Manifest – S.N.A.F.U.

By: Luke Joseph

The theme of the episode is all about going where your heart leads you at least when it comes to Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh). For Ben (Josh Dallas), it’s all about being a man on a mission. Just as expected the audience is given a flashback where Kelly (Julienne Kim) is complaining to another woman about the change of flight. The other passenger, who we later find out is Fiona Clarke (Francesca Faridany), reminds her that the flight is something that is happening for you not to you.

Discharged from the hospital Cal (Jack Messina) is happy about being able to go home but tells his dad that he’s still worried about Marko (Nikolai Tsankov). This results in Ben dropping “Dad mode” and going into “Bond mode” when he ends up applying for a job at J.P. Williamson. Even though he is highly overqualified for the position, he manages to persuade and charm his way into getting the job. He’s doing this because he believes it will get him closer to UDS and finding out about the mysterious company. During his first day at work he’s met with his supervisor who comes across more like a frat boy then a boss. Seeing as Ben’s badge doesn’t meet the security credentials he needs to access the database so he gets creative. Being the modern James Bond, he ruins his keycard resulting in his supervisor allowing him to borrow his for the short period of time. It’s enough for Ben to discover a file about a woman named Fiona Clarke who is not only a neuropsychologist but also was a passenger on Flight 828.

Guess who’s coming to dinner? Jared (J.R. Ramirez) invites Michaela to have dinner with him and Lourdes (Victoria Cartagena). He explains how he’s worried about her then later reveals how the NSA had approached him. He’s quick to add in he never worked with them or would think about betraying Michaela. The conversation is cut short when they get a call on the radio about a shooting. Even though their arrival is fast it’s too late because the barber shop owner has died on the scene with his nephew witnessing the whole thing. The boy’s name is Carlos (Mateo Ferro) and he’s absolutely gutted over the loss of his uncle. He tells Michaela how his uncle had taken him in when he not only had nothing but was also dealing with some major health issues. At the station during the identification lineup Carlos seems to freeze up when he’s presented with possible suspects. It definitely looks like he recognizes who shot his uncle but he’s resisting. Rather than point out the suspect he runs out the door leaving a very confused Jared and Michaela.

Ben and Saanvi (Parveen Kaur) conveniently find themselves seated at a presentation that Fiona Clarke is holding. She believes that all brains can sync up with one another. “We are one,” she explains to the crowd and it definitely connects to everything that’s been happening. As she makes her way through the crowd, she recognizes the two and reveals how she’s been waiting for them. Before we get excited, she doesn’t have the answers we are seeking. In fact, she seems to be just as much in the dark as they are. She tells them how she had been approached by a nonprofit called “SP,” the same “SP” files to which Ben doesn’t have access.  Well, it’s not a total waste of the evening because Ben has another idea which lands him in a seat at a poker game hosted by some of his co-workers. This isn’t for pleasure. It’s professional because he’s hoping to sneak some restricted access to the SP files. During the game he befriends an IP guy who tells Ben he’ll give him a tour of his office and explains what he does the next day. Feeling that this is an in Ben accepts.

Dinner isn’t a complete bust because once they get through the awkwardness the three musketeers share laughs and swap stories about the past. One story catches Michaela’s attention as she remembers how Evie had wanted to get revenge on a guy who had done her dirty rather than justice. Not a second later she hears the heartbeat again and hastily exits. She heads over to speak to Carlos because she believes he failed to identify the suspect because he wants to avenge his uncle. “It haunts me every single day. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to do that on purpose,” Michaela admits as she opens up about how she feels at fault for the death of her friend.

The next morning Michaela explains to Jared her abrupt exit from dinner. Just as Jared is about to lecture her on why she could be in the wrong by following these callings Carlos ends up walking in with the murder weapon. It seems like Michaela’s speech had gotten to him and made him want to do the right thing but unfortunately since the suspect hadn’t been identified he’s been released and he’s back on the prowl. Ben brings coffee to the IP guy, but his co-worker doesn’t get the chance to drink it because Ben spills it on him. The move isn’t accidental. It was done to give Ben an opening to snoop through his co-worker’s computer. Finding the files he needs, he downloads them onto a flash drive and sends a quick text to Saanvi telling her his mission was a success. Unbeknownst to him Vance is tracking the phone and intercepts the text.  About to leave for the day he encounters a security checkpoint, which causes him to hide the drive in his travel mug. As he waits for his turn, he gets a text from an unknown number instructing him to go left and a second later he gets one demanding he do it now. Deciding to listen he steps out of line and finds himself face to face with Vance (Daryl Edwards). He’s met with two choices – either he gives up the drive or gets arrested. Even though he doesn’t want to, he hands the drive over to Vance.

On pursuit to find the shooter before he strikes again Michaela ends up not only hearing but feeling the heartbeat. Normal people follow a GPS, but Michaela isn’t normal. She depends on the heartbeat to tell her to ‘turn left, go right’ and thankfully now knowing the truth Jared doesn’t question it. He just goes with it. Just as the suspect is about to strike Michaela charges at him and takes him down. It’s a pretty badass move and even better when you realize it wasn’t the calling that did that – it was all Michaela.  Once the suspect is apprehended, she seeks out Carlos and tells him the news. Surprisingly, she’s still hearing a heartbeat causing her to walkthrough the barbershop until she stumbles across a picture of Evie. It turns out that Evie was the woman who donated her heart to Carlos and saved his life. So, in some way, her best friend is still alive and it’s exactly what she shares with Evie’s mother Beverly when she tells her that she saw her daughter and she’s okay.

The mission wasn’t a full success and to make the day all the more stressful Ben has to come home to the sight of Grace (Athena Karkanis), Danny (Daniel Sunjata) and Olive (Luna Blaise) looking like quite the perfect family. It’s an awkward run-in, but Danny tries to be grateful when he thanks Ben for convincing Olive to continue with the rock-climbing. He explains how he knows he’s not her father, but he was there for her during the time that Ben was gone. Looking like he wants to deck Danny he takes the highroad and bids him a good night. All hope is not lost though when Cal tells his father not to worry about Director Vance because he’s one of the good guys now. It’s proven when Vance gets a phone call from the NSA detectives stating they are on standby and ready to arrest Ben, but Vance calls them off and says Ben was clean.

The episode closes off with Michaela and Ben having another conversation about the calling. “I take that leap and I follow the calling and I feel better,” she explains to her brother. However, Ben is different he needs concrete proof and that proof might be in a picture Cal drew a few days ago that is hanging up on the fridge. It’s of Carlos with Evie’s heart. Are you satisfied now Ben?