“Cleared for Approach” is episode thirteen of season one of Manifest.
December 2017, and the man, Zeke, they found in the previous episode, “Vanishing Point”, buys some supplies from a bait shop before setting out. In the cabin, Zeke wakes and asks Michaela if he’s dead. No, but that would be an easier explanation. Zeke says you can’t freeze to death in a cave and walk out a year later alive. Not on Earth. This is Earth? Michaela says you can, but they need to figure out how. She wants him to run through what happened. Ben returns as Zeke explains he was snowed into the cave, then there was an earthquake or avalanche or something and the ice broke away. Ben says they’re ready to head back. Zeke wants to stay a while and Michaela will stay with him.
Ben speaks to Michaela privately. They need to figure out how the cave did the same thing. Michaela agrees, but Zeke isn’t coming. She tells Ben to take care of his family and Ben realises that Zeke hasn’t mentioned his. Michaela thinks he can be trusted, though.
Back in the city, Saanvi runs some tests on Cal, and she also wants to run tests on Zeke, to see if he has the same blood marker. Ben has Zeke’s bloody bandages. On the way home, they see a sign asking if the Flight 828 passengers are even human.
At the cabin, Zeke asks what happened and Michaela says there are theories, but no-one knows. She mentions her family and Zeke says he doesn’t have one. Or anyone he could call out of the blue. He thinks one of them is insane, and prefers it be Michaela. Michaela knows it sounds crazy, but something happened. She touches him and they both share a vision, with Zeke’s voice telling them to go back. Michaela tells him it was a calling and explains them. And that this isn’t usually how it happens. Callings are how Cal found Zeke and how she heard Zeke. She thinks they should go together, maybe back to the cave. Zeke says they need supplies.
Grace is wondering if they should tell Olive about the callings. Ben is concerned it puts her at risk. Grace says that all they need to do to disprove the theory that telling people about the callings will kill them is for her to live.
Michaela goes to the same bait shop Zeke went to. She sees a missing person poster for him. The shopkeeper thinks Zeke killed himself. His sister, Chloe, died on the same mountain in 2006. When Michaela returns to the cabin, Zeke is gone.
Grace lets Jared in and asks where Michaela is. Then the window is smashed by a brick thrown through it. Whoever did it drives off. Jared goes after them.
Michaela catches up with Zeke and convinces him that they need to go to the cave together.
The attack on Ben’s house seems to be by those who think the passengers are no longer human, and these are starting to cause problems. Michaela and Zeke find the cave, but it seems to be just a cave. It also turns out that Olive has known about the callings for some time.