Manifest creator says series finale is 'the most ambitious episode we have ever shot'
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At the risk of going too Biblical, the end is nigh on Manifest. But that's a good thing for series creator Jeff Rake and star Melissa Roxburgh.
They didn't initially think they would ever see the day when they could conclude the story. Fans have all heard this before: NBC canceled the drama in 2021 after three seasons, cutting Rake's six-season plan short. Then Netflix saved the show for one final run of 20 episodes (split into two 10-episode parts), thanks to an aggressive show of force from the Manifest hive. Rake and his cast are now finally getting their big finish when the series returns to Netflix this June 2.
"That finale that's coming up, [episode] 420, that's hands down the most ambitious episode we have ever shot," Rake tells EW in April with the entire finale already shot and edited. "I don't want to oversell, but I think you'll agree when you see it that that even surpasses what you saw in 410 — and you'll probably say 'by a long shot.'" Considering the finale to season 4, Part 1 ended with a literal hellscape, complete with earthquakes and rivers of fire, that's saying something.
Peter Kramer/Netflix Ben (Josh Dallas) and Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh) survey the scene in 'Manifest' season 4, Part 2
"I really wanted to know the end of the story myself," says Roxburgh, who stars on Manifest as Michaela Stone, one of the passengers of Flight 828, which mysteriously vanished in a supernatural event midair, only to safely land five years in the future as if nothing had happened. "My original theory in season 1 was that the government had found a way to mind control. Like, they were all experiments essentially. That was definitely wrong."
Rake understands if viewers perceive these last 10 episodes almost as a fifth season. He agrees there's a "standalone" quality to this arc. Ever since Angelina (Holly Taylor) essentially became a herald of the apocalypse, creating a catastrophic volcanic fissure with her Omega Sapphire powers, the 828ers are now under constant surveillance by a government registry. Plus, they are closer than ever to June 2, 2024, which is the Death Date — the moment when Michaela, her brother Ben (Josh Dallas), scientist Saanvi (Parveen Kaur), and the other passengers believe they will face their second death.
If that weren't enough, Michaela is still grieving the loss of her husband, Zeke (Matt Long), who died during the events of the midseason finale. She doesn't fall down the same hole as Ben, who grew a "grief beard" and went full rebel-on-a-mission after the loss of his wife, but Roxburgh says "she kind of shuts down."
"She's a lot more 'eh' toward things," the actress explains. "She's not apathetic. She's drained. She's fried. She hasn't given up on on anything, but her attention is on the plane stuff, the mystery, to get her mind off of the pain that she keeps pushing away." Rake already teased to EW that Long could be back for the back-half of season 4, noting "the powerful bond" between him and Michaela. So that loss, it would seem, will be difficult for her to ignore.
Giovanni Rufino/Netflix Angelina (Holly Taylor) and Cal (Ty Doran) come face to face again in the final episodes of 'Manifest'
"While Part 1 [of season 4] was very much focused on the Stone family trying to heal, trying to put their family literally back together, the final 10 figuratively and literally focus more on the collective of the passengers," Rake teases. "Ultimately, Michaela and Ben's role within this mythology was to lead the flock, to figure out why they're back, what their mission is. The series is going to end as it began. That is to say with Ben and Michaela leading the passengers, hopefully, to their survival."
Roxburgh calls the last 10 episodes "quite large," noting how it took the crew "a lot longer than normal" to film the entirety of the finale.
"Jeff had this six-year vision for the show, and so you can't not go out with a bang, especially after everything that's happened," she adds, reflecting on the show's tumultuous journey. "Just knowing that it is the end, it's gonna feel climactic."
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