Manifest Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – Carry On

Episode eight begins with Ben having a dream of himself inside the burning bar, shouting the name of TJ. He gasps his breath and sees Grace and Olive silently sleeping beside him.

In the aftermath of the fire incident, Michaela is there to investigate. Suddenly, the fireman calls her and shows a burned body. The cadaver is a tall man, so Michaela quickly thinks it is TJ.

At the precinct, the captain leads a meeting about the fire incident at the bar. While the captain talks about the details of the recent fire, Detective Drea tells Jared the Xers are connected, but he defends them.

Simon pays a visit to the Stone’s residence, asking if they are okay. He says all of the people on campus are upset, so Olive madly butts in, claiming the statement is such a bull. She says TJ doesn’t have friends on campus because they think he is a freak. But when he died, everybody‘s giving him sympathy.

Simon excuses himself to go to the bathroom. He sneaks into Ben’s information room and takes a picture of all the information and evidence related to the passengers of Flight 828.

Michaela comes and requests to talk with Ben alone, but Olive insists she wants to know if there is news about TJ. Michaela offers her TJ’s bracelet, which she found on a victim severely burnt to identify. Olive bursts into tears as Ben, Grace, and Michaela attempt to console her.

Simon calls a gathering of the Xers a little time later. He reiterates his belief: Flight 828 passengers endanger their way of life. Jared is there, and he informs Simon some of the Xers may be asked about the nightclub fire. Simon thanks Jared for the warning and requests he watches Billy, who can be a bit of a jerk in the group.

Zeke sees Dr. Saanvi Bahl because the frostbite on his fingers isn’t mending. He’s terrified he’ll freeze to death since he has a few months till his Death Date. Saanvi does various experiments on Zeke. She then reveals the test she performed on herself and how it seemed to rid her of the callings.

Saanvi says she has to perform a workup on Zeke first and do additional tests before he can take the serum. It is only in the preliminary round, so she is unsure if it’s working or worsening the situation.

Detective Drea and Michaela discuss how Jared defends the Xers back at the precinct. Michaela thinks Jared might be involved in the Xers, leaking all of the reports to them. Detective Drea suggests following Jared to get answers. Michaela is torn at first, thinking it’s too early for it, but she‘s eventually convinced they need to.

Ben admits to Grace he is scared of pushing Olive away. Grace advises him to give her some space and time.

Ben is looking at the drawing on the journal and the tarot card when he suddenly remembers it is the same as what happened to them on the bar: he is lifting Olive while going out from the burning bar. Suddenly, he hears a calling: a chanting. Then he asks out in the air, “What the hell do you want from me?”

Ben talks to Michaela over the phone, asking if she also heard the call. It turns out he is the only one who heard it. He panics: many people died the last time he listened to the call. So he wants to avoid it, informing Grace and Olive about the summons. He proposes they go to the memorial site at the burned-out nightclub, but Olive says she’s not ready and doesn’t care about callings now that TJ is gone.

Olive is guilty of what happened to TJ. She thinks what happened to him is her fault.

Jared walks over to the pub where Billy hangs out and informs him he and Simon chatted. He tells Billy should relax and avoid drawing attention to the Xers. Billy gets irritated. Jared walks away, warning Billy that his mouth would get him into serious trouble.

Tamara chases after Jared as he exits the pub. She tells him Billy could get psycho. Jared tells her he could do the same.

From a vehicle across the street, Michaela and Drea watch events unfold. Michaela says she’s annoyed to see Jared kissing someone else, but she adds the pub isn’t Jared’s kind of place to hang out. Drea decides to walk in and investigate.

Drea deceives Tamara by claiming she’s hoping to meet up with several males. She then approaches Billy and invites him to a game of pool. Soon after, Drea walks out. Billy follows her while Michaela discreetly photographs Billy and his pals.

Drea returns to the vehicle. They drive back to the precinct. Mission done. Michaela and Drea search the database for Billy’s picture and discover his rap record, including vandalism and violence. Michaela is taken aback that Jared is an Xer, taking her case files. Michaela contacts the judge who released Zeke and requests a favor.

Ben visits the makeshift memorial. He hears the chant calling again, so he starts to follow the sound, ending up at the Buschwick Meditation Center. He goes inside the place and asks the front desk if she hears something; she says it‘s just the heater. He ends up in an empty meditation room in front of a Buddha.

Ben informs Olive the chants led him to a Zen Center. She says TJ’s mother is a Buddhist. Grace thinks the calling wants Ben to help Olive through her sadness. Ben and Olive return to the Zen Center together.

Ben and Olive exchange recollections of TJ in a poignant session. Olive recounts her first contact with TJ before he boarded Flight 828 five and a half years ago.

Soon later, Michaela comes to the bar and confides in Tamara about Jared. She advises that if she loves her younger brother, she should keep Jared away from him. Michaela places a bug in the bar before she departs. Tamara phones someone as soon as she leaves.

Saanvi visits the park and runs across her ex-lover: Alex. She approaches her and kisses her passionately.

At the Zen Center, Ben hears the chanting again. They decide to pursue it, taking them to a stairway into the building’s basement. The chanting leads to an ancient steel door. Ben and Olive pry it open.

They’re in what Ben thinks is an ancient prohibition tunnel. They continue; the chanting gets louder. Then, they both hear a faint voice pleading for aid. TJ’s voice responds to Ben and Olive’s cry — TJ is still alive!

Ben and Olive scale the disintegrating wall to locate a seriously injured TJ.

Michaela and Drea listen to the audio from the bar and play it for the captain at the station. Billy is heard threatening the passengers aboard Flight 828. Jared’s relationship with Billy is also revealed to the captain. The captain tells Michaela she will manage the situation.

When TJ is in the hospital, he tells Ben and Olive that Isaiah pulled off his bracelet during their fight. The corpse Michaela discovered had to be Isaiah’s. After hearing the news on the police radio, Michaela comes to the hospital and speaks with Ben. Ben feels the callings are instructing them in some way.

Meanwhile, the captain meets with Jared in her office at the station. “We’ve got a problem,” she says as she plays the audio for him.

Alex pays a visit to Saanvi in her lab to tell her that although what occurred between them at the park was pleasant, she has decided to remain with her spouse, and it should never happen again. Saanvi says Alex has no idea what she’s talking about and does not recall what she did earlier.

Michaela returns to her apartment. She informs Zeke that Jared deceived her and that, without going into detail, she believes she deserves it. Zeke thinks it’s because she has a beautiful heart. Michaela notices something is awry with Zeke and asks about it. He shows his hand with the frostbite and then tells Michaela that Saanvi may have worked out a means to outlive the Death Date.

Our Thoughts

For fans of the program, this Manifest episode presents an intriguing dilemma. Is it enough that “Carry On” contains all of the tension and intensity we’ve anticipated from the series, even though the emphasis has turned to new foes without resolving the old? The Xer plot has been exciting, but it overlooks the Major as a more effective opponent. The Death Date and the government plot have faded dangerously from the limelight, with Saanvi’s self-experimentation and Zeke’s frostbite taking a second seat to Jared’s alleged duplicity, the Al-zuras notebook, and the demise of the “Church of the Returned.”