Manifest’s massive time skip risks skipping six huge stories for season 4. Apparently, the next season won’t immediately pick up where things left off in the season 3 finale. In a recent interview, Ben actor Josh Dallas revealed that Manifest season 4 will begin with a two-year time jump.
While two years is obviously a long time, it’s not altogether shocking that the series is taking this approach. The show taking this route was one of the many possible options that were considered to be on the table in regards to a solution to Manifest’s timeline problem. Manifest showrunner Jeff Rake originally planned for the show to last six seasons, which gave the series a timetable for how long it would take for the story to play out. Manifest clearly lined up the show’s planned final season with the Flight 828 passengers’ dreaded Death Date. Since season 1, the main characters have been under the impression that they had until June 2, 2024 to solve the Death Date mystery. It was always understood that beating the Death Date would be the final challenge for the passengers to overcome before the show’s conclusion, but Manifest’s early ending complicated this plan.
With Manifest coming to a close in season 4, it became necessary for the show to find a way to get the Flight 828 passengers to June 2024 in the span of a single season, as opposed to three. Some believed that Manifest would accomplish this goal by delivering several time jumps every few episodes, but that won’t be the cast at all. Instead, Manifest will jump ahead by two years at the start of the season. Arguably the biggest concern about this though, is that this decision could result in Manifest skipping six highly-anticipated storylines. Unless the show makes heavy use of flashbacks, that may be exactly what happens. Here’s every major story viewers may not get to see when the show finally returns.
Cal’s Shocking Return
The Manifest season 3 finale offered a game-changing twist when it aged up Cal by five and a half years. Now, Cal is as old as he would have been if the plane hadn’t disappeared. This development is sure to send shockwaves that will be deeply felt by characters like Olive, Michaela, Saanvi, and especially Ben, who will all struggle to comprehend what happened and why. It’ll also be a blow to Ben as a parent, as he will be forced to grapple with the fact that he missed out on five years of his son’s life, even though in his mind, Cal was only gone for a few hours.
All things considered, Cal’s return promised a rollercoaster of emotions for the main characters, but when Manifest comes back, the Stone family will have had sufficient time to adjust to their new reality. And by this point, it’s likely that the mystery of where Cal went for five years will already have been solved. With a two-year break between seasons, Cal will have mad more than enough time to tell them what happened to him.
What Came Next For Zeke & Michaela
The season 3 finale teased the return of the Michaela-Zeke-Jared love triangle. Zeke and Michaela have been happily married, but certain moments in the show have hinted at Michaela’s old feelings for Jared resurfacing. With his empathic powers, Zeke made notice of this in the finale and told Michaela, “we need to talk”. His words suggested that a divorce or separation might be in the cards for the two characters. Whatever conversation it was that Matt Long’s Zeke wanted to have, it – as well as the consequences that came with it – will presumably play out off-screen.
What Happened After Grace’s Death
Cal’s aging wasn’t the only massive change to the status quo in the season 3 finale. There’s also the matter of Grace’s death and the impact it’ll have on Ben and the others. Ben will naturally be emotionally devastated, as will Olive and Michaela. Because of this tragedy, Ben will enter into a new chapter of his life by becoming a single, widowed father. Though no one on the show has been more devoted to saving the Lifeboat and following the Callings than him, Grace’s death could put Ben in a position where he’ll have to take a step back and focus on his family. By jumping two years into the future, Manifest’s exploration of this challenging time in the lives of the Stones will be greatly limited.
Cal’s Mystery Plan For The Passengers
During Grace’s final moments, Cal assured her that he knows what they’re supposed to do now. This remark implies that touching the tailfin allowed Cal to get the answers to all the questions they’ve been asking since the beginning. During the time he was away he may have come up with a way for the passengers to save the Lifeboat and get past the Death Date. It makes sense that Cal wouldn’t have waited two years to tell the passengers about his mystery plan or attempt to put it into action. When Manifest season 4 kicks off, Cal’s plan may already be in progress, and any potential conflict with Ben over it may not be shown.
Eureka’s Response To The Captain Daly Mystery
In season 3’s final scene, Dr. Gupta watched in shock as Captain Daly materialized in the cockpit before abruptly vanishing with the plane wreckage. This incident could prompt an interesting reaction from the Eureka science team, who would have investigated Captain Daly’s brief, ahead-of-schedule return. While it’s hard to imagine the characters getting to the bottom of the show’s new Captain Daly mystery offscreen, how Vance, Dr. Gupta, and possibly Ben responded to this development was a story that seemed like something the show would want to follow up on early in the new season. However, it seems his return will be old news in Manifest season 4.
The Hunt For Angelina
Angelina completed her transformation into a Manifest villain when she kidnapped Eden and seemingly murdered Grace with a knife. What she did is guaranteed to launch a manhunt for her in the aftermath of the season 3 finale. The police will need to rescue Eden and arrest her for Grace’s murder. And though the authorities would expect Ben not to get involved, there’s a strong possibility that he would have taken matters into his own hands to save his daughter and avenge his wife. And since she crossed such a huge line, both Eagan and Adrian may ultimately refuse to help her. Given her situation and the unlikelihood of her managing to stay on the run with Eden for two years, Grace’s murderer should be behind bars ahead of Manifest’s return.
