Manifest's Surprise Ending Was 'Perfect', Says The Cast - But It Also Broke Them
In its final act, "Manifest" gives its most morally just characters the second chance that they deserve. The show's finale sees all of its core survivors end up back on the plane that originally turned their lives upside down. While there, the various heroes and villains of "Manifest" all find themselves faced with a final reckoning. Fortunately, even though some of the series' characters end up suffering surprisingly horrifying fates, most of them come out of their grand judgment further ahead than they likely expected.
Specifically, at the end of the "Manifest" finale, the show's survivors all find themselves transported back in time. Rather than going missing for five years on Flight 828, Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh), Ben (Josh Dallas), and all of their fellow surviving passengers land safely and get a chance to finally live the years they'd previously missed. This development comes as a major shock to the drama's characters, and it turns out that the actors who played them were similarly surprised by the show's conclusion.
For instance, while reflecting on her first reaction to the "Manifest" finale's screenplay, Roxburgh told Netflix, "Ellen [Tamaki] and I were at a bar and we were reading the script on our phone, a drink in, and we both just started crying." The "Manifest" star added, "I'm absolutely going to miss going to set with everyone and I'm going to miss just playing in that world because it was such a fun and exciting world to play in, but I think it's perfect. I think it's supposed to be left where it's left."
Manifest was always going to end the way it does
As surprising as the ending of "Manifest" may have been to the show's characters and its actors, it sounds like the series was always going to conclude in a similar fashion to how it ultimately does. The show's creator, Jeff Rake, recently revealed as much, telling Netflix, "I've always had a broad idea about what the ending was going to be, but it wasn't until I was riffing long and hard with my excellent staff of writers that it all came together."
Fortunately for him and the rest of the show's scribes, it seems like the "Manifest" ending has landed well with both those involved in the making of it and those who have watched it at home. Josh Dallas, for his part, told Netflix, "It's a great ending for the show and for some of our core characters." Melissa Roxburgh, meanwhile, additionally noted, "[When the show was originally canceled], I really had not been able to say goodbye because it didn't feel done. But I'd like to think that I'm pretty in touch with my own feelings and it felt done [now]. It felt like the right time to end the story."
In case her previous praise for the "Manifest" finale wasn't enough, Roxburgh again reiterated her admiration for the series' conclusion, noting, "A show with so many loose ends and bits, it's hard to put the final stamp on and I think they did a great job." In other words, as hard as it may have been for Roxburgh and co. to say goodbye to "Manifest," it sounds like they all got to do it with the shared belief that they were capping off its story with a surprising and satisfying bang.