We open this episode Manifest with a brief recap of Cal (Jack Messina) telling Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and Ben (Josh Dallas) on the plane to “save the passengers.” Grace is at an ultrasound appointment with their daughter, Ben, and her daughter Olive, mad about the pregnancy itself and reliving the explosion that killed NSA Director Vance, and Saanvi meeting Troy Davis, fellow oncologist, and DNA Sequencer. We are reminded of the fight where Michaela was shot and asking the hunt for Zeke to be called off, and Cal was trying to tell Zeke about his death date. Sadly, Zeke turned himself in. We open to see him sitting in a jail cell. After Ben was kidnapped, it was revealed that Director Vance was still alive! This boomerang effect was just the highlight reel for the recap!
We open the episode to faded police sirens, Jared and Director Vance are being loaded onto a gurney into an ambulance, and a distraught Michaela asking the paramedics how bad the damage is for the director. As they drive to the hospital, Vance takes off his oxygen mask, telling the medic he will live, and that people inside the government were trying to kill him. If he wants to take them down, Vance needs them to think they succeeded. He hands the medic a key of some kind, instructing him to let the world think he is dead. Woah, flashback! Vance tells them he has identified a black ops financial pipeline that appears to be funding a shadow 828 investigation. The money has doubled over the last week in response to something, but no answers to what yet. Ben tells them both he has a meeting with an 828’er to get to while Vance states that he would like to stop being dead and to find out where everyone went for five and a half years.
Talking to TJ, guest star Garrett Wareing, Ben says he is trying to teach again as a professor, but with the attention and suspicion, opportunities are not available. The two reminisce about life before 828, before the plane disappeared. TJ tells Ben how he used to be “in it,” enjoying his classes, Latin club, and the cross country team… that his mom used to be proud of him. TJ decides it was a mistake to meet with Ben and tries to leave, but Ben stops him, that he reached out for a reason. Is TJ hearing things too? Or is he seeing them? TJ says both. Ben reassures TJ they are Callings, and that a lot of 828 passengers get them. TJ mentions one was seeing the inside of his own grave. Yikes, no thanks.
We transition over to Michaela and Cal discussing “save the passengers” Calling if it regards to death day or something more urgent. Ben disagrees and believes he needs to save the passengers before the five and a half years initially given. Cal agrees with Michaela and pushes her to talk to Zeke. He was in the Calling but was not on the plane.
Grace is about to have her paternity test done, as she is prepped to have her blood drawn, she hears her voice, echoing, “Stop,” over and over until she runs out of the room. Did she have a Calling? Ben runs out after her and assures her she did have a Calling, and they both realize this is how the baby is his. Yay! Ominous music cues in and Ben notices a not so friendly nurse watching him and Grace, so they rush out of the office.
Michaela is at the jail to visit Zeke; however, he is currently refusing all visitors. She returns to the police station for her first shift back from medical leave to a new partner, Drea Mikami, and a very jealous Jared as the two of them are not re-assigned together. The Capitan, however, explains their partnership attracted a lot of unwanted attention from One PP, along with internal investigations, and tells Michaela not to start sleeping with this one, referencing Mikami. Jared tries telling Michaela that it won’t work, that she needs him to have her back, but Michaela walks off. Clean breaks can be for the best.
Ben meets TJ at a construction site only to find the body of a girl. TJ insists it was not him. Police, including Jared, are called to the scene, and Jared may be the one person who would believe the truth. Because the girl was a student, Jared demanded a report from campus security where the girl’s key card may have been used for the last week. As for Grace, she decided to see Saanvi for any tests regarding her or the baby. However, she is concerned if the death date will also transfer to the new child. Saanvi has no answer at this time.
Returning to the station, Michaela steals a file off Vasquez’s desk, her new partner sees! Oh no! We see its Zeke’s arraignment file. Come on, Michaela, what are you up to? Meanwhile, Mikami goes on about how she came to need a new partner, and Michaela asks how he felt about being paired up with a rich kid. Mikami insists that it’s not her. However, her mom did well on Wall Street while she grew up in Tribeca. The two agree to trust each other, Mikami will cover for Michaela and return the contraband while Michaela bolts out of the station.
Olive runs into a girl on the street who hands her a Believer pamphlet, this upsets Grace for a moment, as she explains that Believers cannot find out there is going to be an 828 baby. Olive is ecstatic at the news that it is her father’s baby after all, but is confused at how her mom can know if she did not take the paternity test? Grace explains having the Calling meant the baby was Bens. They can all be one family as they wanted. Olive storms off upset that she is the only one. She is the only one that what, though?
In court, Zeke is in front of a judge facing the charges he turned himself in for when he fought Jacob and shot Michaela. His mother is also in the room, seated with Michaela. Zeke says he would like to defend himself and make a statement. Zeke goes on to state that he hurt a lot of people, looking back at Michaela, “and someone I never wanted to hurt,” he does not want to go on spending the time he has left fighting the charges and dragging anything out. Zeke begins to plead guilty to the charges one by one while Michaela causes a scene in the courtroom and has to be escorted out by the guards, loudly insisting that he can fight it, it was an accident!
Meeting up with Michaela back at the station with Ben and TJ, ever insistent that he had never met the girl before, as they commiserate about both Zeke and Grace getting a Calling. Michaela is called into the Capitan’s office while Ben and TJ discuss why the Calling was sent to him and not Ben or his sister. TJ elaborated to Ben how his relationship with his mom was like that of a best friend, and when the plane went missing, well… TJ lost his mom while they were gone by overdosing on sleeping pills, and his dorm emptied his room. So he does not even have a photo of her anymore.
Michaela tries to explain why she was at Zeke’s arraignment. She is not on the case. She is not a family member or girlfriend. It is a nice and easy closed case that Zeke pled guilty to. The Capitan instructs Michaela to drop the issue and let it go. We then find out that TJ’s fingerprints were all over the dead girl’s room from earlier. The evidence points to him. He knew exactly where the body was. While Michaela fights back that he had a Calling. As TJ is ushered away, Michaela, Cal, and Zeke all begin to experience a seize-like feeling where they are respectively. Could it have been something similar to turbulence? If so, Ben thinks it comes from TJ being innocent and that he needs to be saved. Ben and Michaela fight a bit about how Ben is too trusting, that he is too close to this. Ben stands with TJ, saying that passengers are the only people he can trust right now. Michaela stands differently, and if TJ is guilty, she has to make sure he is properly punished for his crimes.
At home, Cal asks Olive to take him to see Aunt Mick. There is something important they need to talk about and do. Olive tries to and wants to help, but when Cal says it is about a Calling and she would not understand, Olive picks up her books and walks away to her room. Among the tossed aside books, she finds the Believer’s pamphlet and begins to look through it.
During the investigation, Frannie, the girl who was found at the construction site, her roommate told Michaela she knew her for three years, and Frannie was getting ready for her first campus art show this weekend. She would also make collages out of found objects, things that were pulled from the trash. Notes and cross country items that were TJ’s are what Frannie had found, TJ was telling the truth! Michaela has a Calling of being buried alive as Frannie’s key card falls to the floor, yet no report from campus security was disclosed of a new card or replacement being issued. Hmm.
At the hospital, Troy Davis and Saanvi work together to get her a machine to perform the genetic tests she needs for Cal, and unbeknownst to Troy, an 828 baby. Troy asks Saanvi out for coffee. However, Saanvi does not agree or hear his advance. Saanvi later pays a visit to her therapist, talking about the new genetic sequencer and the possibility of Callings getting transferred. The therapist ominously writes this down as a note to self. You think you can trust someone!
Grace approaches Olive about having a Calling. That she knew how it felt when they were the only two who did not get them, and now Olive is the only one who can’t. It turns out Olive isn’t resentful or jealous over not having callings, she is terrified that in five years she will be the only one left.
Michaela and Mikami are at campus security to check on that replacement key card from Frannie. They verify there is no entry in the log for a replacement. A guard on duty from the night Frannie died comes up, says that a girl was in a hurry, and ran toward the west gate, trying to brush off the answer. He runs after he realizes he is caught because he also got new boots as it’s pretty hard to get blood out of leather. It turns out the guard was a serial predator, and TJ likely saved whomever his next victim was since Frannie was unfortunately dead before TJ got the Calling at all.
Ben takes TJ to Frannie’s art show debut on campus, and TJ’s surprised, there is a collage of photos of him and his mother, the Calling led TJ to her because she found him. Nope, I’m not crying here.
In closing, Ben runs into an old study partner at the college, Suzanne, who is now a Dean at the University, she asks for Bens CV as he is on the job hunt. Olive, Olive, Olive, going to a Believers meeting? What are you doing? Ben pays a visit to Director Vance, who finds out about genetic sequencing and 828 survivors, and that the Major just ordered one of the same machines. They both want to know how the Major even found out about Sanvi’s discovery. Therapy maybe?
Michaela walks into her apartment, while Cal and her experience a turbulent Calling with Zeke. This time the plane is also on fire! But, Zeke is in the medical ward of prison while Michaela and Cal are at home. How is that possible?
We have to wait until next Monday to find out what happens next. Manifest airs on NBC at 9/8 p.m.