Manifest Season 1 Episode 2 Recap – Reentry

We’re back with another thrilling episode of Manifest. You know we’re not into spoilers, but this one is too good not to share. In episode two: Reentry, the passengers continue to adjust to their new surroundings after a five-year absence and begin to form bonds with one another. Connections with those left behind are tested and explored further, sometimes with supernatural assistance. Potential enemies begin to emerge, with lethal consequences. We’re looking for answers. The passengers are unharmed, having felt an inner call to witness the incident, and Cal was jolted awake in bed at the time of the explosion. They’re all confronted with an onslaught of truths waiting for them since their return. Michaela’s best friend comes to face her. Olive forces her mother Grace to tell Ben how she moved on. Ben tries to balance his family along with another survivor.

They’re stuck in an interrogation room for hours. The government doesn’t seem to be closer to finding out who blew up Flight 828, but they learn that other people have been hearing voices telling them what to do. Michaela uses her cop card to get them out, back to their hotel — at least they don’t have to sit through another eight hours of reciting the same story. But it seems it’s Ben’s turn to think he’s going crazy this episode. He begins hearing a strange melody in his head during a conversation with Olive. When he goes on a job search during the day, he hears it again. Radd (Curtiss Cook), a gifted violinist and street musician, is desperate to contact his son. His now eighteen-year-old son is in prison, but no one is willing to help him because his visa has expired due to the five-year time jump. Ben initially dismisses him early in the episode but decides to assist him after the melody leads him back to Radd.

Lourdes (Victoria Cartagena) visits her best friend, Michaela, at the precinct. Michaela is stunned for a moment but immediately excuses herself to meet with her boss, Captain Riojas (Alfredo Narciso). She really wants to get back into the force after being suspended for her actions in the season premiere. She heads straight to Captain Riojas’ office and asks to be reinstated. He gives her a handful of procedures she has to complete before coming back, including a psych evaluation. Later, Jared talks to Michaela and tries to defend his wife. He explains Lourdes can’t replace her as her best friend; the same goes for him.

Michaela goes to the psychiatrist. She asks a lot, including the events from the past. She answers it truthfully, but she is not thinking about the real problem, so the psychiatrist advises her to visit again. Ben asks Michaela if she knows anyone from Rikers, asking a favor for Radd’s son, Adio (Curtiss Cook Jr.).

Adio confesses to his father he tried to live a good life. He took a job at a jewelry store, but someone jumped him and took everything from the shop one night. The police think he was part of it all, but Adio is insistent he’s innocent. Radd promises to fight for his son.

Radd and Ben head over to the jewelry store where Adio worked. Mr. Valero (Bob Ari), the shop owner, turns his back on them after hearing that Radd is Adio’s father; his son Blake (Jake Horowitz) steps in for his father. He explains the suspicion mounted on Adio when they discovered he used fake IDs and fake job references to get the job. They had no one else to blame because there was no tripped alarm.

Manifest does excellent work to show how the young boy is unhappy and can adapt to what is happening around him. Cal Stone is particularly struggling with this reentry — and it’s not just because his mom has gotten rid of his favorite things. In five years, the world has changed so much he doesn’t understand how to live in it anymore. The clothes are different; his favorite toothbrush is gone alongside his artwork. Meanwhile, Olive has her issues to deal with. She feels guilty about keeping her mother’s secret from her father, and she is hesitant to begin hanging out with him again. Olive even catches Grace sneaking around during the night, which only adds to Olive’s problems. Michaela rightly accuses her sister-in-law of hiding the truth from her husband. No one can deny that Grace had the right to move on throughout the past five years; Ben accepts this as well — he even says so himself — but it still doesn’t make it any easier for Michaela or Olive to get what they see as a betrayal.

Back at home, Michaela is still overcome with emotion as she looks at Lourdes’ website dedicated to her. She discusses this development the next day with her psychiatrist. She almost breaks down while recounting the events, but her psychiatrist agrees to sign the reinstatement form under the condition Michaela continues to see her for treatment.

Michaela returns to work and is thrilled when Jared congratulates her on being promoted: desk officer to detective. She says she’ll try not to make things awkward in the office.

Olive calls out to her dad and asks if they could take a ride together, so she can show him something. Ben follows Olive down to a storage building, all the while listening as she explains how she managed to save Ben and Cal’s things from being salvaged after they disappeared. Olive felt Cal was alive and was determined to find him, leading her to a series of shrinks and therapy sessions which Grace insisted on paying for. Grace was a wreck without Ben and Cal around, but Olive did everything she could to support her mom through it all.

Ben hears the music again and follows it through the maze of lockers until he finds Blaze, carrying all of the stolen jewelry Adio was arrested for. Blaze turns to look for Ben and offers him half the jewelry price; Ben responds with a punch to the face.

Blaze is arrested, but Michaela gently prods her brother about miracles once more. Yet, Ben refuses to believe in miracles, God, or anything else and instead prefers magic or advanced technology. Olive summons their attention. They all return home.

The next day, Michaela arrives at Lourdes’ doorstep. She thanks Lourdes for the posts and assures her she has her blessing in her relationship with Jared. Michaela explains she wasn’t even supposed to be marrying Jared because she was coming to return the engagement ring to him, but when they were in flight, they had poor cell service, so she texted Jared back whether or not she still wanted to marry him with a yes. But since there was no cell reception, the text message never went through.

On Ben’s side of the story, Grace finally tells him about what happened to Olive. She apologizes for keeping it from him for so long, but Ben doesn’t blame her for it. Instead, he acknowledges how hard it must have been for Grace to raise Olive with their loss hanging over her head every day. Grace admits she had to let go of the fact Olive was alive because it hurt too much.

Adio is released and reunites with Radd. Jared discovers a package on his desk containing the ring he gave Michaela. On a more conspiratorial note, the shadow follows the lady passenger home. It follows her as she watches her live TV segment. Then, suddenly, a gunshot is heard, and human remains are splattered all over the television.

Our Thoughts

While the plot of Manifest continues to be slow, episode two has some good character moments showing how profound the mystery of Flight 828 is.

Melissa Roxburgh delivers a standout performance in this episode, demonstrating how robbed and lost Michaela still feels after losing her fiancé, best friend, and mom. The scene with the doctor where she said how she feels is an excellent example of Manifest’s ability to slow down and give its actors a chance to shine.

With the first person on Flight 828 now possibly dead after discussing a conspiracy, it appears the survivors of 828 are being watched by at least one deadly enemy, if not more.