Manifest Season 1 Episode 12 Recap – Vanishing Point

In the latest episode of Manifest: “Vanishing Point,” Grace and Ben cast aside their differences to focus on one goal: saving Cal. The episode picks up with Cal’s disappearance. With the Major hot on the Stone family’s tail, Manifest makes it a top priority to find him before the government does.

Episode 12 begins with Ben rushing towards their house, worried about Cal. The agent interviews Olive; she can’t describe Cal properly, so she gives him a picture.

Grace is also interviewed by one of the agents, asking if Cal has a history of running away. She answers no. The agent further asks if there might be a reason to leave. Grace mentions his dad moved out.

When Ben enters the house, the agent acknowledges Grace as an ex-wife, but Grace opposes, saying they are still married.

Furious, Michaela goes to Autumn’s house and handcuffs her. She thinks Autumn is why Cal is missing, connected with Major. Olive calls Michaela to say what is happening in their house.

Inside a highly-guarded room, an officer updates Jansen (Brandon Schraml); they have eyes and ears on the house and will monitor all police activity.

Ben and Grace argue. He thinks they shouldn’t have called the cops, but Grace thinks otherwise, especially that Cal is missing. In the middle of the argument, Michaela comes in, saying she has Autumn. Grace asks who’s Autumn. They start to explain what’s really happening. Ben explains who Major is, the missing passengers, the experiments. Grace asks why Ben didn’t tell her; Michaela says he was protecting her. Grace tries to understand all the information she is getting, then says to Ben she must know anything about saving Cal.

Ben shows Grace all of Cal’s drawings. Ben flips on the pages and sees themselves doing the same thing in the picture. They see another page where Cal seems afraid, alone in a room. But on the next page, they see the room’s door with a black shadow; they think it is the Major. There is a road drawing with trees, lakes, and rocks; Cal left them a map.

Grace recognizes what is on the next page — a church. She explains she had already gone there. After all the drawings, they conclude all of those are landmarks. They’re ready to find Cal, but Grace is wary about the cops. Ben says no one could know all the information they got.

They think of ways to get rid of the cops. Michaela does the job. She calls Jared to pretend that Cal is already found, so the cops think the investigation is done. Jared shows a picture of Cal with Steve. The investigation leader decides to wrap up and announces it was only a false alarm. They apologize for what happened and start to plan how to find Cal.

Ben needs a car not registered with his name; Grace suggests Danny’s truck; Ben agrees. Olive wants to help, but Ben says she needs to stay in their house; Steve will be with her.

Michaela interrogates Autumn: she asks why she went to Ben for help, of all the people. She blames her for why Cal is missing and asks for the missing page from Cal’s drawing book.

Jansen is informed Ben and Grace had left their house but had not taken their cars. Jansen puts men in the field to look for Cal’s parents. Autumn is in police custody. He calls the Major to give updates.

Ben and Grace go to the church; they get shocked by Cal’s extremely detailed drawing.

Michaela finds that Autumn has an eight-year-old daughter; she was still a toddler when the plane went missing. She lost custody of her daughter during her prison stint, and Clarissa Ford became the foster mother. They think the Major tracked Autumn’s whereabouts and all the people related to her. Jared says they must act fast as Autumn might be let loose; the Major may be pulling strings to free her.

Ben and Grace start asking people if they have seen Cal, showing his picture.

At the police station, Michaela tries to convince Autumn to do the right thing and help her find Cal. Autumn admits she told the Major about Cal’s uniqueness. Michaela approaches Autumn and asks for the missing drawing, but Autumn says she didn’t give the Major the drawing.

Jared comes in to tell Michaela the captain wants Autumn out. She asks for a minute and starts telling Autumn what she thinks about Flight 828, asking, “Do you really think you could trust the Major?”

Unhappy, Olive is still in her room, so her Grandpa Steve asks her to get out and eat, but she declines the offer. Steve cheers her granddaughter up, saying their parents will find Cal. Suddenly, Olive remembers something: a ledge where they used to put letters when they were young. They see the note saying, “I Left.”

While Ben and Grace find Cal, they start to argue again.

They receive the picture sent by Olive; they think Cal is following something or someone. They remember the calling. Grace sees two suspicious people who may also be finding Cal, so they hide.

They are on the road again, following Cal’s drawings. While they are talking, Ben sees someone in his rearview mirror following them.

Back to Cal, he is inside the room freezing; he organizes what he brought and keeps on looking at the door, like he’s waiting for someone.

Autumn has been released and calls Jansen, telling him she knows where Cal is. Jansen directs the SUV, following Ben and Grace to turn around and head in a different direction. The SUV arrives at an old cabin. The agents rush inside, but it’s empty. Autumn lied to help Michaela.

Michaela and Jared give Autumn her daughter’s name, address, and the new family information. Autumn gives the paper she ripped from Cal’s drawing book — it’s about Autumn and her daughter — that’s why she took it. But behind it is another drawing they think will lead them to Cal.

Michaela calls Ben and Grace to tell what she saw in the drawing. They analyzed the place, but they couldn’t find any identification like a street number or even mailbox, so Michaela suggests focusing on the trees visible on the road.

Meanwhile, Michaela tells Jared to stay at the precinct. She needs a person from the precinct to coordinate with them, but Jared insists he is going with her, saying it is too dangerous. Suddenly, Michaela feels the blizzard. She’s the only one who can see it, so Jared gets confused.

Ben and Grace arrive at a fork on the road, unsure which direction to take. Ben remembers Cal’s note: it’s not “I Left,” but a map telling them to turn left. They continue driving until they come across a cabin in the woods. Confirming things in the picture, they go in and find Cal sitting on the floor, cold but otherwise fine. Cal admits he has to come to assist someone. He also mentions the person he’s supposed to help is almost there.

When a man appears at the door, Ben grabs a poker to defend them. Cal doesn’t want his father to injure the stranger who enters and collapses. Cal assures Ben everything is fine; the man needs their help. Cal had a calling, Ben realizes.

Ben and Grace change the man’s cold, wet clothes. Cal brought a sleeping bag and bandages to help with his injuries. Grace later apologizes to Ben after realizing what it’s like to deal with the calling; she now better understands what he’s been through. Grace requests he always tells her everything, not keeping secrets from now on. She is confident they will deal with whatever comes their way.

When Michaela arrives, she notices the man’s jacket. She informs Ben and Grace he’s the man whose calling she feels. The coat is familiar to her. “Michaela? You‘re her,” the man says as he awakens. But how exactly?

Jansen calls the Major and informs her that Autumn gave them a false lead. The Major (Elizabeth Marvel, making her on-screen debut) assures him not to worry. When he asks if they should keep looking for Cal, she tells him the Stones will eventually return home. The Major hangs up the phone. She buys the apartment with a New York City view.

Back at the cabin, the stranger introduces himself as Zeke (Matt Long) and explains he was hiking when engulfed by a blizzard. He found a cave and burned pages from a magazine to keep warm. The final page featured a photo of Michaela and a story about her disappearance on Flight 828. Zeke tells them he felt Michaela was willing him to live, so he left the cave and continued, saying he had to find her, constantly seeing her face.

Zeke is perplexed how they are still alive; he believes they died on the plane. Michaela and Ben explain why they returned and wonder why he didn’t see it on the news. Ben asks how long he has been hiking; Zeke responds it has been two weeks. Ben removes the magazine page from him and looks at the date: 2017. Ben shows it to Michaela, informing Zeke he has lost a year. The year is now 2018.

Our Thoughts

The most significant moment in the show is when Grace and Ben come to a mutual realization they need each other to succeed in finding Cal. For a while now, they have been arguing about handling the situation. Still, with neither side giving much ground, it seems like they will never be able to get past their differences. But in this episode, we see them finally come together as parents, doing whatever they can to save their son, all while seeking answers from each other about how they can both heal from the traumatic events and move forward as a family.

The show explores its characters’ burgeoning relationships and their struggles with faith as the mysteries surrounding them grow more complex each week. What will happen next?