With Manifest making its triumphant and long-awaited comeback to Netflix soon, we are going back to the very beginning, from Flight 828’s return to the Callings to everything in between as a refresher for when the first part of season 4 drops. Here is a quick recap of season 1 of Manifest!
Flight 828’s Disappearance and Return
Michaela, Ben, and Cal Stone board Flight 828 from Montego Bay, Jamaica on April 7, 2013. The plane experiences some turbulence and an unexpected storm, but that’s usually normal. However, when they land and deplane on the tarmac, they are told that it’s November 4, 2018. Thirty-six hours later, when they are reunited with family, Olive is five years older, yet Cal is still the same age as he was when they left, even though they are twins. And Ben and Michaela’s mom died even though Michaela was just running on the beach with her. The mysteries of 828 begin.
“The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is that your plane departed Montego Bay, Jamaica on April 7, 2013. Today is November 4, 2018. You’ve all been missing, presumed dead, for five and a half years.”
Robert Vance
The Callings
The first Calling that happens on Manifest is in the first episode when Michaela’s on a bus, and a voice tells her to slow down. She tells the bus driver to slow down, and he nearly hits a kid who runs into the street. The Callings would then lead her to find two little girls who got abducted. At the end of the episode, a Calling would bring 20 passengers and crew back to the tarmac, only to watch 828 get blown up. Little did they know this would just be the beginning for all of them and how big the Callings would become.
Saanvi’s Research Success
Another passenger on 828 that becomes a vital part of Manifest, Saanvi finds out that the cancer research she was conducting prior to the disappearance wasn’t actually theoretical and has been used as a successful clinical trial for over two years. Cal would soon be admitted to the trial and Saanvi would be working with Ben and Michaela as well to figure out the bigger picture of Flight 828, which also includes finding a unique marker in their blood that connects them and others to the plane.
828 Experiments
It’s not surprising to know that after 828 returned, officials would want to run tests and experiments to figure out what the heck happened. With the plane in burnt pieces, that only leaves the passengers. Thanks to a Calling, Michaela finds out that the government kidnapped some of the passengers when they got off the plane and took them to a barn and then a warehouse in the middle of nowhere to run experiments. What they didn’t know was that whatever they did to them was also happening to Cal, i.e. fever, talking in a foreign language, etc.
Captain Daly’s Obsession
When 828 came back, Captain Daly was blamed for what happened since he was the pilot. Since returning, he became obsessed with trying to figure out just what had happened that night and where the storm had come from. After finding out about dark lightning and how that could have been the cause for what happened, he ran hundreds of simulations for weeks, but none proved successful. Daly was also convinced that Professor Fiona Clarke, who was on the flight and studies conspiracies, was behind it. So he kidnaps her and does one final test during an incoming storm, hoping to get into the future. The plane disappears just before it is shot down, and no one knows where or when he was. That is, until the season 3 finale…
Zeke
The mysteries of Flight 828 expand far beyond the actual plane when Zeke Landon comes into the picture. Cal follows a Calling to a literal cabin in the woods in upstate New York. At the same time, Michaela has been getting Callings involving snow. After Ben and Grace find him, Cal doesn’t want to leave because “he’s coming.” A very hypothermic Zeke comes through the door, and it’s soon found out that he went missing in 2017 after getting caught in a blizzard (thinking it’s only been two weeks). While Ben knew that Zeke was somehow connected to all of this despite not being on the plane, he’s since become a big part of Manifest (specifically Michaela’s life) and the Callings that would hopefully save the 191 passengers.
The Xers
It may be hard to believe, but not everyone was happy with the fact that Flight 828 magically reappeared after being gone for over five years. And some people have even been attacking or even killing the passengers. After a brick is thrown through the window of the Stone household, a giant red X can be seen painted on the front door. The Xers are a very unfriendly group of people that have a thing against the 828 passengers and hate what 828 could mean and become a big part of the following season.
Death Date
As if coming back after five and a half years and getting Callings wasn’t enough, Manifest had to throw one more punch at the passengers. Initially discovered after Cal drew tombstones with his, Ben, and Michaela’s names on them — and proven after Griffin, a criminal who drove into a lake, rescued after three days (exactly 82 hours and eight minutes later), lived, then drowned after the exact time he was gone, as well as a few callings involving a Peacock, Gemini twins, and a wooden dragon — the Death Date is the permanent date that the passengers, and those connected to 828, have to endure. Meaning the 191 souls on MA 828 will die on June 2, 2024, exactly five and a half years after returning. The Death Date is a vital part of Manifest; with it getting closer, there’s not much time left.
What Else Happened
- When Michaela returns, she finds out that Jared and her best friend, Lourdes, are married. Jared, of course, still has feelings for Michaela, and Lourdes leaves to let them figure it out.
- Meanwhile, Grace hid her new relationship from Ben, which tensioned their relationship, as does Ben focusing on the Callings.
- Two passengers are killed, presumably by the Xers.
- Jared nearly dies in an explosion, but Robert Vance dies in that same explosion … or does he?
- Saanvi sees her new therapist, the Major, who is behind some major things against the passengers.
- Grace tells Ben she’s pregnant but doesn’t know if it’s his or Danny’s.
- Jared and Zeke fight in Michaela’s apartment, with Zeke holding a gun. Michaela comes rushing in, and the gun goes off, but we don’t know who was shot.
Watch the first three seasons of Manifest on Netflix, with part 1 of season 4 dropping on November 4! Stay tuned to our recap of season 2! Check out our other Manifest coverage here.
