the Flight 828 survivors, a sapphire-infused fragment from Noah's Ark, and traces of the mineral found on Cal's (Ty Doran) skin.
The religious and historical importance of sapphire goes back to the very beginnings of civilization. The ancient Persians believed that the earth sat on a base of sapphire and that its reflection made the sky blue, while Jewish lore claims that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on tablets made of sapphire.
A key development in "Manifest" comes with the discovery of The Omega Sapphire, a pure version of the gem with great destructive and healing powers. Anyone with the Omega Sapphire can create callings at will, and antagonist Angelina Meyer (Holly Taylor) uses it to create fake callings for others.
Ty Doran compared The Omega Sapphire's power to The Force in Star Wars
In an interview for the Netflix site Tudum, Ty Doran used a "Star Wars" analogy to illustrate how Cal and Angelina wield the duality of the Omega sapphire like the characters in George Lucas' universe used The Force for both good and evil. "As we get into the second half of Season 4," Doran said. "[Cal and Angelina] really become like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader — the same, but different. They are the powerful ones, they are two sides of the same coin. They're deeply connected but on opposite sides."
Sapphire has long been believed to have protective and healing powers, and in Hindu mythology, sapphires make up the roots of the Kalpavriksha, or wish-giving tree. Some ancient Middle Eastern cultures believed that sapphires would not glow when worn by someone of impure spirit.
Series creator Jeff Rake said he was initially hesitant to give the gem such an important role in Season 4, but writers convinced him that sapphire's ties to religious and cultural mythology were in keeping with the show's theme and would not pull audiences away from the story they were trying to tell.
"If there's a billion people out there who believe in the myth of Noah, why can't there be a billion people watching television who can believe in the myth of the sapphire," Rake asked. "It's going to remain quite important all the way to the end."