Pilot

"*No one can explain what happened to us on April 7, 2013. Some people called it impossible. Others called it a miracle. All I know is it was the day my life changed forever. If you'd seen us that afternoon, you probably would have thought we looked like a typical American family returning home from vacation. My brother, Ben, and his wife, Grace, still in love after 15 years. Their twins, Olive and Cal, always bickering like an old married couple. And the real old married couple my parents. Still in perfect health, still trying to run my life.*"
—Michaela Stone

"**Pilot**" is the first episode of the first season of *Manifest*. It premiered on September 24, 2018 on NBC.

## Plot

On April 7, 2013, an American family, the Stones, is separated on their way home from Jamaica when their original flight is overbooked. Benjamin Stone, a mathematics professor, his leukemic son Cal, and Ben's sister Michaela, an NYPD officer, all take a later flight back to New York. The family's situation could be better: Michaela suffers from survivor's guilt and is hesitant to commit to marrying her fiancée Jared Vasquez, and Ben desperately searches for a solution to Cal's illness.

During the later flight (Montego Air Flight 828), Michaela decides to go through with the marriage. The plane experiences brief but severe turbulence and lands safely at Stewart International Airport. The passengers and crew are then told that five and a half years have passed since their departure during which they were presumed dead, the current date being November 4, 2018. After being questioned by the NSA, the passengers are reunited with their families, and Ben and Michaela realize their mother had passed from illness while they were missing. Jared is absent from the reunion.

Michaela temporarily moves in with her brother's family and briefly hears her own voice speaking to her inside her head. She meets up with Jared, now a police detective, and discovers that he has married their mutual friend Lourdes. Later, she hallucinates her voice again, narrowly preventing a traffic accident with its assistance. That night, Michaela follows more instructions given by her voice ("Set them free"), releasing two dogs from a warehouse with the assistance of Ben, who reveals to have heard the same words in his head. They are caught in the act on tape and Jared later brings Michaela back to the warehouse to return the dogs. She still hears the same words in her mind, prompting her to explore the warehouse, and is led to two child abductees, inadvertently solving a high-profile case Jared was leading. In a moment of vulnerability, Michaela reveals the details of her survivor's guilt: she was drunk-driving and her best friend Evie died in the ensuing crash.

Clinical researcher Saanvi Bahl, another 828 passenger, finds that her work before the flight has now achieved clinical success in treating pediatric cancer patients. Ben and his wife Grace are told that Cal qualifies for this treatment, overturning his near-terminal diagnosis. Ben reconnects with his daughter and Cal's twin sister Olive, and Grace avoids contact with her lover now that her husband is back.

Several 828 fliers have a vision of the plane they landed in, and as they visit the hangar where it is being held, it inexplicably explodes.

## Cast

* Josh Dallas as Ben Stone
* Athena Karkanis as Grace Stone
* J.R. Ramirez as Jared Vasquez
* Luna Blaise as Olive Stone
* Jack Messina as Cal Stone
* Parveen Kaur as Saanvi Bahl

**Guest Starring*** Joel de la Fuente as Dr. Brian Cardoso
* Frank Deal as Capt. Bill Daly
* Curtiss Cook as Radd Campbell
* Rich Topol as Harvey Stein
* Julienne Hanzelka Kim as Kelly Taylor
* Jim True-Frost as Rector Dave Hynes
* Alfredo Narciso as Captain Riojas
* Mugga as Flight Attendant Bethany Collins
* Malachy Cleary as Grandpa Steve Stone
* Geraldine Leer as Grandma Karen Stone
* Jenna Kurmemaj as Young Olive
* Leajato Robinson as Co-Pilot Danny Clarke
* Erika Rolfsrud as Lead Investigator
* Kapil Bawa as Saanvi's Dad
* Jonée B. Shady as Saanvi's Mom
* John Wojda as Garrison
* Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Sgt. Robinson
* Omar Torres II as Uniform Cop Diaz
* Thursday Farrar as Dr. Williams
* Allyson Kaye Daniel as Airline Gate Agent
* Giuseppe Ardizzone as Bus Driver
* Onata Aprile as Hallie Pyler
* Lacey DeLaFuente as Samantha Pyler
* Josh Philip Weinstein as Dr. Miller
* Whitney Andrews as Med Student
* Jacque Reid as Local News Anchor
* Dylan W. Holmes as Toddler
* BoTao Yu as Soccer Coach

**Uncredited** * Unknown as Georgia

## Trivia

* This episode is the NBC's highest premiere in two years.
* Daryl Edwards and Alfredo Narciso are credited as "Co-Starring" for this episode only, being credited as "Guest Starring" starting with "Reentry".
* Besides the flight number, there are multiple appearances of the number 828 in this episode: the number on Garrison's warehouse property and Karen Stone's preferred bible verse (Romans 8:28).
* Romans 8:28 ("And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are **called** according to *His* purpose"), which Michaela reads in one scene, might serve as foreshadowing for what the heroes end up naming their collective hallucinations.
* Michaela taking the bus and riding a bike is consistent with her being afraid to drive as a result of her accident.
* Grace tells Mick that the universe gave them a do-over. However, this doesnt really come true until the final episode.
* The loved ones of 828 are having trouble adjusting to the fact that the passengers havent experienced their 5 1/2 years; obviously they are still where they were in 2013.
* Saanvi fights to get Cal her leukemia treatment, pointing out he hasn't changed from the time his last check up was five years ago; she's living proof as a fellow 828er.

## References

1. ↑ "‘The Big Bang Theory’ adjusts up, ‘The Good Doctor’ adjusts down: Monday final ratings". *TV By The Numbers* (September 25, 2018).
2. ↑ File:101BethanyCalled.png