Manifest – Off Radar

By: Luke Joseph

When it comes to the passengers on Flight 828 it all circles back to Cal. In this episode the main focus is on Cal (Jack Messina), but as always the episode opens up with a flashback. Marco (Nikolai Tsankov), a passenger on Flight 828, doesn’t speak English and he’s going from passenger to passenger in hopes to find someone to help him with his customs form. Back in the present Cal wakes up screaming in the dead of night shouting “help me” in Bulgarian. The same phrase that you guessed it Marco had been uttering.  Ben (Josh Dallas) and Grace (Athena Karkanis) believe it to just be a nightmare, but from the way Cal has a 103 fever and looks in complete fear we know there’s more to it than that.

“So you’re saying it wasn’t a wormhole,” is one of the questions directed to Dr. Haskin about Flight 828. He believes there are other possibilities. It turns out Vance (Daryl Edwards) has been having panel after panel wanting to find a logical reason to explain the events of 828 but that has yet to be found.

Back at the hospital doctors are having a difficult time figuring out what the cause is for Cal’s fever, which means they can’t treat his symptoms. It’s also causing Grace to go into full Mama Mode and wonder if her son is reacting this way because of Saanvi’s (Parveen Kaur) treatment. However, Doctor Williams (Thursday Farrar) doesn’t think so and advises her to wait for the test results. “I thought I could never feel that helpless again,” Ben confesses to Saanvi as he stands by his son’s bedside feeling absolutely powerless. Again, Cal begins to become distressed and shout in his sleep causing Saanvi to realize that she has heard it before on Flight 828.

Believing that Marcos is connected to Cal’s sickness, Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) seeks out Anna Ross (Jacqueline Antaramian) who had been one of the passengers to help Marcos with his form. She learns that the phrase is translated to “help me” in Bulgarian. Anna reveals to Michaela that since Marcos didn’t have a place to go he got transported to a local shelter. Heading to the station Michaela has an awkward run in with Jared (J.R. Ramirez). The encounter is tense and considering she’s not willing to open up to Jared it results in him telling her to leave him out of it because he doesn’t care anymore. Sure Jan, I mean Jared.

“I don’t know if I could explain. I don’t know if you’d believe me if I could,” Ben says to Grace after she realizes he’s keeping something from her. However, she’s willing to listen and believe anything. Unfortunately, she doesn’t believe that Ben is the one meant to solve this universal mystery. There are other people out there and he should leave the discoveries to them. “He doesn’t need you to be a scientist right now. He needs you to be his father. I need you to be his father.”

Red flags go up when the official paperwork comes out only accounting for four government buses. Yet, Anna recalls that there had been and bus five had been the one Marcos had gotten on. After relaying this message to Ben, he does some digging of his own and finds out that eleven passengers from the plane had been put on the missing and mysterious bus. Cal starts speaking in Bulgarian again, but this time he’s saying “hurry” and the scene quickly cuts to Marcos who is experiencing the same pain Cal is. They’re completely in-sync with one another and as Cal murmurs “red door” the scene cuts to Marcos at the hands of scientists as he gets experimented on.

Up against the clock Ben sends Michaela coordinates on a possible remote location, advising her to bring Jared along. Reluctantly, Jared agrees to go up state with her as they check each location. Eventually, they come across a large facility that’s surrounded with guards and security cams. Bingo! She has found the location. However, they have company as an armed guard reminds them the area is a no trespass zone. Luckily, Michaela is quick on her feet and explains how they have a flat tire. The two quickly take their leave, but not before she snaps pictures of people passing through a red door – the same red door that Cal keeps speaking about in his delirium. Jared has been patient each time Michaela mysteriously has solved something. It’s understandable he’s done with the bull s%$t and is demanding answers. She asserts, “These voices they want us to fix things, like a puzzle that needs to be solved.” Finally, Michaela tells Jared about the calling and though he looks conflicted it’s better than nothing. Returning to the station Jared later confronts Michaela telling her she could have told him the truth earlier. This results in her sharing with him how UDS a multi-billion dollar company with government contracts who might be the ones responsible for abducting the missing passengers.

Meanwhile, Cal’s fever spikes again and things are not looking good. They’re at risk of losing Cal’s cancer treatment and ultimately their son. “I don’t want to risk a treatment that saved his life just to check off the next item off the list,” Ben passionately proclaims. With their limited options, though, they’re told if they don’t start to treat the fever the cancer won’t matter because their son will be dead. What Grace doesn’t understand is Ben needs to be a scientist in order to be a father because his digging will solve his son’s sickness. “I know what I have to do give me an hour,” he begs and though she isn’t a fan of it she lets him go. Where is he going? To the only man he believes who can help him track Marcos down, Director Vance.

Not one for pleasantries, Ben demands that Vance help him. He throws at him the photos that Michaela had taken earlier and reveals to Vance he knows about the secret facility. That’s not what shocks Vance though! It’s learning that on the official records Lena’s whereabouts show Norway and yet that’s not really where she is located.

Back at the hospital Cal’s fever fades and returns back to a 98.6 temp. It turns out the little facility of horrors shut down, packed up and relocated because they’re on the move. Maybe Vance isn’t the bad guy because he seems to be just as eager to figure out the mystery like the rest. So eager in fact that Vance and his team head up to the facility, but unfortunately find it empty. Nevertheless, he spots a fresh band-aid discarded on the floor and it’s enough to convince that something is definitely up.  However, this isn’t the last we see of Macros and the experiments as one of the scientists speaks over the phone saying, “Ma’am” and assures her their operation will be up and running shortly. It’s only a temporary timeout, which means when it’s “time-in” Cal’s recovery won’t be lasting.