do you think that tj might come back in s4 and restart his relationship with olive? also, was it mentioned in any episode that they broke up? bc she said her bf was in egypt and just a few episodes later she was kissing levi….
Okay, first of all: you have no idea how excited I was to wake up to a Manifest ask! I have so many thoughts on this show and I love talking about it, so thank you for sending me this!
I firmly believe that TJ is Olive's endgame and that he'll return in season 4. As far as I'm aware, Garrett hasn't filmed anything for season 4 yet, but he has been posting about the show and was in New York for a little bit around the time producting was getting started, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was there to prep for TJ's return later in the season. As for why I'm so sure that TJ is Olive's endgame, there are several things in the show that told me he is:
1. TJ, like Zeke, immediately started bonding with all the Stone family members upon his introduction. He has relationships with Ben, Grace, Cal, Michaela, Zeke, and even Zeke's dad. We also know his backstory and what his relationship was like with his mom. Contrast that with how Levi has only interacted with Olive and Angelina, and how we know nothing about his family.
2. The show had Ben talk about Olive's wedding in 2x04, which is also the episode in which we see Tolive's first meeting and them meeting again after Flight 828:
To me, that's pretty clear foreshadowing that TJ is the man Olive will eventually marry.
3. Tolive's story has been way too special and tied into the mythology for them to just be a midgame ship. I mean, the Callings kept him at the same age for 5,5 years so he'd be age appropriate for Olive to date. And the book he gave her, A Wrinkle In Time, even hints at that happening. How does that not tell you that the universe wants them to be together?
4. The show has a pretty important musical score called the Pilot Theme. It played in the first scene of the show and has played in several important or sweet Stone family scenes since. For example, we heard it when Grace found out Flight 828 had returned, during the Stone family Jamaica flashback, and when Zekaela got married. I made a Twitter thread with all the scenes in which we hear it. One of those scenes is the moment in which Olive references A Wrinkle In Time to TJ and he realises she does remember him. That indicates to me that TJ is a part of the Stone family and Olive's future husband.
5. During Zekaela's wedding vows, TJ looked at Olive when Zeke said this line:
Again, strong foreshadowing that he's her future husband.
Now, onto your questions about Levi. No, season 3 didn't specifically mention a break up. I do think I know what the writers were going for with Tolive's story, but I think that they handled it a bit clumsily. I think that we're meant to see Tolive's final scene in 2x12 as them taking a break of sorts. TJ said he's not breaking up with her, but he did ask her to not give up on him. I think that meant that he sort of set her free as he went to Egypt to ensure a future with her, and all he asked her is that she wait for him.
And that's what Olive did at first. She kept calling him her boyfriend, even though he was only that to her in name, since he wasn't around. But in 3x04 we already see that her waiting for TJ is one of the things that's holding her back from living her life. She didn't want to go to her own prom because she was supposed to go with TJ and because of everything that was happening surrounding Flight 828. But eventually she did go on her own and it was the right decision for her. I'm not sure exactly what we're meant to take as her main reason for deciding to give up on TJ (I still have to do a proper S3 rewatch), but I think the idea is that she eventually decided to stop putting her life on pause and start living it again, and that she couldn't keep waiting for someone who was not around to support her in her moments of need. And Levi was around, helping her and crushing on her, so she fell for him. The writers didn't make this very clear and handled it pretty clumsily, especially considering they went from Olive calling TJ her boyfriend to her suddenly acting like she's single, but I think this is what they were going for.
Something that TJ, Ben, Michaela, and Saanvi all have to learn is that they can't keep prioritising the future over their present, especially when it comes to the people they love. Yes, it's important to try and ensure that you get the future you want with your loved ones. But that shouldn't come at the cost of being there for those loved ones right now. Ben kept not being there for Grace emotionally because he was always too focussed on solving his family's problems, and now he has to learn to be there for them the hard way, because Grace's not there to take on that burden alone. Michaela was so focussed on following all her Callings this season so she could get her happily ever after with Zeke that she didn't see that he was feeling insecure about his place and usefulness in her life until the finale, and even then Zeke mostly worked through his insecurities himself as he came to better understand his powers. And Saanvi's focus on her work and saving all the people around her cost her Alex, because to Alex it always felt like their relationship was all about the work they did together, and once that ended, so would their relationship. And TJ has fallen into a similar pattern by prioritising solving the death date over being there next to Olive as she tries to help her family face all these issues. And that came at a cost. Just like Saanvi lost Alex and Ben lost Grace in S1, TJ has now lost Olive. So it's up to him to change for the better and show her that he can be the partner she needs in season 4.