Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Manifest’ follows the stories of the people whose lives are upended after they mysteriously disappear for five and a half years. Before she got on Flight 828, Michaela Stone had her boyfriend, Jared, waiting for her reply on the question of marriage. By the time she comes back with an answer, he is already married to someone else. Not ending up with Jared is a blessing in disguise for Michaela, who meets Zeke, the man she falls in with and later marries. However, their love story is full of tragedies. The end, however, gives them some hope. What happens to Michaela and Zeke in the finale of ‘Manifest’? Do they end up together? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD
Destined Reunion: Michaela and Zeke’s Love Prevails
Michaela and Zeke were destined to be together, and several things over the years prove this. They meet because of Michaela’s Calling, and Zeke tells her he held on to her picture in a magazine as a beacon of hope while dying of hypothermia in the cave. Later, when they hold hands under the stars, they recreate a prophecy from hundreds of years ago.
Apart from fate, they also have a lot in common. Michaela blames herself for the death of her best friend, Evie, and later, she disappears for five and a half years. Zeke blames himself for the death of his sister, Chloe, and later, he disappears for a year. They also share Callings which gives them a lot of common ground. While Michaela is in love with Jared, she finds a unique camaraderie with Zeke. As they struggle to keep themselves afloat through tough times, they hold on to each other for support. This creates an unshakeable bond between them, and they fall in love and get married.
Their romance becomes a tragedy when the Death Date looms over Zeke. He had disappeared for one year, so when he came back, he had just one year to live. Just when he and Michaela make peace with his death, he is given another lease on life. On Death Day, he is judged, and the Divine finds him worthy of continuing his life. Following this, Zeke develops the ability to sense and absorb people’s emotions.
A few years later, when Cal is dying of cancer, Zeke realizes he is the only one who can help. Cal is essential to dodging the Death Date of the passengers and saving the world. If he dies, there will be no hope for anyone, including Michaela. So, Zeke sacrifices himself by absorbing Cal’s cancer. Because this is unexpected, Michaela has no time to prepare for this loss, unlike when she knew about Zeke’s Death Date.
Sometime after his death, Zeke visits Michaela from the Glow. They cannot touch each other, but they talk, and Zeke tells her about all the times when they crossed paths and almost met. He says that this revelation has confirmed that they were meant to be with each other. He tells Michaela not to lose hope, to keep living, and to try to win the fight against the Death Date. This gives Michaela the necessary push, and she goes back on the field, solving Callings and trying to save the world.
When the Death Date arrives, Michaela and the rest of the passengers board the plane again. They are judged for their deeds, and most passengers, except eleven, survive Death Day. The plane comes across the Glow again, and passing it this time, the passengers return to 2013. They get another chance to live their life, which was taken away when they disappeared for over five years.
Back in 2013, Jared was still waiting for Michaela to answer her about his marriage proposal. She is clear about her feelings for him now, so she refuses his proposal, telling him that he will find someone who will love him for who he is. Michaela also remembers that Zeke told her he was at the airport in a cab on the day the plane was supposed to land but didn’t. She seizes the opportunity to meet him for the first time again and finds him in a cab as expected.
This version of Zeke doesn’t remember anything about the Glow, the disappearance, and his death. He hasn’t been to the cave yet, hasn’t died and returned after one year, and hasn’t met Michaela, but she remembers everything. As she gets in the car, she tells him to go on a long drive as she has much to say. This means that Michaela will tell Zeke everything, or at least part of it, about what happened in the other timeline and how they were destined to be together. In this timeline, Michaela and Zeke end up together.
Read More: Who Does Jared End Up With?
