‘Manifest’ Season 1, Episode 15 ‘Hard Landing’ Recap: The Wolf Among The Returned

The flock of the returned is growing. And for the first time on Manifest, one of them is turning to the dark side. And not like Captain Bill Daly dark, but more like just plain evil dark. Finally, there’s a wolf born among the sheep. And it has certainly put a significant damper on the moral rampage the returned have been on for quite a while now with the exception of the heretics. As Manifest expands and continues on the personal story arcs, there’s that sense of dark foreboding for the last few episodes before the season finale. And at this point, I’m already sensing a jaw-dropping, sick cliffhanger at the end of all this.

In this week’s episode of Manifest entitled “Hard Landing,” Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and the others face James Griffin (Marc Menchaca), the robber who came back alive after being submerged underwater for almost four days. And upon waking up, he already experiences a calling. But, unlike the others, Griffin doesn’t want to play hero. It’s up to the others to convince him otherwise.

The Wolf Surfaces

On the day of the robbery, there were three robbers. But, only one of them was on the car because Griffin shot his two other partners right after they loaded the money into the car. Now, he’s not only wanted for robbery but also a double homicide. As they load him up on the ambulance, Michaela convinces the paramedics to take him to the hospital where Saanvi (Parveen Kaur) is.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Jared (J.R. Ramirez) meets up with Michaela there, and she ends up telling him about Zeke (Matt Long) and the possibility that Griffin might be like him. Jared puts the pieces together and almost blows a gasket when he realizes how much Michaela didn’t tell him. Soon, Ben (Josh Dallas) and Zeke arrive. And Jared gives the latter of the two a little macho talk before he stalks off to do his job.

Meanwhile, Saanvi checks out Griffin and realizes that he’s been underwater for precisely 82 hours and 8 minutes. 828 just like Flight 828. A nurse knocks over a tray and Saanvi instinctively ducks. But, she insists she’s ok. Suddenly, Griffin starts screaming about an explosion and Michaela realizes it’s a calling. She and Saanvi try to get more information, but Griffin’s doctors sedate him.  

In the morning, Michaela, Ben, and Saanvi discuss the morality of a criminal coming back to life with the callings. And Michaela thinks she is meant to help him. As she and Zeke head over to Griffin, they’re met by Jared who immediately pounces on Zeke with questions. Before the tension could get any worse, Michaela steps between the two men. Zeke excuses himself. And Jared turns his questions on Michaela. But, she insists she’s only doing everything she’s doing for the callings’ sake.

When A Returned Goes Sideways

As soon as Griffin wakes up, Michaela asks him about his vision. She hastily explains what his visions are and what the callings are. But to her surprise, he refuses to reveal the site of the bombing in his vision. Griffin sees it as his jail free ticket against his double homicide charge. And Michaela has just freely given it to him.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Down at the precinct, Griffin gives the general location of midtown. But, he only agrees to reveal the exact location in exchange for full immunity on the murders he committed. Luckily, Michaela manages to convince Capt. Riojas (Alfredo Narciso) to let her try to get the location without the bargain.

Michaela calls up her brother for help on any information that’ll help her crack Griffin. And on Ben’s end, he and Grace witness the internet going ablaze with the news. Grace (Athena Karkanis) begs Ben to let the family help, and he reluctantly agrees. Later on, Olive (Luna Blaise) finds Griffin’s brother, Devon Carrick. They find out that he died a while back because of a fatal wound in a correctional facility. And it might be what connects Griffin to Michaela and Zeke, the grief and shame of losing a loved one. They also manage to find the boys’ former foster mother Angela Graham (Jade Wu).

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Saanvi gets badly startled by a rushing team of nurses with a patient. A doctor on the end of the hallway notices her reaction but, she quickly brushes it off and heads out. The man, Dr. Matthews (Rey Lucas) checks up on her later and kindly offers to make her a referral. But, Saanvi once again refuses and insists that she’s fine.

Carrying the Guilt

On the other side of town, Zeke snoops around a house for a key. Finding no spare keys hidden outside, he tries to pick the lock. Unfortunately, a police car rolls around and catches him in the act. He’s brought into the precinct just as Michaela brings up Devon’s name to Griffin. Zeke’s arrival stalls her probing.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Michaela pulls Jared aside and begs him not to book Zeke to Jared’s total disbelief. He tells Michaela that the callings are blinding her. But, she refuses to believe so and insists that Zeke isn’t like Griffin. As she passes by him, Zeke tries to explain, but Michaela halts it for later.

Michaela returns to the interrogation room with the file on Devon. It says that he and Griffin tried to simply rob a shop, but it all turned sideways when a customer tried to save the day. According to the report, Griffin testified that Devon shot the customer right on the chest. And Devon went to jail for it where he died. But, the truth is Griffin was the shooter. And he has been carrying the guilt of what he did for 15 years. Tears spring to Griffin’s eyes as Michaela hits the mark but Capt. Riojas interrupts and pulls her outside. The FBI and the U.S attorney has agreed to take the deal based on corroborating Griffin’s info with one of their own assets info. And Michaela only has the time until the attorney arrives to crack Griffin before it’s too late.  

Cracking the Wolf

Grace personally tracks down Angela Graham and asks her about Griffin and Devon. Angela confirms that the two boys were like brothers and Devon even once save Griffin’s life. She even sent Grace a picture of the boys from their youth. However, even Angela doesn’t believe that Griffin deserves to be saved.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Meanwhile, Ben visits Saanvi and finds her crouched on the corner of her office. She admits she’s experiencing the symptoms of PTSD and she should talk to someone. But, instead of pushing her towards something she’s clearly very uncomfortable with, Ben simply sits with her and offers her support and comfort. Changing the topic of the conversation, Saanvi shows him the results of Griffin’s blood test. He has the same blood marker as them. With this evidence, Saanvi doesn’t believe in the optimistic side of things anymore. Now, she believes they’re on the verge of discovering something awful.

Back at the precinct, Michaela shows Griffin his picture with Devon. She tries to convince him that he came back to make the right choice this time around. But in the end, he chooses to go for the bargain.

Afterward, Michaela gears herself up to her Zeke’s explanation. He tells her it was his mom’s house he tried to break into. And he only did it to check up on his mom without her knowing he was there. There’s too much history according to him. Believing him, Michaela sets him free and tells him to check up on his mom properly this time around. Jared makes it clear to Michaela that he’s not happy about what she did. But, Michaela stands her ground. So instead, Jared picks up Zeke’s used paper cup and puts it in an evidence bag.

A Predator Will Always Be A Predator

Later that night, Ben and Grace receive the news about Griffin’s decision and start reconsidering his beliefs. Grace suggests that it might not be about the callings themselves but how people choose to use them. Ben realizes it fits perfectly with Griffin who was a predator and is always a predator. And the calling might’ve been given to him to show that people given them could as easily use them for evil as for good.  

Back at the precinct, Griffin tells Michaela that she has been far too narrow-minded and he has vowed to take the callings to a whole new level. After he gives the exact location of the bomb, a team is sent out. And sure enough, they find a bomb hidden in a snack stand and successfully defuse it. But, it seems that the terror isn’t over. As Michaela glances back, she sees a black wolf menacingly growling at her and slowly backing away through the crowd before finally dashing off.

Manifest continues next Monday, February 18th, with “Estimated Time of Departure” at 10/9c on NBC.