‘Manifest’ Season 1, Episode 14 ‘Upgrade’ Recap: From Victims To Saints

After Zeke’s (Matt Long) explosive entrance into the world of Manifest, the following episodes seemed to have dialed down on the callings scene. It’s still a major key player. But, now we’re pestered with the warring factions of the haters and the worshippers of the passengers. And they’re as terrifying as they are annoying. But underneath all that distraction, Manifest seems to be holding in another surprise. And as far as this episode titled “Upgrade” goes, it might have to do something with thunderstorms and miraculous resurrections.

After the tirade of the haters on last week’s episode, we’re getting a glimpse of the other side of the faction. We’re looking at a congregation made by one of the passengers. And Saanvi (Parveen Kaur) is right smack in the middle of this craziness. Meanwhile, Zeke and Cal (Jack Messina) have connected through another calling while Ben (Josh Dallas) and Olive (Luna Blaise) team up to figure out the meaning behind the cave drawing from Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and Zeke’s trip. And speaking of Michaela, her game of hide and seek with Lourdes (Victoria Cartagena) is over.

The New Saints in Town

Going back into civilization, Michaela invites Zeke to crash at her apartment. Zeke hesitates but, Michaela convinces him otherwise. And she warns him of The Major’s antics. Meanwhile, a prayer meeting is being held on the other side of town worshipping the passengers of Flight 828 or as they call them, “The Returned.” And it is led by none other than Adrian (Jared Grimes), one of the passengers himself.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Meanwhile, after an unsuccessful attempt at making love with Jared (J.R. Ramirez), Lourdes mentions Michaela. And from the look on Jared’s face, he’s been thinking about her too. Later that night, Zeke hears a scratching at the door. He opens it to find a vicious wolf poised to attack. At the same time, Ben and Grace (Athena Karkanis) wake up to Cal’s struggling cries. Once they get him up, he only says two words: “It’s coming.”

It isn’t any better for Saanvi. Because the next day, she is trapped by Alice (Grace Rex), a desperate wife asking for help to cure her husband, Jacob. And despite Saanvi’s attempts to turn her away, Alice perseveres. On the other hand, Jared confronts Michaela about her sudden absence. And of course, he insists that they’re meant to be together. Michaela argues for Lourdes’ sake. But, their conversation is cut off by Captain Riojas (Alfredo Narciso).

The captain asks them to stand guard on the search operation for a getaway car that went under the river after a failed heist attempt. Apparently, the divers couldn’t find it at first because of an electrical storm. And it has already been four days with no turn-up. Michaela volunteers Jared for the day shift using the “spending time with the wife” line as an excuse and also to get her point across. And Jared merely accepts.

Loving Wife, Crazy Believer

Zeke, Ben, Grace, and Cal all sit down together to try and make sense of Zeke and Cal’s calling. But, Cal refuses to let any detail of his dream slip up. And Grace notices the terror in her son. On top of that, Ben is worried about Saanvi’s radio silence and decides to check up on her.

Meanwhile, Saanvi checks up on Alice’s husband marveling at how much Alice loves her husband. Unfortunately, the results are dismal. In her desperation, Alice slaps Saanvi, leaving a scratch on her cheek. As Saanvi tries to go, Alice pushes her back and holds her down at gunpoint.

At the hospital, Ben searches for Saanvi to no avail. He does, however, find a brochure from the Church of the Returned with Saanvi’s name on it. Ben heads down to the address and is shocked to be greeted by Adrian welcoming him to his church. He asks for Saanvi but, Adrian is useless. Ben finds his answers instead by matching the handwriting on the brochure to Alice’s prayer note tacked on a pegboard.

Seeing that Alice is unstable, Saanvi asks help from Jacob. Jacob tells her to lie to Alice and say he’s cured. But, Saanvi firmly refuses. She insists that Alice needs to accept the truth. Jacob asks what it’s like on the other side but, neither of them knows. And neither of them are ready to die yet.

Things For Love

At the precinct, Lourdes surprises Michaela with a visit and asks to talk to her outside. There, Lourdes asks upfront if anything was happening between Michaela and Jared. And Michaela’s silence was the only answer Lourdes needed. The two women stand off against each other but, it’s Lourdes who leaves in tears. Down at the waterfront, Jared receives Michaela’s text telling him that Lourdes already knows about them.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Back at the Stones’, Zeke tries to reach out to Cal again for his calling. But, Cal refuses again fearing that his drawings cause the future. To help him overcome this fear, Zeke asks him to draw anything he might think will happen. With Grace’s encouragement, Cal takes them up on it and tries to draw something fun.

Later on, Ben and Michaela arrive at Alice’s address. Ben almost barges in but, Michaela stops him to avoid hurting Saanvi just in case. Inside, Jacob tries to talk Alice down. This only further aggravates her, and she points the gun higher to Saanvi who ends up backing against the window. Ben and Michaela see Saanvi and take it as their cue.

Ben rings Alice’s doorbell. And Ben makes her believe that Adrian sent them over to help. Alice opens the door and ushers Ben inside, shooting down his attempts at talking with her pointed gun. Ben puts his hand on Jacob’s forehead and as Alice begins to pray, Michaela sneaks in, snatches the gun from Alice, and pins her down.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

After Alice’s arrest, Ben heads back down to Adrian’s church. And Ben discovers just how crazy Adrian is because according to Adrian, as long as the people believe, nothing else matters. In the middle of those believers is Jansen, the eyes and ears of The Major (Elizabeth Marvel). He reports back to her later, and they confirm with Ben’s overprotectiveness that Cal is indeed unique. But, they won’t take action yet. First, they have to understand these passengers. And after, they plan to weaponize them.

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Back at home, Ben finds Olive with full-blown research on the petrograph. Apparently, the drawing is of the constellation Gemini. And connecting it with the peacock vision gives the clue of twins. Zeke, on the other hand, successfully proves to Cal that his drawings aren’t the cause of the future but, are rather predictions of it. And this time, Cal agrees to draw his dream. What he draws isn’t just the wolf, however. Unlike Zeke’s vision, the wolf is attacking Michaela, not him.

Meanwhile, Michaela knocks on Lourdes’ door hoping to talk to her best friend. But instead, it’s Jared who answers. Lourdes left. However, Jared seems to be less devastated and more hopeful for him and Michaela. And though Michaela wants the same things he does, she chooses to grieve losing her best friend rather than talking about the next step in her relationship with Jared.

Down at the waterfront, they’ve found the vehicle, and Michaela rushes over. A body is still in the waterlogged van. And when Michaela opens the door, the water comes rushing out. Suddenly, the dead man springs to life towards Michaela very much like the wolf in Cal’s drawing.

Manifest continues next Monday, February 11th, with “Hard Landing” at 10/9c on NBC.