Manifest Season 1 Episode 13 Recap – Cleared for Approach

Spoilers: The previous episode of Manifest dropped a big bombshell on viewers: Flight 828 isn’t an isolated incident. This week’s episode: “Cleared for Approach,” spends a lot of time getting to know our latest time traveler: Zeke. He does an excellent job throughout this episode and the rest of the season so far. In particular, he has amazing chemistry with Michaela. It seems like Manifest has officially expanded its love triangle into a square.

This episode kicks on the flashback of December 2017, when Zeke was hiking. He was in a store buying stuff and talked about the missing plane with the cashier. Then he saw Michaela’s picture.

In the current day, Michaela talks with Zeke. He reveals he went trekking for what he assumed would be only two weeks. He sought refuge in a cave when it became exceedingly chilly. Zeke was freezing inside the cave, so he started burning everything he had on him — except the photo of Michaela. Something that felt like an earthquake occurred. The cavern shook, cracking the ice, allowing him to climb out.

Ben and Michaela believe Zeke should go with them to the city and be examined in a hospital. Zeke doesn’t want to yet; he isn’t ready. Michaela says she’ll stay with Zeke, but Ben is concerned about leaving Michaela. He talks with her privately, telling her they don’t know anything about him. Ben thinks it’s odd that Zeke hasn’t asked to contact anybody since learning he time traveled a year. Michaela knows they can’t force Zeke to go, so she’ll stay to investigate. She tells Ben to take Cal to the doctor. Ben agrees but cautions Michaela to be cautious.

Ben and Grace go to the hospital. They meet with Dr. Saanvi. Dr. Saanvi tells Cal there is a refill of the candy jar; Cal leaves to get it. Then Dr. Saanvi asks them about Zeke. Ben gives Zeke’s bloody bandage to Dr. Saanvi to run a test but cautions no one should know about the test; the Major might be watching. Cal butts in the conversation and asks: “Know What?”

Ben, Grace, and Cal talk about if Ben could stay in their house. Then, Cal sees a poster of plane 828 with a cross sign.

Back to the cabin, Michaela and Zeke talk about what happened in Flight 828. Michaela asks Zeke if he has a family; he says none then mentions “tale as old as time.” They get into a bit of an argument then Zeke says it’s either she’s insane or he is. Michaela explains they have the same situation. She touches Zeke’s arm, and they see a vision of stars — a calling: “Go back.” Zeke gets shocked at what happened. Michaela realizes the calling was Zeke’s voice. They think about what was the meaning of the calling. Michaela discusses the callings and concludes they both need to return to the cave. Before they go, Zeke wants to relax for a while. They’ll also require materials. Michaela offers to go collect the materials.

When Ben, Cal, and Grace return home, Olive runs to them, cuddling Cal before punching him for frightening her when he left. Grace and Ben discuss the calling, deciding not to inform Olive about the callings to keep her safe.

Michaela goes to the store to buy pork rinds. Then she sees the poster of Zeke missing. She asks the cashier if she can take it. The cashier shares Zeke’s sister died on the same mountain — a cursed family, he even mentions.

Grace, Ben, Olive, and Cal are playing scrabble. Jared comes in. Ben thanks him for how he covered up when Cal was missing. Jared asks for Michaela; he’s getting worried. Suddenly, their window glass breaks. Someone threw a brick can and shouted, “freaks.” Jared tries to chase the person; Ben sees the red X mark on their door.

When Michaela arrives at the cottage, she discovers Zeke has disappeared. She dashes out the door and immediately hunts him down. When she mentions his sister, Chloe, Zeke comes to a halt. Michaela tells him she trusts him, so he must trust her — they must go to the cave. Zeke grudgingly agrees, wanting to get off the mountain.

Olive admits to Ben she is aware of the callings. Ben asks how; Cal told her. Olive thinks Ben did not trust her with the information, but he clarifies he wanted to keep her safe. He tells his daughter there will be no more secrets between them.

Michaela and Zeke find the cave and enter. Michaela touches him while looking around, and they see the stars again, hearing Zeke’s voice saying, “Go back.” Michaela understands it isn’t the cave they need to return to. Zeke shows her his star necklace: a gift he gave Chloe when she was nine years old. Then, he reveals he killed his younger sister — he didn’t mean to.

Michaela asks what he meant. He confesses he was 15 when he went trekking with Chloe. He answered a phone call from a girl he barely knew and asked his sister to leave him alone. That’s when she was killed in an accident. Michaela attempts to explain he was young, but Zeke becomes enraged. He doesn’t want to make excuses. Zeke is confident it was his fault. Michaela admits it’s his fault and says she understands. Michaela shares killing her closest friend since she was drunk driving at the time of the accident.

Ben visits Saanvi. Saanvi’s overjoyed to tell him Zeke’s blood sample is ischemic. He recounts what they did. Saanvi claims she checked and discovered an electrical storm in the region where Zeke was trekking when he vanished/time-traveled. Ben thinks the time shift was caused by dark lightning. He then warns Saanvi to be cautious, confessing he is concerned about her, especially after the events at his place.

Michaela and Zeke arrive at the location where Chloe died. Their parents built a plaque commemorating her. Zeke recalls how he and Chloe used to construct” fairy towers,” as Choe calls it. Then he shares his parents asked him to build a cairn. Michaela believes they should build one for Chloe right now.

Jared apprehends the person who broke Ben’s window, but he doesn’t have enough evidence to hold him accountable. He shows Ben the creep has a website dedicated to examining the passengers on Flight 828; he believes they are untrustworthy.

Later at home, Ben notices a drawing in Olive’s book of the peacock he saw in a calling a few weeks before. They discuss it, and she explains that a peacock is a sign of resurrection in a particular mythology. Ben’s peacock lesson is interrupted by a phone call from Jared, who informs him he must release the suspect, Cody Webber (Patrick Murney).

Ben visits Cody at his workplace. Cody must leave him and his family alone, he says. “Cute child. I wonder if he bleeds,” Cody comments as Ben takes a picture of Cal on the table. Enraged, Ben gets in Cody’s face and threatens him that if he doesn’t back off, he’ll show him what a man who has returned from the dead can do. Cody has been live-streaming everything, so cops arrive to arrest Ben.

Grace approaches Cal, sitting outdoors on the porch. He asks what is wrong with him; he thinks he’s a weirdo. Grace tells Cal not to listen to the trolls. Cal worries if he’s still himself after departing, and Grace tells him he is, and a mother always knows. Cal, feeling a little better, heads inside to assist with supper.

At the police station, Jared shouts at Ben, accusing him of playing directly into Cody’s hands. He cautions Ben that if he does something similar again, he can’t assist him, not even his sister. Ben is released with only a warning.

Zeke and Michaela complete the tribute tower, but Zeke isn’t feeling better. Michaela believes it will make him feel less burdened later on. They reconnect under the stars and feel the same beckoning, but this time it’s Michaela’s voice ordering them to return. Zeke realizes he’s required to accompany Michaela back to the city, and as they begin to walk back, Zeke grabs Michaela’s hand to assist her step over some dead logs. Lightning strikes, illuminating a sketch on the rocks of Michaela and Zeke holding hands.

Grace hears someone at the front door late at night and opens it to see Ben attempting to remove the painted red X mark from the door. Ben is sad and says he knows he can’t explain what’s happening to him and Cal, and he can’t stop people from being afraid of the passengers from Flight 828. What he can do, though, is remove the unsightly X mark from the front door, and she must allow him to do so. Grace tenderly holds his hand and tells Ben she needs him at the house. It’s his home, and they work well together. They kiss, and she assists him in cleaning the door.

Saanvi is leaving the hospital for the night. On her way out of her office, she notices a red X mark painted on her door.

Our Thoughts

After the shocking twist last episode, Manifest is back with a deeper look into the life of one of our latest time travelers.

“Cleared for Approach” was a mediocre episode. This week, the plot appears to take a back seat as we focus on Zeke’s past and the nature of the world in which these individuals live. People are terrified of the passengers, producing frenzy in society, which either feels like a filler episode or has intentions to grow into something far more significant. While it didn’t go anywhere, the episode’s most significant flaw is the horrible green screen sequences, demonstrating that a strong sci-fi series requires outstanding VFX to immerse you in its idea.