Manifest Season 1 episode 11: it’s a whole new ballgame

Manifest’s episode this past Monday had one main focus; Captain Bill Daly. Ever since the passengers landed after 5 and half years everyone has been blaming him for what happened and it’s finally taken a toll on him. So, with Ben’s help, the pair set out to prove he had nothing to do with it. Daly takes Ben to an airfield and brings him to a simulator that supposedly is set to mirror the storm that Flight 828 encountered on the night it disappeared. However, Daly shows Ben a large packet of official papers regarding the flight and it’s all a lie. The storm simulated in the simulator is no where near the same as the one they flew through and Daly suspects that the reason all the data is a lie is because it’s a government setup. In fact, the data and the investigation started in 2013 when the plane disappeared and not when it came back.

Ben presents the information to Michaela, who has some reservations about the data; but, after Ben tells her that in 2014 a meteorologist was suppose to testify to Congress and never did, Michaela’s interests grows. Ben and Daly go to talk to Roger Mencin, the meteorologist. Roger informs them that he was forbidden from telling anyone about his findings, but eventually gives in when he just wants to make things right. He tells them about dark lighting and how it hasn’t been captured because you have to close to detect it. Roger gives the data and together, Bill and Ben plug it into the simulator, but have little success of proving his innocence.

Meanwhile, Autumn shows up at Michaela’s house in need of her help. Autumn wants Michaela to help her find a woman so that she can clear her name from the multitude of charges against her. However, we get a sense that she has alternative motives when she sees Michaela secretly check for something in the binder that Ben got from Daly. In addition, we see her with the guy in the suit from the coffee shop who gave her a phone she uses to contact with them. For us, this storyline is one of the biggest mysteries. We can’t tell what side Autumn is on and we have no idea who is trying to exploit her. It’s clear she is a woman trapped in a life she didn’t ask for, but someone we can’t help not feeling sorry for her.

The next day at work, Michaela gets word that Roger Mencin has died in a boating accident and immediately alerts Ben. Together they realize that someone knows they are looking into something they shouldn’t be and go to warn Daly. At Daly’s home, Ben and Michaela find a wall demonstrating how obsessive he is about the flight and they also discover that Daly believes Fiona is involved in the cover up. So the pair make their way to the airfield because Daly left evidence that he is going to fly a plane into a coastal storm with possible dark lighting to prove his innocence. While the pair is right about flying the plane, Daly has company. Before going to the airfield, Daly arrives at Fiona’s house and drugs her, bring her on the plane with him. Despite Ben and Michaela’a pleas, Daly takes off.

Toward’s the episode’s end, Autumn breaks into Michaela’s apartment looking for the binder to take pictures of the pages. However, she has feelings of remorse when she finds Cal’s drawings. One in particular strikes a nerve and she takes it with her.

Daly aggressively drives the plane into the storm but as Ben and Michaela watch from the ground the Air National Guard believes that they shot his plane down. However, the news reports they have found no evidence of the wreckage. In addition, Autumn’s betrayal was revealed when Ben and Michaela figured out she was the mole and kidnapped Cal from his bedroom.

Overall, this episode really showed the desperation the passengers are feeling and frankly they have every right to. Friends are turning on friends and the passengers are losing hope. Everyone is so desperate to figure what happened that they aren’t thinking straight, and those who are can no longer convince those who aren’t. It’s an episode we’ve expected and it didn’t disappoint. Despite knowing exactly how this episode would end for Daly, it was entertaining to watch and excited for the next episode. I mean we got to find Cal.

Manifest returns Monday at 10pm on NBC. For more news related to Manifest, be sure to visit this link.

This article was written by Samantha D’Amico. If you want to follow her on Twitter, you can do so at SAM_iamXO.