Manifest Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: “Fasten Your Seatbelts”

By
Kevin Finnerty
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Manifest Season 2 Episode 1
Melissa Roxburgh as Michaela Stone in season 2 episode 1 (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)

“Why are we back on 828?” asks a shocked and scared Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) as the plane dives and is about to crash in the second season premiere of NBC’s hit mystery drama, Manifest.

Season two episode one picks up immediately following the struggle for the gun between Jared (J.R. Ramirez) and Zeke (Matt Long). The gun’s accidentally fired and the mystery of who was shot is soon answered. Michaela was shot just as she burst into the room.

While lying on the floor bleeding, Michaela has another ‘calling’ and finds herself on 828 but this time it’s going into a dive and crashing. Cal (Jack Messina) is seated next to her and says, “Save the passengers.”

Michaela opens her eyes and looks at Zeke who’s trying to stop the bleeding. She tells him to run and he, reluctantly, does.

Michaela’s transported to the hospital and undergoes an operation. Ben (Josh Dallas) and his family arrive and Jared explains what happened. Dr. Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur) assures Ben and the rest that it was touch and go but Michaela is going to pull through.

Anxious about his sister, Ben visits Michaela and she confesses she hopes the police don’t find Zeke. She also describes her latest calling, recalling the plane going down and Cal telling her to save the passengers. Unfortunately, Ben has to be the bearer of bad news. He brings her up to date on the “death date” he and his family have discovered.

The story leaps ahead two months and finds Ben attempting to save the passengers by scoping out their homes to detect any possible threats.

Ben and Grace (Athena Karkanis) go together for her 14-week sonogram and Ben finds out Grace was pregnant with Danny’s child while he was missing but she miscarried. Ben believes if the baby is Danny’s and not his they should tell him, but Grace doesn’t want to hear it and says for right now the baby is theirs as far as she’s concerned.

Michaela leaves the hospital for a stay at Ben’s house while she recuperates. Ben and Grace return from their doctor’s visit and finally spring the baby news on the whole family. Later, Ben and Michaela talk about the death date and Michaela says she thinks that save the passengers means to save them now and not on the future date. She also wants to help Zeke who has gone off the radar.

Michaela returns to the precinct and meets the new boss to try to explain the shooting was just an accident. The new boss thinks she’s too close to the case and should return home since she’s still on medical leave. On her way out, Jared gives her grief about not letting him visit her in the hospital. Michaela reminds him that if he had listened to her, she wouldn’t have gotten shot. He says she doesn’t know that.

Manifest Season 2 Episode 1
Josh Dallas as Ben Stone and Athena Karkanis as Grace Stone in ‘Manifest’ season 2 episode 1 (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

Back at the house, Ben and Michaela talk about the passengers and two names she saw on the Missing Persons board at the station who were on Flight 828: Anton and Trina Vasik. Ben remembers talking to the husband about how much he adored his kids. He knows they wouldn’t just disappear on their kids.

Ben and Michaela pay a visit to the Vasik children who are being looked after by a neighbor. She shows them the cellar where the Vasiks have covered the walls with Bible verses, including Revelation 20:14 which talks about being cast into the lake of fire.

Meanwhile, Danny (Daniel Sunjata) bumps into Grace and Olive (Luna Blaise) and Grace avoids telling him about the pregnancy. As he continues on, Olive asks why she didn’t tell him and realizes by Grace’s face she doesn’t know if the baby is Danny’s or Ben’s. Olive walks off upset, saying nothing in their life can ever be simple.

Cal goes to Zeke’s mother’s house and shows her his drawing of Zeke outside her door. “I know he’s here now. May I please come in?” asks Cal. She allows him in and Cal tells Zeke he needs to be with Michaela and that she doesn’t have much time.

Michaela sneaks back into the precinct to use the system to try to find more information on the Vasiks. Again, Jared inserts himself into her business. He doesn’t want her to follow her callings anymore. She upsets Jared by revealing she told Zeke to run.

Catching up with Saanvi, she’s continuing her sessions with Dr. Ragier (Elizabeth Marvel) unaware she’s really The Major. The doctor suggests she has more than friendly feelings for Ben. Saanvi stops her and says she doesn’t want to go there. Later during a subsequent session, Dr. Ragier advises Saanvi she shouldn’t waste her money and time with any more sessions because she’s holding back and being guarded. Saanvi starts to leave but then turns to the doctor and says, “Something happened to us on that plane.”

Michaela spots Zeke across the street and joins him, warning he shouldn’t be out and about. She hears sirens and tells him to run but he explained he’s turning himself in to the cops. “I wish I met you some other way, some other time,” says Zeke.

Michaela grabs him and has another calling involving a commuter bridge and a yellow Pontiac.

Michaela and Ben head to an area that overlooks the George Washington Bridge and find the Vasiks in the yellow Pontiac about to drive off the cliff. Ben talks to Anton and explains all the passengers on 828 get callings and he’s convinced they aren’t bad things. Anton and his wife are equally convinced they’re supposed to die this way because they had a vision of this spot and a car going off the cliff with their children inside. In order to save their children from that fate, they’ve decided to drive off now without them.

Anton starts to hit the gas but Michaela steps in front of the car. She then looks over the cliff and sees another car has slid down into the ravine. That car has a family inside.

After that family has been rescued, Ben explains to the Vasiks that the callings they were having were telling them to help save that family.

Later that night Ben’s taking out the trash and sees a white van parked outside. He’s noticed this same suspicious vehicle on multiple occasions and heads over, yelling at whoever is inside to come out. He’s quickly grabbed from behind and his captures place a bag put over his head. He’s then shoved into the van which drives off.

Back at home, Cal asks Michaela why Zeke doesn’t see why he’s important. She hugs him in response and then has another calling of being onboard the crashing Flight 828. This time Zeke is also on board.

The last scene shows Ben seated in a room. Someone takes the bag off his head. Vance (Daryl Edwards) is seated across from him and says, “You’re not the only one who can come back from the dead.”




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