Manifest – Upgrade

By: Luke Joseph

“You don’t need me in your hair,” a hesitant Zeke (Matt Long) explains upon returning to Michaela’s (Melissa Roxburgh) apartment. But she’s able to convince him to stay because he really doesn’t have anywhere else to go to especially considering he refuses to get in touch with his family. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a goodnight’s sleep because he awakens to something scratching at the front door. When he opens the door he’s greeted to a wolf that’s growling and then lunges at him. It looks like he’s experiencing a calling. He’s not the only one because back at the Stone house Ben (Josh Dallas) and Grace (Athena Karkanis) find Cal (Jack Messina) screaming in his sleep only to have him reveal that “it’s coming.” Since every calling has a meaning, the next morning Michaela takes Zeke over to the house in hopes that Cal can decipher what the wolf is all about. However, considering he was up all night they find he’s conked out and getting what little rest that he can.

After confessing to Grace that he’s worried Saanvi (Parveen Kaur) has yet to get back to him Grace suggests to Ben that he go check in on her. Even though he’s reluctant, since Michaela won’t be their to chaperone as she headed back to work, he agrees and heads to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital he searches for Saanvi but can’t find her. That gut feeling he’s been experiencing increases when he discovers a paper on her office floor that is promoting the Church of the Returned. Scribbled on the paper is a handwritten note explaining how Dr. Saanvi can help. Not one to waste time, he visits the Church of the Returned and is surprised to see one of the passengers from Flight 828 Adrian (Jared Grimes) running it. He tells Ben that he has found his calling and how he is meant to pass it on to the world, how he and the rest of the passengers of Flight 828 are the chosen ones. Realizing this conversation isn’t going anywhere Ben begins to look around and discovers a bulletin board that has all different notes posted on it. He spots many messages from a woman named Alice (Grace Rex). She’s is begging that the chosen ones help heal her dying husband and ironically it matches the handwriting that Ben had found on the flier.

Back at the Stone house Grace is offering Zeke some sage advice on how he should reach out to his loved ones. She tells him that they deserve to know but he’s still not giving in. Deciding to change the subject they move onto the callings and what they are about. Zeke still isn’t convinced they hold any importance, but now that Grace is no longer kept in the dark she’s believing otherwise. “My son risked his life to save you. You’re important to him. That’s no fluke,” she says. Understanding that he needs to take this a little more seriously, he decides to try again with Cal. He opens up to him and explains how the person he trusted most had been his sister but he no longer has that because she’s gone. He tells him how she was strong and brave and he believes Cal is like that too. Being open is enough for Cal to state why he no longer wants to draw what he sees. It’s because he’s paranoid that his drawings will come to life. Wanting to reassure him that he doesn’t have that kind of power, Zeke suggests they test the theory out.

Meanwhile, at the precinct things aren’t going that well for Michaela especially when Lourdes (Victoria Cartagena) stops by and asks to speak to her. Honestly, you can’t blame her. Her husband has gotten the all clear to be intimate with her and he’s being distant. She has her suspicions and now she’s laying them out on the table. Michaela admits that she and Jared (J.R. Ramirez) slept together but it was a mistake. However, instead of seeing Michaela as the other women, Lourdes views herself as the other woman because she knows that Jared is still deeply in love with his ex. “My marriage can’t recover from this. You broke this. You broke us,” she proclaims but Michaela isn’t accepting all the blame when she reminds her that upon their return Lourdes hadn’t been at the hanger when she found out her best friend had returned. She’s also quick to remind her that even though five years had passed to Michaela it had only been a month since Jared had proposed. Not seeing eye to eye, Lourdes leaves angry and upset which results in Michaela texting Jared to tell him that Lourdes knows. This later results in Jared heading back home to confront his wife only to find she’s packed up and left. Usually someone in this situation would be upset but not in Jared’s case because he chooses to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Michaela. Their time is now. They have every reason to be together and though they both love each other Michaela still isn’t ready. At least someone is feeling guilty. Hint – it’s not him.

It’s a good thing that Ben decided to follow his gut because thanks to Adrian being a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Saanvi is being held hostage by Alice. Her husband Jake’s cancer is too far along. He’s dying and she’s desperate to save him. She had used Saanvi’s kindness to her advantage asking for the doctor to make a house call and then holding her at gunpoint demanding that she cure her husband or else. It’s Adrian’s preaching of the passengers being “miracles” that has her convinced that Saanvi has the ability to cure her husband and she’s not letting her go until she does. Since Alice is bat sh*% crazy and won’t listen to her, she tries to reason with her husband Jake. He apologizes for Alice’s behavior, making it clear she’s not a bad person and suggests that Saanvi lie saying that she’s healed him. Most would play along, but Saanvi refuses to do so because she’s a doctor. She tells Jake about how she had been lied to by someone she loved and ironically viewers learn the reason why she had been on that plane. Her ex was supposed to meet her at the airport but never showed and rather than hang her head in defeat she chose to head to Jamaica. That choice has had its consequences especially now as Alice rejoins them and demands Saanvi cure her husband.

Ben and Michaela check out the address that Michaela had pulled earlier for Ben. When they arrive outside of Alice’s apartment they see Saanvi in the window being held up by gunpoint. This results in Michaela immediately calling in a hostage situation and though she advises Ben to wait for backup he’s already on it. Acting on impulse he buzzes Alice and tells her through the intercom who he is and how he’s been sent by Adrian to help her. Feeling like she’s been given a sense of hope, she buzzes him in. Entering the room he’s met with Alice now pointing the gun towards him. He suggests she put it down, but she won’t until he heals Jake. Deciding to play his part, he starts to heal her husband but then tells Alice he can’t work with her negative energy and needs to lose the gun. She lowers it and Ben continues to “pray” giving Michaela enough time to come up from behind to disarm and arrest Alice.

“I don’t have to believe. They do and that’s more than enough,” Adrian explains when confronted by Ben again. Even after explaining the mess that Adrian has caused it does nothing. He’s scamming his followers and relishing in the riches. But this might not be the smartest thing because among those prophets hiding in the crowd is Jensen who immediately reports back to the Major. She’s still watching Ben and getting confirmation on the holy grail. She knows the only way to protect the country is by understanding the holy grail and when the time comes weaponizing it.

Money, money, money, no money. To Cal’s disappointment, after doing a sketch of money, he finds the picture hasn’t come true. Zeke tells him that he draws things that will happen, but he isn’t the one responsible for them coming to life. Again he asks Cal to draw the wolf and he does, but he also reveals it wasn’t just the wolf that he saw. He begins to sketch what he saw and when he’s finished to Grace and Ben’s horror it’s a picture of a wolf leaping onto Michaela. No wonder Cal refused to draw anymore. He was worried about the safety of his favorite Aunt.

The episode closes with Michaela on scene at the waterfront watching as they fish a van out of the water. Once the van is loaded onto the pier she makes her way closer to inspect it. Opening the door water pours out and the driver who should very well be dead lunges straight at Michaela.

What the heck just happened? Only Manifest can answer that.