Manifest Season 2 Episode 13 Recap – Icing Conditions

Manifest attempts to deliver a thrilling finale of soap opera drama, a breadcrumb trail of small clues along the way, and plenty of unanswered questions. Unfortunately, it falls flat and underwhelming by the end of the season, with no definitive answers and plenty of contradictory material. It culminates in another cliffhanger conclusion and hopes viewers will tune in for Season 3.

“Icing Conditions” takes off immediately. The last episode left off with Michaela informing Ben and Grace that Cal has been kidnapped. The three fugitive meth traffickers — Jace, Pete (Devin Harjes), and Kory (DazMann Still) – kidnapped him to get their narcotics back. Grace tells Michaela to bring her son back, while Ben blames Michaela since she didn’t heed the call to let them go.

Olive cries while looking at freezing Zeke. Michaela comes in to tell Zeke she is going to the precinct. Suddenly, Zeke sees a vision of himself in the snowy forest.

Ben feels the vision of Flight 828 exploding and the calling he received were both about Cal. A disturbed Michaela tells them she will get the stash of meth from the precinct’s evidence locker and arrange an exchange.

Vance and Dr. Saanvi Bahl collaborate to find a means to take down the Major and bring remedy to the Death Date that Saanvi and her research team believe they have uncovered.

Michaela tries to get the meth out of prison, but the cop in charge requires documentation. Jared arrives to back up Michaela and sign the documentation for evidence release. When they have the meth, Jared asks what Michaela is doing. She tells Jared that Cal has been abducted. Jared says he’ll back her up and assist with the transaction.

Saanvi follows the Major onto a boat and confronts her, demanding the cure. The Major mocks Saanvi, telling her she’s not up to the challenge and should quit. Saanvi reveals Vance’s whereabouts and threatens to go public with the information she possesses. The Major says if she does, she will die.

Jace and his colleagues phone Michaela and give her directions on making the drop-off. Michaela goes to the location. Ben is carefully placed on a bridge above her. Drea and Jared are positioned in a building across the bridge, watching with binoculars.

Michaela rests on a seat before getting up and walking away, leaving the bag of meth behind. Unfortunately, a woman notices she has abandoned the luggage and calls Michaela‘s attention. When Michaela attempts to explain she is a detective, the concerned woman does not believe her and summons a patrol officer. The officer asks about what is happening, frightening the kidnappers, who now feel they are walking into a trap. They flee. Ben pursues but cannot catch up with them.

Captain Kate Bowers scolds Jared, Drea, and Michaela for failing to speak about the matter. She reminds them they should follow the protocol. Having a bad day, Michaela attempts to resign, but Captain Bowers refuses to accept her resignation.

Jace, Pete, and Kory arrive in an isolated cabin in the woods. Jace and Kory argue about the botched swap. Pete checks on Cal and gives him a blanket. Cal tells Pete he hopes he can tell his sister that he is well and everything will be fine.

Back at the Stone house, a distraught Michaela apologizes to Ben for the botched drop. He blames her again for Cal’s abduction since she didn’t listen to the calling. Michaela, barely holding back her emotions, keeps apologizing and insisting on getting Cal back. Ben insists on following the callings as their only hope of survival.

Meanwhile, Vance and Saanvi travel to a safe home that Vance has converted into a laboratory. Saanvi tells Vance the Major knows he’s alive. It worries him, and he urges her not to go rogue. They examine the data from Saanvi’s study. Vance says they have a week to find the cure. But Saanvi says the data shows it’s six days too late for Zeke.

A frigid night has descended on the Stone residence. Zeke gets a calling and sees Cal standing over him as he dies in the woods. Cal texts Olive to let her know he’s well and offers her a hint about where he is. He puts “Doug” in the text, and Olive recalls they gave that name to an old derelict café in the Catskills a few years ago. Zeke identifies the woods outside the café as the trees he saw in his dream.

Jared and Michaela try to persuade Zeke to stay at home, but he refuses. He wants to help save Cal. Zeke holds back for a few seconds as Michaela and Ben walk away. He tells Jared he’s happy he’ll be there for Michaela once he’s gone. Zeke leaves and joins Ben and Michaela.

Jace, Pete, and Kory are at the cabin listening to a news program about an Amber Alert to find Cal Stone. They disagree on what to do with Cal and how to get away clean.

Ben, Michaela, and Zeke arrive at the diner, but Cal is nowhere to be seen. They continue driving until they reach a fork in the road. They pick the road that leads to a more rural path, assuming it to be the proper one. They reach the end of the road a short time later. Michaela and Ben must continue on foot. Even though Michaela urges Zeke to stay in the car since it’s warm, he’s still freezing. Zeke claims that by marrying her, he received more than he deserved. Michaela weeps as she kisses Zeke for what she worries will be the last time.

Saanvi faces the Major once more, this time infecting her with anaphylaxis. She informs the Major she would only give her the antidote if she provided the cure for the Death Date. They fight, and the vile holding the antidote collapses and breaks. In astonishment, Saanvi begs the Major to tell her the cure. Still, the Major confesses she and her team discovered a means to duplicate the mutation and weaponize it as she collapses and dies. Saanvi flees, saying she’s sorry.

Zeke is resting in the back of the car when he sees Cal dashing through the woods on the iced-over lake. He gets out of the car and walks off to find him.

Ben and Michaela locate the cabin, but Jace spots their flashlights and informs them they have been discovered. Jace orders Pete and Kory to murder Cal, but Kory protests he is not a killer and does not agree to kill a child. While Jace and Kory argue, Pete gets a knife and enters the room where Cal is being held. Pete takes the knife and cuts Cal’s ties, instructing him to flee. Cal, being a wise young man, does what he is taught.

A few seconds later, Jace notices Cal running away and follows him, with Kory and Pete chasing him and warning him not to do it.

Ben and Michaela enter the cottage. But everyone has fled in haste, chasing Cal.

Cal rushes out onto the ice-covered lake, taking care not to shatter it. Jace, Pete, and Kory hurry out onto the ice as Zeke approaches from a new angle. Just before Jace comes up to Cal and aims his gun at her, Michaela cries, “Let him go!” Jace reminds her of what he said and places the pistol on Cal’s head. Just then, lightning strikes the ice, and Cal, Jace, Pete, and Kory all fall into the icy water.

Zeke, closest to the lightning-caused hole, dives in to save Cal. Ben reaches down, calling on Cal. Zeke finds Cal, pulls and pushes him up to the hole in the ice. Ben successfully pulls Cal out and almost gets Zeke. But Jace grabs Zeke’s leg and drags him back under. Zeke kicks Jace off, throwing him further into the frigid water. Zeke finds the hole once more, and Ben grabs him and pulls him up.

Cal stands over Jace, imploring him not to die. He is now frozen and breathes out one final dying breath. Michaela begins to cry, and a tremendous blazing light arises. It lights for a few seconds before dissipating. After it has been extinguished, Zeke takes a big breath and wonders, “I‘m still alive, right?”

Vance discovers Saanvi weeping in a lump on the lab floor. She admits to murdering the Major.

Cal has returned home and is reunited with Grace and Olive. Hugs all around confirm they’re all relieved everyone survived. Later, Michaela speaks with Ben, who apologizes for betraying her. She says she felt as though she had turned on herself by not responding to the calling and being preoccupied with saving Zeke. Ben argues that Zeke following his calling to save Cal and then surviving his Death Date proves they must pursue their callings.

Back at the lake, searchers notify Jared they have scoured the whole lake and have not discovered Jace, Pete, or Kory’s remains.

Ben receives another call and witnesses Flight 828 bursting above the ocean.

A sight of fishermen out at sea attempt to haul up their net. The weight of whatever is within causes it to become trapped. They keep trying to raise it and ultimately succeed, only discovering that it includes one of Flight 828’s wings. According to one fisherman, it cannot be the genuine wing because the airplane returned whole.

Our Thoughts

Manifest Season 2 Episode 13 left us with a lot to think about while neatly wrapping up some loose ends. Cal was saved, and Zeke’s Death Date is no longer hanging over his head. We don’t know what it implies since he blazed and resurrected from an icy tomb like a phoenix. Undoubtedly, there has been a lot of phoenix imagery building up to this. Nothing in Manifest is ever simple, and the discovery of a missing piece of a wing from Flight 828 in the water indicates there is still a lot to learn in Season 3.