‘Manifest’ Season 4 Episode 20 Recap: “Final Boarding” Series Finale

By
Rebecca Murray
-

Of course the series finale of Manifest ends on the Death Date – as it should. Morning arrives as Netflix’s Manifest season four episode 20, “Final Boarding,” begins with the Stones and their friends still at their Storm King Mountain campsite. The fissure is pulsating blue, and Olive (Luna Blaise) can still feel her brother even if he’s not there.

Suddenly, the ground shakes and they realize they’re not out of the woods yet.

As Olive and TJ (Garrett Wareing) chase after Eden, they discover a rock near where Michaela and Ben’s initials are carved into a tree. The rock has an engraving that matches the volcano on the World card but with the added touch of the scales of justice carved into the rock’s surface.

Ben (Josh Dallas) realizes the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and the inscription underneath isn’t legible. (Someone’s graffitied over it.) Ben and Michaela’s mom used to take hundreds of photos of birds while they were camping, and the inscription might be in the background of one of those photos. They still have the slides she took, but they’re in the attic at Beverly’s – where Angelina and her cult members are staying.

Olive, Jared (J.R. Ramirez), and Drea (Ellen Tamaki) volunteer to go look for the slides, and they’ll take Eden with them. Ben and Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) want the girls to be as far away from the fissure as possible, so they agree. TJ’s shattered that Olive’s leaving, but she insists she needs to do this.

Ben’s incredibly proud of Olive.

Michaela hugs Jared and Drea goodbye, hoping the next time she sees them, they’ll be new parents.

Ben, TJ, Saanvi (Parveen Kaur), and Michaela remain by the fissure, and Ben’s not sure how they’ll know what to do when it’s time. Michaela insists they’ll just know, and Ben admits to waking up in a panic attack. It turns out they all woke up gasping for breath. Maybe that’s how they’ll die since they were supposed to perish in a plane crash.

Jared and Drea enter Beverly’s old house, guns drawn. Angelina and the 828ers are gone so it’s safe for Olive and Eden to help look through the photos. Drea’s forced to relax on the couch and she turns on the news to learn a massive, active volcano has appeared in NY Harbor. Additional volcanoes are emerging across the planet.

Angelina (Holly Taylor) and her minions are on the road and pull over at a rest stop. Adrian (Jared Grimes) and Eagan (Ali Lopez-Sohaili) pull up in a van and park beside Angelina’s van. Eagan starts to disable their van, but he’s spotted and they have to flee the rest stop.

Meanwhile, the beacon has drawn the 828ers to Storm King Mountain. Everyone saw it and they’re all assembling at the fissure. Eagan and Adrian also show up, and Eagan promises he’s off Angelina’s Kool-Aid.

Angelina saw the beam, but Eagan confirms he cut her fuel line to buy them some time.

The passengers catch up with each other, exchange hugs, and share stories. They spend the day together and by the time night falls, everyone from the manifest has shown up, with the exception of Angelina and her seven people.

Ben addresses the group and confesses he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. He does know Cal sent the beacon that called them together, so it must be important. As he’s speaking, the ground rumbles and then the volcano explodes upwards, with lava flowing through the cracks as they expand the original fissure.

As the passengers watch in awe, Montego Flight 828 rises from the opening!

The lava falls away from the plane as Ben, Michaela, and Saanvi realize Cal sent the plane back for them. Its cabin door opens and the hardened lava forms a walkway up to it.

Michaela tells the 828ers they need to get back on the plane, but Eagan’s not the only one who’s leery. TJ enters first and the passengers follow, with Michaela, Saanvi, and Ben helping everyone up the makeshift ramp.

Inside, the cabin looks exactly as it did the night they boarded.

Manifest Season 4 Part 2 Poster

Back at the Stone house, they’re not having any luck finding a photo of the rock matching the World card. But then Drea reads off the side of the boxes and finds one labeled “silver drake.” Olive knows they’ve landed on the right box because a drake is a dragon and Silver Dragon is what Al-Zuras called Flight 828.

A photo shows the engraving on the rock and it reads: “Forgiveness lightens the heart.” It’s followed by P I X L A Z. Olive figures out it stands for pictures and Al-Zuras, but doesn’t know what the L is for.

Olive hid Al-Zuras’ journal and hopes Angelina didn’t find it.

Speak of the devil… Angelina and her people show up at the plane and demand the passengers get off her ark. Her minion Paul has a rifle, and she orders Ben to tell all the passengers to get out now. She holds up her palm, glowing blue, to show she’s dead serious.

The passengers keep boarding anyway, and Angelina continues to insist that the world is ending and the plane’s there just for her. Angelina sends her people up onto the plane as Amuta rushes to the cockpit to get the plane off the ground.

Only a few remain on the ground including Paul, who’s clutching the rifle. Angelina is ready to use her powers to get people off when she suddenly realizes her sapphire is no longer working. Her arm doesn’t glow when she wants it to.

Michaela asks Paul to put down the gun and he complies, but Angelina grabs the rifle! She aims it at Ben and Michaela as Paul boards the plane. The ground rumbles again and Angelina is knocked to the ground as the gun goes off, the bullet hitting Saanvi. Fortunately, she’s just grazed and is able to board the plane along with Michaela.

Only Ben remains outside with Angelina.

Once more to the Stones’ place we go, and Olive has Al-Zuras’ journal. Drea’s going into labor and Jared’s fetching her ice as Olive changes her mind and thinks maybe the P is for page and IX is the Roman numeral nine. The World card is on page 9 and L would stand for 50. That page is a drawing of her dad carrying her as fire rages around them.

Suddenly, Olive realizes that the drawing isn’t her and Ben, it’s Ben and Angelina. She leaves him a voice mail as back at the plane, Ben approaches Angelina. He grabs the gun and is about to shoot her, just as Olive’s trying to tell him he needs to forgive Angelina for him to survive the Death Date.

Ben wants to kill her because she murdered his wife, and Angelina reminds him she’s lost everyone too. Plus, she had the power in her hand and God chose her – but now it’s gone. Ben realizes he’s holding power in his hand right now, and it’s all about how you use it.

Angelina swears she never intended to kill Grace and regrets that decision every single day. Another rumble sends Angelina back to the ground, blood running from her head. She tells Ben she wants to die and to leave her, but Ben refuses.

He picks her up and his actions match the drawing on page 50.

Everyone’s on board and Michaela takes Amuta’s co-pilot seat at his request. Michaela points out that they need a runway and immediately the lava clears in front of the plane. Amuta starts the plane as the passengers fasten their seatbelts.

828 is airborne!

As Ben and Saanvi look out the window, they see volcanoes rise and believe this is truly the end of the world – just as Al-Zuras predicted. The passengers begin to gasp for air as Bethany confirms the masks won’t release.

Paul begins melting and turns to ash and is quickly followed by other passengers, including those who chose to follow Angelina. Ben believes this is their judgment and they’re dying as they would have on 828.

Adrian begins to show signs of coming apart when Eagan asks God to take him instead. Adrian heals and Eagan begins to light up as if lava is flowing through his veins. Eagan says it’s okay and he deserves it, but Adrian knows anyone who sacrifices for another isn’t selfish. Eagan also heals.

Saanvi’s the next to appear to be on death’s door but Ben’s able to convince her she’s a good person who’s saved people, including his son. Saanvi heals and they hug in relief.

Angelina’s the next to start to fall apart. No one helps her and she disintegrates into a pile of ash.

While the 828ers are experiencing their judgment day, Jared is helping Drea deliver their baby girl.

Back on the plane, Ben reports 11 passengers have died. Now, what happens to one of them could happen to all of them. Suddenly, tendrils of black smoke and ash weave their way above and around the passengers. Michaela tells everyone to get behind her and Ben as the ashes come together to form a dark angel.

Michaela’s at the end of her rope and yells at the figure, demanding to know why they were chosen. Ben joins her and together they describe all the positive actions taken by the 828ers and all the people who were saved or helped due to following the callings.

They advance on the angel as the angel backs away, parts of it disintegrating. Ben finally screams, “Isn’t that enough?!” and the angel vanishes.

Saanvi realizes everything is silent and all the volcanic activity outside is gone. Ben believes the apocalypse is over, and Michaela thinks they might have just saved the world.

Group hugs all around as Amuta calls for his co-pilot to rejoin him in the cockpit. They’re heading toward the glow, otherwise known as the long, delirious, burning blue. Michaela suggests they chase it, and Amuta confirms he’ll aim for the middle of it.

The light is blinding and then suddenly it feels like the plane is suspended in mid-air. All around them is a blinding white light and then the plane’s door opens unexpectedly. Should they step out? It seems so, and Ben and Michaela hold hands as they exit the plane, followed by the rest of the passengers.

They walk straight ahead until they come to a door, and when it opens, they’re back in time and walking into an airport. No one thinks it’s unusual seeing them, and Ben spots Grace and his mom waving to them. He asks, “Are we in Heaven?”

Michaela replies, “I think we’re in Queens.”

Ben and Michaela run to give their loved ones hugs, and of course, Grace and Karen are shocked at the over-the-top greetings. Grace asks about Cal and then spots him handing a laptop to Saanvi that she left on her seat. He’s young again and so is Olive.

The passengers quickly regroup and confirm with a quick glance at President Obama on the TV that they have gone back in time and landed when they were originally scheduled to land – April 7, 2013. And somehow, everyone on the plane except Cal remembers everything they just experienced.

They wonder if it was real or a dream, and Ben points out he’s got the dragon. Saanvi’s arm is still shot, so they did just travel back in time to where they were supposed to be. Passengers who didn’t get back on the plane because they died are also back among them.

The group breaks up and goes their separate ways as Michaela’s voice-over declares they all earned this ultimate second chance.

TJ is overcome with emotion when he sees his mom alive and well. Eagan even calls his dad…who hangs up on him since they’re fighting.

Angelina’s father can’t find her, and it appears she didn’t survive the trip home. But Michaela believes that those who did are forever bound together and changed.

Olive’s a little girl again so TJ is no longer in a relationship, but he quickly changes that when he introduces himself to Violet.

Jared’s waiting for Michaela and he doesn’t remember a thing. However, he does think maybe he proposed too soon. He wants to marry her but only if she isn’t hesitant and is crazy in love with him. Michaela takes a minute and then says she’ll always love him, but they want different things. She gives him back his ring and reveals she’s certain he’ll find the person who wants exactly what he does. They will find their way to each other.

“Just believe me when I say you gotta have hope,” says Michaela with a smile.

Alex is at the airport to pick up Saanvi and she wants to start a family and be with her. Saanvi’s all in on their relationship and they passionately kiss.

Grace asks about Saanvi when she sees Ben watching her, and Ben reveals that Saanvi is going to cure Cal. He’s positive she will do it.

Michaela’s ready to leave but her dad took the car, so Ben suggests they grab a cab. Suddenly, Michaela remembers Zeke telling her he was working in a cab the night her plane was supposed to land. Michaela runs out and looks through the line of cabs until she spots Zeke.

Another man’s about to get in when she asks him to take another cab because the driver is her husband. Zeke’s confused but plays along and Michaela asks if he can just drive anywhere – it doesn’t matter. She knows about his salty snacks in the glove compartment and Zeke’s dumbfounded. Michaela describes their history as part of a never-ending story. (That’s his favorite book.)

Jared runs into Drea responding to a call at the airport. They have an instant connection.

Vance arrives at the airport after receiving a report of 11 people disappearing from an airplane. He thinks that’s impossible.

Michaela instructs Zeke to take the long route. She has a lot to talk to him about.

And that’s it for Manifest, the sci-fi mystery that kept fans guessing for four seasons. The ending was well worth the hours invested in the series, which is really all you can hope for. Angelina got what was coming to her and the Stones go on to live out their happily ever afters, more thankful than ever for their loved ones and the time we get to spend on this planet.







RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR