Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Manifest’ creates a complex tale of time travel that delves into science-fiction and spirituality. It begins with the disappearance of Flight 828. There is no trace of it for five and a half years, but it appears just as suddenly as it went missing. When the passengers return, they discover that their new lease on life comes with an expiry date. To understand what this means for them, the passengers must piece together several clues and symbols that have been around them all this while. If you want to know more about the Death Date, how it came to be, and what it means for the passengers, then here’s what you should know. SPOILERS AHEAD
Judgment Day: The Death Date’s Reckoning
When Flight 828 disappeared for five and a half years, it was inside the Glow, where time works differently than it does in the normal world. It is the Glow that gives them the Callings when they go back to their everyday lives. While being in touch with the Divine Consciousness comes with a lot of benefits, it also has a huge drawback. It puts a limit on one’s life. This is where the Death Date comes in.
The amount of time that one disappears from the world is the exact time they have left when they return to the world. The three methheads who die by drowning return after 84 days and die 84 days later. The symptoms of their death are similar to drowning, even when they are nowhere near water. Zeke Landon disappears for one year, and when he comes back, he has exactly one year left.
Similarly, the passengers disappeared for five and a half years. So, when they return, they have five and a half years left. Everyone who has been to the Glow has a Death Date, though it differs for everyone. When the Death Date arrives, they are all judged for their actions in the time they got after their return from the Glow. If their good deeds outnumber the bad ones, they are spared. If not, they will be punished for it.
The methheads died on their Death Day, but Zeke Landon is spared. This is how the passengers realize they are all on the same Lifeboat. Their actions will be judged collectively, and their survival depends on the total number of good deeds outnumbering all the bad deeds done by them. This means that even a single person committing a bad act threatens the survival of the entire Lifeboat, making it hard for the good ones to strike the balance that will keep the Lifeboat afloat.
The Death Date: A Threat to Flight 828 Passengers
Flight 828 disappeared on April 7, 2013. It appeared five and a half years later, in 2018. With this logic, the Death Date should be five and half years later, i.e., in 2024. To determine the exact date, they look towards the symbols repeatedly appearing in their Callings. Several passengers see a peacock. The Gemini twins are also a recurring symbol, along with Juno and the Dragon, which appears as the tattoo on Cal’s arm. All of this points toward one date: June 2, 2024.
Initially, the passengers believe that the Death Date is just for them. No one else was harmed on the death dates of the methheads and Zeke. So, they assume that the 2024 Death Date looms only over the 191 passengers. As more evidence comes to light, it turns out that the Death Date extends to the entire world. In several Callings, an erupting volcano appears, in addition to several other places. Later, when the experiments on the plane and Noah’s Ark start, volcanic fissures appear everywhere.
All the evidence points towards the fact that the Death Date means the date of the apocalypse. This is when the world will end with volcanic eruptions across the globe. As the date approaches, more fissures appear throughout the city, and several dormant volcanoes turn active all around the world. Some passengers try to find ways to save the world, but others, like Angelina, want the world to end. She believes that she is chosen by God and will be saved. But she forgets that the Death Date means she will be judged for her actions, like every other passenger. What happens to the Lifeboat will determine the fate of the world.
Read More: Does the World End in Manifest? [Spoiler]
