Ben Stone

**Benjamin “Ben” Stone** is a character on *Manifest*. He debuts in the first episode of the first season and is portrayed by starring cast member Josh Dallas.

## Biography

### Before Flight 828

Benjamin Stone was born to Steve and Karen Stone in 1981. In 1987, Ben’s parents gave birth to Michaela Stone, his younger sister. Later in life, Ben Stone got married to Grace and had two twins, Cal Stone and Olive Stone. In 2011, Cal is diagnosed with leukemia and his treatments don’t work. Some time in 2012 or 2013, Michaela’s then boyfriend Jared Vasquez proposed to her in front of Ben, his children, wife and parents in a park. Ben told his sister to marry Jared and, for a final vacation with Cal, to go to Jamaica. When they were going back to New York, the first flight they picked was overbooked; so Ben, Michaela and Cal get on flight 828 which had a lot of turbulence and when the flight was only for a few hours, the world aged 5 years and everyone thought the passengers were dead. Surprisingly, none of them aged even the slightest bit.

### After Flight 828

Upon returning, Ben discovers that his mother died of illness during his absence and that there may be a cure for Cal. Michaela after a while begins to tell him that she hears strange voices in her head, something that also happens to Ben, although at first he hides it. One night he joins his sister in front of a gate behind which there are dogs because like her he heard a voice in his head telling him that he must free them. After a brief conversation, the two siblings decide to follow the suggestion and let the dogs escape.
Ben later tries to recover the relationship with his wife and daughter. When discovers that his sister has saved two kidnapped girls, thanks to the indications they have received and knowing instinctively to find her in the church, he goes to talk to her.

There he tells his sister that it is likely that the other passengers are also having the same experience as theirs. Shortly after, brother and sister, like all the other passengers, feel attracted to the plane and as soon as they reach it, it explodes.

Passengers are obviously detained for questioning. The pilot of the plane tells the two Stones that he too has visions. Shortly thereafter, Ben meets another passenger Saanvi Bahl, a doctor who does cancer research and who followed Cal before the flight.

Shortly thereafter Michaela manages to get the passengers released by asserting her status as a policewoman. Ben as he leaves is approached by another passenger who asks him for help, but he initially ignores him. Soon after he begins to hear the sound of a violin. Walking down the street, Ben then runs into the same passenger who is playing the tune he had heard and agrees to help him. Through Michaela, Ben makes sure that the man can see his son in prison.

The next day while he was with Cal at the hospital, Ben confided what he was feeling to Dr. Bahl. The latter told him that she had not heard music, but that she had had similar sensations more than once. Eventually, after a series of fortuitous circumstances, Ben manages to discover that the culprit of the theft of which the boy was accused was another and so the young man is freed.

    Some time later a passenger who went on TV to talk about her experience is murdered. Soon after, Saanvi phones him to tell him that he has discovered a marker in Cal's blood. Michaela then decides to go to the crime scene, but since she doesn't feel like driving, she asks Ben to accompany her. Ben agrees, but pretends to look too and after a while he manages to convince his sister.

At the crime scene, Ben reviewed Robert Vance the NSA agent who had questioned them at the landing and later assumed that the government was watching Taylor. Ben later searched his house for microphones and bugs and confided his suspicions to Saanvi who told him he had the same marker as Cal and Ben assumed that all passengers could have it, which the Indian found possible. During their investigation, the two brothers discovered that Kelly's husband rented out places to rent to illegal immigrants at high prices. The two began to suspect the latter, but Jared discovered that the man had an alibi. Eventually Michaela discovered that the maid was the culprit.

Ben later wanted to know if his wife was in love with the man she was having a relationship with, but she assured him that she loved him and that she never stopped. Saanvi later shared his theory about the marker with the Stone brothers and also informed them that Kelly Taylor's body was missing.

## Trivia

* Ben's casting description describes him as "the quintessential type-A father and intelligence analyst, Ben struggles against what he can’t control — whether it's his son's rare pediatric cancer or the mysterious voice that’s now inside his head."
* In "S.N.A.F.U.", while Ben plays poker, there is a character named David James in the room. In *Once Upon a Time*, Josh Dallas portrayed twins named David and James.

## References

1. ↑ "A family that survived the unthinkable must now face the impossible. @joshdallas is Ben Stone in #Manifest.". *Instagram* (August 28, 2018).
2. ↑ "Manifest': Josh Dallas & Melissa Roxburgh Cast As the Leads Of NBC Pilot". *Deadline Hollywood* (February 13, 2018).