‘Manifest’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: “Carry On”

By
Kevin Finnerty
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Manifest Season 2 Episode 8
Melissa Roxburgh as Michaela Stone and Matt Long as Zeke Landon in ‘Manifest’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)

“How about if we think of each bead as a memory of T.J. and we can share it with each other?” asks Ben (Josh Dallas) to his grieving daughter, Olive (Luna Blaise), as they get ready to share memories about T.J. (Garrett Wareing) and how much he meant to them in Manifest season two episode eight.

Episode eight begins with Ben experiencing a nightmare that places him back into the fire-ravaged nightclub where he hears T.J. but can’t get to him. Ben jolts awake in a cold sweat.

Later that morning, Ben’s colleague at the college, Simon White (Maury Ginsberg), pays his condolences about T.J. saying everyone at the college is grieving his death. Olive, who’s still devastated over T.J.’s death, says Simon is lying because the students and most of the instructors thought T.J. was strange since he was a Flight 828 survivor. Simon excuses himself and asks if he can use their bathroom while Ben and Grace (Athena Karkanis) try to comfort Olive.

Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) arrives and asks to speak with Ben in private, but Olive says if it’s news about T.J. she deserves to know. Michaela gives her T.J.’s bracelet which she got off a body too badly burned to be identified. Olive becomes hysterical and Ben, Grace, and Michaela try to comfort her.

A short while later, Simon holds a meeting of the Xers. He once again shares his opinion that passengers of 828 threaten their way of life. Jared (J.R. Ramirez) is in attendance and after the meeting he gives Simon a heads-up that some of the Xers might be interviewed about the nightclub fire. Simon thanks Jared for the warning and asks him to keep an eye on Billy who can be a bit of a hothead in the group.

Zeke (Matt Long) visits Dr. Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur) and shows her the frostbite on his fingers isn’t healing. He’s afraid he’s going to freeze to death knowing he only has a few months left on his death date. Saanvi does some tests on Zeke and then reveals the test she did on herself and how it seemed to cure her of the callings.

Zeke wants to try the serum but Saanvi says she needs to do a workup on him first and run more tests.

At the precinct, Michaela’s partner Drea Mikami (Ellen Tamaki) tells her Jared was defending the Xers and she thinks he’s one of them. She suggests they tail him to get some answers.

Back at the Stone house, Ben confesses to Grace he’s afraid he has pushed Olive away. Grace warns him to just give her some space and time.

A little later Ben has a calling in which he hears chanting. He calls Michaela to tell her and learns she didn’t experience the same calling. He then fills Grace and Olive in on the calling. He suggests they go to the memorial site at the burned-out nightclub, but Olive says she’s not ready and doesn’t care about callings anymore since losing T.J.

Ben visits the makeshift memorial set up for the victims of the nightclub fire and experiences another chanting calling. He follows the noise and it leads him to a Zen Center that’s not far from the burned-out nightclub.

Manifest Season 2 Episode 8
Leah Gibson as Tamara and JR Ramirez as Jared Vasquez in ‘Manifest’ season 2 episode 8 (Photo by: Will Hart/NBC)

Jared heads to the bar where Billy (Carl Lundstedt) hangs out and lets him know he and Simon spoke. Simon suggests Billy needs to chill and not draw attention to the Xers. Billy gets upset Jared talked to Simon without him and tells him to watch it. Jared warns Billy his mouth is going to jam him up someday and walks off.

Billy’s sister, Tamara (Leah Gibson), runs after Jared after he leaves the bar and gives him a kiss. She makes excuses for Billy and wants to make sure they’re okay.

Michaela and Drea watch this go down from a car across the street. Michaela admits she’s a little upset to see Jared making out with someone else, but explains what’s really bothering her is that the bar’s not Jared’s kind of place to hang out. Drea decides she’ll go in and scope it out.

Drea lies to Tamara and says she’s looking to meet up with some guys. She then heads over to Billy and challenges him to a game of pool. Not long after Drea walks out and Billy follows while Michaela secretly takes photos of Billy and his friends.

Mission accomplished, Drea returns to the car and they head back to the precinct. Michaela and Drea run Billy’s photo through the database and find his rap sheet which includes vandalism and battery. Michaela’s surprised Jared is an Xer and that he stole her case files. Michaela calls the judge who let Zeke go and asks for a favor.

Shortly thereafter, Michaela returns to the bar and talks to Tamara about Jared. She warns her she should steer Jared clear of her kid brother if she really cares about him. Before she leaves, Michaela plants a bug in the bar. As soon as she leaves, Tamara calls someone.

Ben tells Olive the chanting led him to a Zen Center and she reveals T.J.’s mother was a Buddhist. Grace suggests the callings want Ben to carry Olive through her grief, so together father and daughter head back to the Zen Center.

In a very touching scene, Ben and Olive share memories of TJ. Olive recalls her first meeting with T.J. five and half years ago before he boarded Flight 828.

Saanvi goes to the park and sees her ex-lover Alex (Sydney Morton). She walks up to her, kisses her hard, and the two make out.

Back at the Zen Center, Ben hears the chanting again and follows it with Olive trailing right behind. It leads them to a staircase that descends into the cellar of the building. Once in the cellar, the chanting leads to an old steel door. Ben and Olive pry it open as the chanting increases in volume.

They find themselves in what Ben believes is an old prohibition tunnel. They continue on and the chanting, which had been getting louder, stops but now they both hear a faint voice begging for help. Ben and Olive call out and T.J.’s voice answers them. T.J. is alive!

Ben and Olive break through the crumbling wall to find a badly wounded T.J.

At the precinct, Michaela and Drea play the audio from the bar to the Captain. The audio clearly shows Billy threatening the passengers of 828. Michaela also tells the Captain about Jared’s friendship with Billy. The Captain assures Michaela she’ll handle it.

Once T.J.’s being treated at the hospital, he explains to Ben and Olive that Isaiah had ripped off his bracelet when they fought. The body Michaela found must have been Isaiah’s. Michaela arrives at the hospital after hearing the news on the police band and talks to Ben. Ben believes the callings are teaching them something.

Meanwhile at the precinct, the Captain meets with Jared in her office. She plays the audio for him and says, “You’ve got a problem.”

Alex visits Saanvi at her lab to break the news that what happened between them at the park was nice but she’s made her choice to stay with her husband and it can never happen again. Saanvi tells Alex she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and that she has no memory at all of what she did earlier today.

The last scene shows Michaela going home to her apartment. She tells Zeke that Jared betrayed her and without going into it she feels like maybe she deserves it. Zeke believes it’s because she has such a good heart. Michaela can tell something’s wrong with Zeke and she asks him what’s going on. He finally confesses about the frostbite but adds that Saanvi might have figured out a way to beat the death date.




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