“Seems to me I figure out one calling only to get another one even more terrifying,” says Ben (Josh Dallas) to Grace (Athena Karkanis) as he struggles to figure out the latest calling and “save the passengers” in season two episode seven of NBC’s mystery drama, Manifest.
The episode begins with a flashback of T.J. (Garrett Wareing) packing for his trip to Jamaica with help from his mom. They smile and laugh as she talks about missing him even though he’s only going to be gone a week. Jump to present day with T.J. spending time talking with Olive (Luna Blaise) using Skype.
Grace (Athena Karkanis) visits Ben in his home office where he’s done all his work connecting all the passengers of Flight 828. He admits he feels stumped about figuring out the calling he and Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) had – the vision of a crashed 828 with burnt ash all around and dead bodies.
“Whatever we are meant to save the passengers from, it’s coming. It’s violent,” says Ben.
Over at Michaela’s apartment, she confronts Zeke (Matt Long) after testing him about finding drugs hidden in his razor. He gets upset that she would think it was him and not even consider that Courtney put them there. He leaves in a huff.
Cal (Jack Messina) is upset with Ben and Grace for not letting him go on a field trip and Olive butts in saying they should let him go. They tell her to stay out of it and that she’s grounded for disobeying them and attending Adrian’s Believers meetings. Olive tells them off declaring she’s going to get emancipated because their family is shattered now that they’re living in fear. She hurries out. Ben tells Grace that Adrian must be stopped.
Dr. Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur) gets a visit from her father while in the midst of being frustrated over her lack of success. They talk over lunch and she confesses she’s hit a wall with her research. He suggests she reach out and get help from her old colleague and friend, Alex, who she admits she hasn’t seen since she returned.
Focusing his anger on Adrian, Ben heads over and warns him he’ll sue him if he doesn’t leave Olive alone. They argue and Ben reveals the details of his latest calling. He’s afraid something terrible’s going to happen to the passengers of Flight 828. Ben ends the confrontation by telling Adrian if Olive gets hurt it’s on him.
At the precinct, Jared (J.R. Ramirez) catches Michaela in thought and she explains she had a bleak calling that felt like a warning about the X’ers. Jared says he’ll help but she gets a message about a caller with info on the recent church attack. As Michaela takes the call from Isaiah, Jared receives a call from his girlfriend’s brother – an X’er – who wants info from Michaela’s files ASAP.
A brief scene follows of someone wearing black gloves injecting drugs into bottles of champagne.
Olive and T.J. meet up to hang out and investigate the creator of the Tarot deck. They discover he kept a journal that references a return from the death and callings, and T.J. has it sent to Ben’s office on campus. T.J. confesses he agrees with Ben that Adrian is full of it and that he’s not buying his message of hope. He reminds her he was on the flight and isn’t an angel or God, but just lost five and half years of his life. When he came back his mother was dead and his friends had moved on.
Isaiah, who we know is bonkers, agrees to meet with Michaela to help with the investigation of the assault on the church.
Saanvi meets up with her former colleague Alex and it’s revealed that Alex was her lover who didn’t join her on the trip to Jamaica. Seems Alex also had a family at the time. After a few apologies and rebuttals, they start to work together on the cure for the passengers of 828.
Back at the precinct, Jared tries to get into Michaela’s files but is blocked by her security code. He seeks out the help of the IT guy and after making a threatening comment about getting him fired if he doesn’t help, the IT guy agrees to try to open the files.
Michaela meets up with Ben who tells her about his confrontation with Adrian and about Olive threatening emancipation. Michaela tries to calm him down, reminding him how she threatened to run away and follow a band when she was about Olive’s age. He asks how things are with Zeke and she tells him she fears she’s only attracted to guys with issues.
Zeke, Grace, and Cal all have a calling in which they see bottles of champagne. Cal says, “Save the passengers…it’s now!”
T.J. and Olive go to a club to have a good time and it turns out it’s the same club where Isaiah agreed to meet with Michaela to talk about the church incident. They head into a photo booth to pose for pics and he tells her that working with Ben and meeting her has been the happiest thing to happen to him since he came back.
Ben shows up at the club, finds Adrian, and asks why he texted him to meet at the club. Adrian’s shocked and reveals he didn’t.
Michaela’s also at the club trying to talk Isaiah. He’s really busy tending bar since the place is packed due to a free champagne promotion. However, he thinks he’ll find time to talk to her about the case a little later.
Over at her lab, Saanvi does another test on herself to see if the new serum works. She gets dizzy and has visions of past callings before passing out.
Back at the crowded club, Ben notices a few other passengers from 828 and elsewhere in the club so does Michaela. They begin to suspect that something else is going on but haven’t yet noticed each other due to the packed house.
Grace calls Jared about the calling and asks where Michaela is. He tells her she’s at the club and he’s going over there now. Grace, Zeke, and Cal also head to the club.
Ben spots Michaela and realizes someone has set a trap for the passengers of 828. This is what the calling was trying to warn them about! Isaiah has drugged the champagne and people are starting to feel the drug’s effects. Even worse, Isaiah starts a fire in the back room of the club and locks the entrance/exit doors with chains and a padlock.
Olive and T.J. are dancing and having fun in a smaller room (not the main dance floor) when he heads off to fetch some champagne for them. He doesn’t notice Isaiah locking the door into that room behind him.
As the club starts filling up with smoke and flames, the people begin to panic. Adrian tells Ben he saw Olive headed to another part of the club. T.J. races back to Olive as the panic ensues, but he’s unable to break through the locked door. Michaela leads the scared club-goers to the exit and finds it locked. She uses a fire extinguisher to break the padlock and open the doors to get them out.
Ben joins T.J. to break down the door and release Olive and the other guests. Everyone escapes that room only to find the halls are covered in thick smoke. Olive stumbles while everyone else races to safety. She’s twisted her ankle and can’t run, so Ben and T.J. carry her through the fire.
Michaela goes back inside and finds another passenger of 828 pinned by burning debris. As she tries to get her out from under it, Zeke shows up and lifts a heavy burning beam. Together they make it outside.
As Ben, T.J., and Olive head for the exit there’s an explosion from the now extensive fire and their exit is blocked by debris. Ben and T.J. start working to clear it and Isiah appears with a knife and grabs Olive saying they’ll experience the light together. As he holds the knife to her throat Ben and T.J. are able to distract him. T.J. tackles the crazy believer to the ground. “Get her out! Go!” yells T.J. and Ben grabs Olive, promising he’ll return.
Flames and fallen lumber is everywhere and their escape looks hopeless. Just then Ben sees a bright white glow that leads him in the direction of the exit.
Michaela checks on Zeke’s hands but incredibly they don’t appear to be in bad shape after lifting the burning beam. Ben says T.J. is still inside fighting with Isiah and starts to go back into the burning building, even though Olive and Michaela plead with him not to because it’s too dangerous. Olive begs him to save T.J. and as Ben starts to run toward the building there’s a huge fiery explosion. The club is completely engulfed in flames.
Saanvi wakes and quickly tests her saliva. It appears she’s found a cure! That would explain why she didn’t have the latest calling. As she leaves her office she’s surprised to find so many victims of the club fire in her emergency room.
She treats Zeke and is amazed he doesn’t have burns on his hands. Instead, it appears as if he has frostbite on his fingers.
Later at home, Olive tells Ben what T.J. said about loving working with him and about the journal he made sure was sent to Ben’s office. Ben promises to go check on it.
At Michaela’s apartment, Zeke confesses he loves her and that he’s all in. Michaela tells him she loves him too and they kiss.
In the final scene of the episode, Ben goes to his office on campus and finds the journal. He looks through it and finds a page with a drawing of what looks like him carrying Olive out of the club toward the bright light and away from the fire. As Ben continues looking at the journal, it begins emitting a bright white glow from its pages.
- Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh Manifest Season 2 Interview
- Interview with Matt Long and J.R. Ramirez
- Recap of the Season 1 Finale
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 1 “Fasten Your Seatbelts” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 2 “Grounded” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 3 “False Horizon” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 4 “Black Box” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 5 “Coordinated Flight” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 6 “Return Trip” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 8 “Carry On” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 9 “Airplane Bottles” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 10 “Course Deviation” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 11 “Unaccompanied Minors” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 12 “Call Sign” Recap
- Manifest Season 2 Episode 13 “Icing Conditions” Recap
