“Black Box” is episode four of season two of Manifest.
At the airport in Jamaica, before Flight 828 left, TJ recommends a couple of books to Olive. She’s watching him when 828 is called and tells her mother she will go on the plane after all when TJ heads to board. In the present, Olive is in the audience as Adrian is preaching about how the passengers will walk amongst them for decades to come.
Saanvi arrives home, where she has set up a small lab. She has a serum and she’s going to test its viability on a living specimen, a white mouse. She gets a message and tells the mouse she hopes it survives, as that would have a chance of beating the death date.
Ben is recording a message to a future Olive when Grace comes in. She tells him to delete it; she won’t let him give up. Ben says he has no clues and there have been no plane callings and no other passengers aware of the death date that he knows of. Grace asks why he’s torturing himself. Peace of mind. She says he will find a way.
Michaela is with Evie’s parents; Evie’s mother asks who Michaela is taking to the prom. Michaela starts talking about this boy she is interested in – Zack – and how the last guy didn’t go so well and she isn’t sure how long this one will be around. Beverly basically tells Michaela to go for it, then forgets who she is again.
Olive approaches Adrian and wants to speak to him privately about the sermon. She explains about the death date again. Adrian says they were saved before and will be saved again if they believe.
TJ finds Ben in his new office at Astoria University for the job he got in the previous episode, “False Horizon”. TJ had another calling; of a bug, bird fish and a tiger.
Jared is in a bar and the woman serving tells him to ask her out for dinner already. Jared says he’s just got out of something. Two somethings. She suggests maybe skipping dinner.
Michaela has a calling saying to bring him back. She’s drawn to a bank across the road and heads in. Zack is there; he got the same calling. He’s talking about why he hasn’t seen there when a ban ion a balaclava draws a gun and takes the guard’s weapon, then asks for everyone’s phones. Zeke says to Michaela about calming the robber down. Michaela says that’s easier said than done. The man is an amateur; he has no body armour or backup and hasn’t taken out a single camera. Most times, robbers are in and out in three minutes max; an amateur will be unpredictable and dangerous. She tries talking to him and giving him advice; the man just wants to get into the vault, which closed when the silent alarm was triggered. Zeke ends up tackling him but gets knocked down and the man’s balaclava comes off. Michaela recognises him as Logan, a passenger on 828. She explains she was as well.
Saanvi is practicing lying to the major to Vance; he wants to bring things out into the open.
TJ and Ben are working on the images when Olive arrives. She tells them they are the logo of the Gramercy Club. She remembers TJ getting the last seat on the plane, but claims she doesn’t remember him when he remembers her.
At the bank, Michaela and Zeke discover that Logan had a death date vision. Logan doesn’t care about jail time; he’s trying to save his life. There’s something in a safety deposit box that will save him. If he doesn’t get it, he’s going to die.
The question now is whether what Logan is looking for will help everyone else.