For the first three seasons of the show,Manifestearned itself a cult following and was very popular among its fans. Despite that, after Season 3, it was unceremoniously canceled by NBC due to falling viewership numbers. Those who had followed the show religiously from its inception were left devastated by this. However, thankfully for them, this wasn’t the end. Netflix entered the fray, and after hosting the show on its service, soon discovered just how popular it actually was.
The streaming giant chose to rescue the show and renewed it for a fourth and final season. While this fell short of the original six seasons the show was meant to have, it did at least give fans some much-needed closure. After the finale, audiences now knew what themysterious and twisty plotwas all leading up to and the show was able to have a logical conclusion. Now thatManifesthas officially wrapped, here are our top picks for the best episodes over the show’s four great seasons.
10Tailspin (Season 3, Episode 4)
The show’s main premise centers on a group of people aboard an ill-fated flight. Now known as Flight 828, after experiencing turbulence in the air, the passengers and crew of Flight 828 land safely, only to find that somehow, five years have passed since they departed that day. This means each of their lives has changed vastly now as mysterious “callings” draw them to the fact that they each have a “death day” to reckon with and must face judgmentby the mysterious forcespulling all the strings.
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In an episode called “Tailspin,” we see three of the main characters, Ben, Saanvi, and Vance all link up to try and work out what’s really going on. Much has changed by this point in the show, and it’s now starting to become clear that other forces are at play. While Michaela and Zeke are together by now too, we see them both trying their best to adjust to their new lives at home. They also try to help a passenger whose death date is ominously looming.
In one of the most exciting and nail-biting episodes of the first season, Ben and Michaela risk everything to save other missing passengers. While they have a plan, once they begin executing it, things quickly start to go south in a horrifying way. Unfortunately, by the end of the mission, not everyone survives.
Aside from how sad these losses are, the fallout from the mission’s failure adds even more layers to the trauma that Ben and Grace have already experienced. Meanwhile, Michaela and Jared are pushed closer. As the episode goes past the halfway mark of Season 1, by this point, it’s becoming more and more clear how tragic a show likeManifestcould be.
8Reentry (Season 1, Episode 2)
Still early on in the show, the aptly titled “Reentry” episode began drawing more of the story out. There was drama aplenty as passengers had to now begin adjusting to how much their lives have changed in the five years they’ve missed. Still feeling very much likea paranormal sci-fi show, by this point, the mystery of it all hooks viewers in even further.
For Michaela, her new life is particularly painful, since she has to deal with the fact that her ex is now married. While her brother Ben tries to help another passenger who struggles with his estranged son, the “callings” become more prominent in the episode. As the passengers of 828 try to adjust, they also learn they are under government surveillance.
7Estimated Time of Departure (Season 1, Episode 16)
Sticking with Season 1, by the latter stages, things had really begun unraveling. The main characters by now become embroiled in their “callings” and the larger mysteries at play, all while the NSA and government involvement in their lives grew more prominent too.
While the passengers grapple with making sense of their “callings,” another character throws a new spanner in the works. By threatening to make their “callings” public, this places the safety of the passengers in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Ben, Grace, and Olive make a startling discovery that changes things again.
6Vanishing Point (Season 1, Episode 12)
Season 1 was reveredby fans and in another of its great episodes, this one sees Cal, suddenly disappearing. This leads Ben and Grace to a frantic search for him that takes them to a remote, mountainous region of New York. There are a ton of major clues along the way that open up even more intrigue from the show’s more mysterious elements.
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On Michaela’s side of things, she has to confront a slippery character known as Autumn. However, all of these parts aside, this episode was a significant one for another reason. After only being given shadowy glimpses of another character, it is in this episode that the mysterious and infamous “Major” finally makes a proper appearance.
5False Horizon (Season 2, Episode 3)
By this point in Season 2 of the show, Michaela, Ben, and the rest of their family involved in the Flight 828 mysteries struggle to understand and keep up with their “callings.” The passengers have been continuously harassed by a group known as the Xers, while Saanvi identifies a mole who has been leaking her research.
It becomes evident who the Major really is, while Olive continues attending theChurch of the Returned. Their beliefs grow more stringent now and Grace fails to fulfill a calling. By the end, a disturbing incident lets Grace in on the fact that a mother may be in serious danger.
4Emergency Exit (Season 2, Episode 7)
Later on in the season, the events of it begin unraveling more. In a hugely anticipated episode, the passengers finally begin to understand what their callings represent. However, the fact that they’ve been getting more and more terrifying with time makes it harder to reconcile themselves with them.
While Ben confronts a member of the Church for their role in stirring up too much negativity toward survivors, the religious underpinnings of the show become more prominent. Many people now believe the passengers to be “miracles.” The episode also has a chilling aspect to it as many 828 passengers drink spiked champagne.
3Mayday: Part 2 (Season 3, Episode 13)
With the main characters still desperately trying to get Cal back, Season 3 draws to a thrilling and shocking close in this episode. As they piece together clues from Cal’s drawings, a piece of the recovered plane’s tail fin becomes key to unlocking what’s been happening.
Later on, the now infamous character Angelina reaches her peak derangement as she winds up killing another character. By the end, we see the plane reconstructed before Bill Daly is glimpsed in it before it disappears. Marking the end of the season with more questions and a cliffhanger, this was where fans were initially left crestfallen when the show was first canceled.
2Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)
Theamazing first episodeof the show became the catalyst that sparked fans' curiosity for more. As it went on, that curiosity turned into a full-blown obsession with knowing how it was all going to play out. The first episode sort of encapsulated all the intrigue since it pretty much started with the mysterious events of the show’s pilot.
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Here’s howDen of Geekbegan its review of the show’s pilot after it first aired, while not much else was known about the show.
“The first episode of Manifest is an exemplary pilot in some ways; the premise of an airplane time-jumping five years is engaging, and the central mystery about what has been done to the passengers is a great hook. Even though only a few characters are able to grab us emotionally from the start, the groundwork is laid for many more to pull us in as the varying stories of the passengers onboard Flight 828 unfold.”
While much of the show revolves around the Stone family, we see their fate tied to the fact that after returning from a family vacation, half the family is separated and bumped onto a different flight. The chilling consequences of this moment are made all too apparent when half the family only arrives home five years later with no idea of why this is all happening.
1Final Boarding (Season 4, Episode 20)
Thanks to Netflix,Manifestwas able to have a Season 4 that drew all its events to a close. While Season 4 wasn’t meant to be the last one, fans were at least grateful to be given some closure at all, even if it had to be concluded in a hurry.
The episode certainly didn’t disappoint and drew all the mysteries to a close. As the passengers are drawn to a mountaintop by Cal and their callings, the original plane reappears, and the survivors of the first flight all board it again to face their death day. Along the way, we’ve learned that the death day can be avoided, and the passengers are given a chance when they are judged by a reaper figure.
While some still don’t survive, the majority of those who needed atonement manage to find it and are spared. By the time the plane lands,the epic conclusionis that they land in the past, on the day and time they were always meant to. Of course, there’s now still the fact that several passengers are “missing,” but for others, it’s a chance to start over.
