Spoiler alert: Don't read until you've watched the Manifest Season 1 finale, Episode 16, "Estimated Time of Departure," which first aired Monday, February 18, 2019.
So that just happened. Wowza! Manifest ended its first season with a big reveal, leading to even more questions -- as promised. My head is spinning, but here's what I'm hoping we learn in Season 2. Because there has to be a Season 2.
Are The Flight 828 Passengers Really Going To Die On June 2, 2024?
Apparently our friendly neighborhood time jumpers all have expiration dates. When James Griffin was headed in for a TV interview where he planned to reveal the Callings and sell them for profit, he stopped in his tracks -- in public -- and water flew out of his mouth. He drowned right there on dry land.
It was initially thought that maybe it was due to him abusing his Calling. Michaela Stone had yelled "stop," and it was assumed that the Callings they all heard to "stop him" referred to Griffin. However, when Ben Stone later checked the police report, Griffin was shown to have been underwater for 82 hours and 8 minutes. 828. And, according to medical examiner report, he drowned in the middle of the street 82 hours and 8 minutes later. The exact amount of time he was gone/missing, he lived -- until dying the way he normally would have when his van was in the river.
Ben revealed that revelation to Grace and Olive. They wondered if that meant Ben and the others could have an expiration date too. Grace said no, Griffin died because he was evil and abused the Callings. But Ben calculated that they -- the Flight 828 passengers -- were missing for 2,037 days, putting their possible "expiration date" 2,037 days from their return, on June 2, 2024. Is that their "Estimated Time of Departure," per the finale title?
Olive saw it had been right in front of them the whole time, through her research -- the peacock goddess Juno means June. The Gemini twins represented the number 2 for June 2. And Cal's dragon, his wooden dragon, represented the year of the wood dragon in the Chinese zodiac -- 2024. That fit with Cal's drawing vision of Cal, Ben, and Michaela with gravestones.
That said, would they really die in June 2, 2024? James Griffin was in the river and meant to drown. They weren't going to die on the plane. Also, Zeke wasn't going to die in that cave. So the context and circumstances feel different. Can they avoid the dark death date fate if they don't abuse the Callings, unlike Griffin? Is there another solution to fix this?
Will Ben tell the other Flight 828 passengers about this theory, or will he keep it a secret to avoid a possible panic at the idea that they may only have 5.5 years to live? Also, does this mean Zeke only potentially has a year to live?
This is a huge thing we need to follow and figure out in Season 2, and/or later on.
What Happened In Jared And Zeke's Gun Fight?
The Manifest finale ended with Zeke and Jared having a huge physical fight. Michaela rushed to "stop him," as her Calling insisted over and over. Time was ticking. The end sound was a gunshot, with the camera on Michaela.
So who shot whom? Or did Zeke or Jared shoot the wall or ceiling? (Update: Apparently the bullet did not hit the ceiling, per show creator Jeff Rake to EW.) Is someone hurt or (doubt it, but) killed? And who was the "him" she was meant to stop? Which guy was she meant to be protecting?
Zeke vs. Jared seems tied to personal feelings, despite Jared's insistence otherwise. Sure, Zeke has a record, and he still seems to be struggling with his addiction, but he didn't do anything wrong. Jared is just blinded by love, jealousy, and overprotective feelings (but not for his WIFE Lourdes, it seems). Speaking of all of this...
Is Michaela Going To Pick Jared Or Zeke Or Neither?
Jared is still married to Lourdes, although we didn't see her at all this episode. If that relationship is over, it still doesn't mean Mick would choose to be with Jared. Jared has shown a real controlling and jealous side, and it's not cute. But Mick and Jared do have a long history. There's love there.
Michaela told Jared she and Zeke are just friends. But they shared a sweet hug and do seem to have a genuine connection, plus the Callings in common. Michaela doesn't have to date either guy, and she might be better off without them for a while, but of the two I think she should be with Zeke. Jared -- You. Are. Still. Married.
Is Danny Coming Back Into The Ben/Grace Love Triangle?
Grace and Ben Stone were finally back on the same team when Grace starting puking in the finale. A woman puking on TV is usually a sign that she's pregnant. Sure enough, Grace is pregnant. Ben was thrilled, until Grace figured she was about six weeks along. It's probably not Ben's baby. It's probably Danny's baby. So now Danny has to be told, right? He'll have to come back into the story in Season 2 and complicate this already complicated situation.
What Is Up With The Major And The Holy Grail?
Who is The Major and why does she want the holy grail, aka possibly Cal? Earlier in the episode, The Major said she was not surprised by Griffin's death. She was still looking to find out everything they could about Cal Stone and his abilities. She was asked if she was finally ready to approach him. She replied, "I'm still collecting data. I'm close to finding all the answers I need."
After that, we saw Saanvi going to see The Major as her therapist. Was she set up? Seems that way. Saanvi has been suffering from PTSD anxiety. She told the Stones she was going to see a therapist but said she wouldn't give away their secrets. But The Major is clearly going to be digging for information. My question is what answers is The Major digging for, and what does she plan to do with them?
Will The Common Blood Markers Be Exposed?
Saanvi was approached by oncology lab tech Troy, who discovered the common markers in the blood of Griffin and Cal (along with Zeke and the rest of the Flight 828-ers.) So the markers are in danger of being exposed, if not by this doctor than by others who will make the same discovery. That's something the Flight 828 team is worried about, since -- like if the Callings were exposed -- it puts them all in the public eye and probably in labs for government testing, etc.
Why Does Cal Have These Special Powers?
Cal doesn't predict the future, but he sees it and draws it. Why? Manifest creator Jeff Rake told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) it's true that Cal's abilities are stronger and different from the others and we'd get "more on this next season."
When Will We See What Happened To Fiona And The Pilot?
Flight 828 pilot Bill Daly kidnapped passenger/scientist Fiona and stole a plane in Episode 11. He wanted to prove a point, flying into a dark lightning storm. The plane was shot down ... but wreckage was never found. So did they time jump into the future? If so, by how much? Another 5.5 years? Apparently this is a mystery we won't be solving anytime soon. When MEAWW asked Manifest boss Jeff Rake if Fiona and Daly had traveled through time, he said, "That answer won’t be coming for a long, long time." Maybe five years from now?
Will We See Autumn Again?
Autumn was playing both sides of the game, but it turns out she was being used. Episode 12 revealed that The Major had promised to reunite Autumn with her daughter, who was adopted before Flight 828 reappeared. Michaela tracked down the daughter and Autumn sent The Major's people on a false trail. Is Autumn's story wrapped up, or will we see her again in Season 2?
Why Is This Happening Differently To Each Group, And Is It Happening To Others?
This is cheating to put two questions in one, but we have to narrow this down! The Flight 828 passengers were gone for 5.5 years. Zeke was gone for a year. James Griffin was gone for 82 hours and 8 minutes. But why? Why such big time differences if they were all connected by dark lightning? Also, did this happen to others? If we've already met three separate instances, are there more around the world? How many people are having Callings out there? Also, if they can jump forward in time, is it possible to jump back in time?
Why Is This Happening At All?
And the bonus BIG question -- why is this happening to begin with? Why are the time jumps happening, why do people have no aging or memories of time passing, why are the Callings happening, and who is giving them these messages? Is it alien technology? Some mystical power? Some kind of government connection?
Those big picture questions may not be answered in Season 2 -- unless ratings drop and they feel like Season 2 will be The End. But please don't. Let this story play out as long as it needs to, so we get satisfying answers. It would be amazing if they kept this going every year until 2024. Hey, if Lost can last for six seasons, why not Manifest?
There are so many other questions about Manifest, and we will have a lot of time to ask, analyze, and speculate about them in the months ahead. Since NBC has yet to renew Manifest for Season 2 at this point -- with this point being directly after the Season 1 finale -- we don't know yet when Season 2 will premiere. But September might be a fair guess, if the show returns for the 2019-2020 season. Find out what's on TV now by checking out our 2019 midseason schedule.
