‘Manifest’ Season 2, Episode 6 ‘Return Trip’ Review: The Crash

It’s here! The crash calling is here! Not to sound morbid, but ever since that crash scene appeared on the season 2 trailer of Manifest, I’ve been waiting for this moment. It might be a game-changer in the narrative. And given what that little screen time at the end of this week’s episode revealed, there are plenty more surprises about that scene to come. Now, waiting for the next episode is getting more excruciating. The crash is only a little part of this week’s episode on Manifest though. But, that doesn’t mean this week’s events aren’t as interesting. In fact, it’s one of the rare moments when the callings aren’t that too action-packed or too dramatic. Oh, and Olive’s (Luna Blaise) got a new boyfriend. So, here’s what happened in this week’s entry on Manifest.

The Child With The Bright Eyes

Saanvi (Parveen Kaur) is back! Unfortunately, the Major taking all her research has hit her hard. In fact, it has turned her desperate enough to start testing potential cures on herself. And she keeps pushing it until she passes out. Luckily, Ben (Josh Dallas) and Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) just in time to save her life.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Before she passed out, Saanvi and Ben had a calling together. They were back in the plane and Ben thought he heard Saanvi calling out to him for help before she faded away. After she wakes in the hospital though, Saanvi explains that she was calling for help for the child in one of the seats. The kid had dark hair and had light rings in his eyes. But, as Ben recalls, Cal was the youngest passenger. And instead of a kid, it was an adult man named Finn Nowak (Rafi Silver) who sat on the seat where the child sat in the calling. Every episode, these callings get a little weirder. And though it becomes a little muddled at times, I love how these make each episode a lot more exciting and unique.

After a little visit to Finn, Ben is a little more confused about the calling. Finn has no children. Ben, however, found a childhood photo of Finn that looked exactly like the child. Then, as Ben shows the picture to Saanvi back at the hospital, he remembers that Finn told him he had a one night stand in Jamaica before he boarded the plane. True enough, after searching for Finn’s one night stand Orlena (Marcy Harriell), Ben and Saanvi find that the woman gave birth to a boy.

First Time Reunited

When Saanvi and Ben track down Orlena, they find that everything’s fine. The little boy named Theo (James Lynch) looked fine and happy. The only problem is that Orlena’s husband of 10 years doesn’t know that the kid isn’t his. And Orlena isn’t keen to reveal the truth.

Despite that, Saanvi and Ben tell Finn about his son. The man is ecstatic. He doesn’t want to destroy the happy family. But, it’s clear that nothing would make him happier than meeting the son who he has already missed five birthdays of. Even just one meeting would do. Ben warns him that it may harder to walk away but, Finn is determined.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Luckily, Orlena agrees to let the father and son meet for the first time. And I kid you not, it’s such a heartwarming moment. But, Saanvi immediately notices that something’s off. In the calling, the kid had light brown rings around his pupils which didn’t match the dark brown eyes the kid had in reality. Then, Saanvi notices the kid having motor problems. And after asking Orlena a few more questions, Saanvi realizes that all those signs point to liver disease.

At the hospital, they confirm the bad news. Theo would need a liver transplant. Orlena isn’t a match but, Finn is. And he couldn’t be any happier to be giving a part of him to his son. Finn makes sure that it would be done anonymously. But, Orlena reconsiders and decides that Finn deserves to be part of his son’s life. It’s one of the happier endings of Manifest in this season. But, Finn and his son aren’t out of the woods just yet. As Saanvi realized, much like Ben’s baby, Finn might’ve just passed on the 828 genes to his child through the operation. And though they saved the kid’s life, they might as well have put an expiration date on it.

Betrayal

On the other hand, Michaela has been quite the saint allowing her boyfriend’s apparent fake wife to sleep on her couch. Courtney (Danielle Burgess) and Zeke never really signed any paperwork so their marriage was a sham. But suddenly, Courtney’s old drug dealer Lucas (Anthony Ordonez) sends some thugs to beat up her up. Apparently, she still owed him 20 grand.

Zeke, bless his heart, takes it upon himself to talk to Lucas and settle Courtney’s debt. And of course, Michaela’s not going to let him do that alone. So, she enlists the help of her partner Drea (Ellen Tamaki) and busts out broody party girl Michaela for her disguise.

Peter Kramer/NBC

At the meeting, it immediately becomes obvious that Lucas doesn’t trust Michaela. To prove her good faith, he asks her to shoot up. Zeke swoops in and offers to do it for her telling Lucas that Michaela is too uptight for needles. Thinking quickly, Michaela banks on this comment to start up an argument. It ends up with her slapping Zeke but, it does the trick. Apparently allergic to drama, Lucas shoves the deal to them. But, one of his guards recognizes Michaela.

Michaela quickly alerts Drea. Then, just before things could go south for her and Zeke, Drea swoops in to save them. With that settled, Zeke and Michaela go home only to find that Courtney has upped and left. Although, she left a little note saying she’ll stay in the sober house from then on.

The Crash

Later that night though, Michaela remembers the warning told her about Zeke. According to his former beau, he can never really get sober. He always kept stashes everywhere. One of those places was his in his razor handle. True enough, when Michaela opens it, she finds pills inside. I suspect Courtney planted those though to stir up some last-minute trouble.

Will Hart/NBC

Meanwhile, Ben is also facing a dilemma in his marriage. A magazine contacted Grace (Athena Karkanis) asking for an interview about the first 828 baby. Initially, neither of them wanted to do it. But, as the fear and doubt creep into Grace’s mind, she finds herself thinking of a more twisted idea. Grace thinks that they should do the interview solely to convince the world that the baby isn’t an 828 baby to protect it. And she suggests they do it by telling the world that the baby is Danny’s, not Ben’s. It’s logical, but I mean, ouch?

Ben doesn’t even consider it. And in frustration, he further buries himself in work. Suddenly, he gets a calling together with Saanvi and Michaela. They’re all in the ruins of a plane that crashed and ash is falling all around them. The strangest part is none of the passengers are from Flight 828 except one: Finn. And that’s not even the main surprise. Adrian has the calling too.

Welcome to the Dark Side

Meanwhile, Jared (J.R. Ramirez) is really cozying it up with the exers. He even got a new haircut for Christ’s sake. What is that? New hair, new me, Jared? Seriously, this guy is turning to be one of my most disliked characters in Manifest. As it turns out, he’s going dark all because of Michaela.

Will Hart/NBC

After Billy (Carl Lundstedt) discovers Jared’s past with Michaela, he almost casts the guy out. And to redeem himself, Jared tells the guy that Michaela basically ruined his life. She ruined his marriage, she threw him under the bus, she replaced him with a junkie, and she destroyed everything he worked for. It makes sense for him to be angry. But, really, being a traitor?

Young Love in Manifest

Elsewhere in this episode of Manifest, Olive and TJ (Garrett Wareing) team up to look for clues related to the star card. In their journey, it becomes obvious that the two are developing feelings for each other. TJ doesn’t wait long and soon enough, the pair confess their feelings for each other in a romantic lakeside night picnic. Ben doesn’t seem to mind. After all, he’s tracking both kids’ phone like a real meddling dad.

More than their feelings for each other though, Olive and TJ make a groundbreaking discovery about the cards. Although they didn’t find the fortune-teller who gave it to Olive, they do find a copy of the original deck of cards called the Al-Zuras deck. What’s more interesting though is its history. Apparently, the deck was made by a man named Yusuv Al-Zuras, a 16th-century scholar and artist born in Egypt. And he made it after he went missing for 10 years at sea and came back. This proves that everything that happened has all happened before.

Manifest continues next Monday, February 17th, with “Emergency Exit” at 10/9c on NBC.