For our review of last episode of Manifest, click here.
Synopsis: When Saanvi goes missing, Ben suspects a fanatical group who have become obsessed with the passengers from Flight 828. Michaela must face the consequences of her reunion with Jared. Zeke returns to New York and has an ominous calling. (TVGuide)
Writers: Matthew Lau and Ezra W. Nachman
Director: Craig Zisk
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Mondays at 10pm on CityTV (Canada)/NBC (United States)
“Upgrade”starts off with Michaela and Zeke returning to her apartment with a lot of junk mail. She offers her couch, and advises Zeke to stay and work with her on their Callings. He sees a picture of Olive and Cal causing him to flashback to a memory with his sister Chloe. She warns him of the military types that are looking for them causing him to get slightly concerned. Meanwhile at a support group, one of the passengers is acting like a messiah for a church dedicated to Flight 828.
Zeke awakes from a nightmare and rushes to the door where he is attacked by a wolf. This causes Cal to have a night terror where he shouts “it’s coming.â€The next morning, they all discuss these Callings and question if they are somehow related. They ask Cal about what he meant by his Calling, but he says that it is Zeke’s Calling and not his. They are worried that Cal appears scared of something, but the question is what.
Grace tells Zeke to reach out to his family, but he is skeptical that they would react well to his return. She shows Zeke the drawings and says that he is important so him being alive is no fluke. He comes to Cal and asks for help with his wolf Calling. He reveals that if he draws something it will happen and that he also saw the wolf. Zeke manages to reason with Cal and gets him to draw which is a step in the right direction.
Meanwhile things aren’t going great for Jared as he and Lourdes are having bedroom troubles. He confronts Michaela at work about her disappearance, but she diverts the topic to their mistake. He doesn’t see it that way, but she won’t hear it. The Captain interrupts them wanting them to watch over a submerged car crime scene. Michaela is able to convince him to divide their shifts and keep them apart.
While Jared is on shift, Lourdes comes by the precinct to talk with Michaela. She asks if there is something going on between them and Michaela’s hesitation gives her everything she needs. Michaela tries to apologize, but Lourdes won’t accept it. Michaela says she isn’t the only one to blame as Lourdes never showed up at the hangar. She couldn’t bear it because knowing Michaela was back meant she was going to lose Jared. Michaela warns Jared with a text while he’s on car watch.
Ben catches up with Michaela as they discuss Zeke’s place in all this and Saanvi’s research. They are hoping to hear back from her on whether he is one of them. Saanvi heads into work where she is greeted by Alice, a fanatical wife who is worried about her husband’s health. She goes with Alice to her house to check on her husband, but she doesn’t have good news about his health. She questions Saanvi’s inability being one of the returned before slapping her across the face. When Saanvi tries to leave, Alice becomes violent and pulls out a gun. At Alice’s house, Saanvi reasons with Jacob about Alice’s crazy notions. He tells her to lie, but it isn’t in her nature and says she isn’t ready to die.
With no information from Saanvi, Ben decides to head to the hospital. Ben arrives at the hospital, but they are unable to locate her. After missing a meeting, Ben finds some papers that Alice had dropped. On a pamphlet from the Church of the Reformed there’s information for Saanvi and her job address. Ben arrives at the Church of the Reformed to find a plaque with the passengers faces on it. He is greeted by Adrian, one of the passengers, who invented the church to bring happiness to the world. Ben asks about Saanvi and learns that these fanatics are obsessed with the passengers and their lives. He heads over to the Prayer Board and finds notes with similar writing as the pamphlet and rushes out.
Ben and Michaela meet up as they approach Alice’s house. Inside, Alice is getting increasingly volatile as Saanvi and Jacob admit there’s not to be done. With no time to waste, Ben and Michaela rush in posing as passengers that Adrian sent. She lets Ben in as he subtly leaves the door open. As he enters the bedroom, she pulls the gun again, but he tries to reason with her that he needs to focus. Brother Ben distracts them with a prayer allowing Michaela to sneak in and subdue Alice.
Ben returns to the Church of the Reformed to blame Adrian for what happened with Saanvi and Alice. Adrian believes that Flight 828 was saved by some divine intervention and he hopes to spread those miracles to his flock. Ben watches in on a larger group of worshippers who are reciting their new scripture including the Major’s right hand. He reports back to her, but she wants to observe them to better understand the situation. She doesn’t want to get rid of Ben, but use him to get to Cal, her holy grail.
When Ben returns home, Olive informs him that she knows what the cave drawing was. It’s an image of Gemini making them believe that there is some connection to twins. Michaela goes to Jared’s house to try to speak with Lourdes, but he answers and says she left. After the text, Jared rushed home to find Lourdes packed and ready to go. They admit they both still love each other, but they cannot act on before she leaves. Zeke manages to convince Cal that his drawing don’t make the future, just predict it. Cal decides to draw Zeke’s Calling which is a wolf and Michaela. The episode ends as Michaela watches the car get pulled out of the river. She approaches the vehicle and lets the water spill out, but the man awakes very much alive.
Captain’s Log
- How many other aftershocks were there?
- Who is the man in the van?
- Are Fiona and Captain Daly really dead?
- What is the Major’s plan?
- Will Lourdes ever return?
- Who else will we meet from the manifest?
- When will Danny return?
Overall, Upgrade was a decent episode. The world is getting a lot more unsafe for the passengers as they start to develop a cult following. The development of Zeke’s situation shows how this miracle may not be a one-time thing and leaves a lot more questions than answers. The drama of these characters is still showing strained on their relationship and how difficult it is for some of them to acclimate into society. The reveal at the end makes for quite the shocking cliffhanger that sets up even more intrigue for the end of this season.
Score: 7.5/10
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