‘Manifest’ Season 4 Stars Tease ‘Devastating’ Life After Grace Stone’s Death
Manifest Season 4, the missing plane drama’s final installment, arrives on Netflix this November. The new episodes will not only provide long-awaited answers to the mystery of Flight 828, but also take a closer look at the emotional journey of the Stone family. As fans may recall, season 3 ended in two shocking losses for the Stones. In a recent interview, Manifest creator Jeff Rake and stars Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh teased the aftermath of Grace Stone’s death and Eden Stone’s kidnapping in season 4.
‘Manifest’ Season 3 ended in tragedy for the Stone family
Manifest Season 3 introduced Flight 828 passenger Angelina Meyer (Holly Taylor), who started living with the Stone family after they rescued her. She often served as a nanny to the Stones’ infant daughter, Eden. When Angelina survived a near-death experience, she believed Eden may have been responsible as her guardian angel. She tested the theory with a fire in the Stone house, causing Grace Stone (Athena Karkanis) to kick Angelina out.
Still, Angelina wouldn’t give up. In the finale, she returned to the home to kidnap Eden. However, Grace stepped in to defend her family, so Angelina stabbed her. She then escaped with Eden. Cal Stone (Ty Doran) found his mother dying in her bedroom.
Ben Stone’ checks out’ in ‘Manifest’ Season 4 following Grace Stone’s death
Manifest Season 4 will pick up two years following Grace’s death. However, Eden is still missing, and the Stone family is still coping. Ben Stone (Josh Dallas) still has an especially difficult time after losing his wife. In an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, Dallas said Ben is in “total devastation.”
“He’s left with a profound anger, a void where he’s lost himself,” Dallas said. “And the thing about anger is that it begs to stick around. It robs you of your beauty, and you end up hurting the people that love you. He really checks out from the people that are still around him — and from the ‘callings.’ He’s done with them. In his mind, they’ve not given him anything.”
Still, someone has to answer the callings and try to guide the Flight 828 passengers. That’s where Ben’s sister, Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh), comes in.
“She steps in as the parent to everyone,” Roxburgh added. “Because Ben is so zoned in on his own stuff, she takes over that role; her whole thing is making sure that the passengers are safe now.”
Cal Stone’ blames himself’ for his mother’s death
Cal will also have quite a bit to deal with in season 4. In last season’s finale, Cal disappeared when he touched Flight 828’s tailfin. Then, later that day, he reappeared five years older, although he still had his younger self’s mind. On top of figuring out why he disappeared and what it has to do with Flight 828’s journey, Cal wrestles with guilt over his mother’s death, Rake said. He wanted Angelina back in the Stone house because he felt she was meant to be there.
“From a psychological place, he blames himself for so much of what happened at the end of last season — and problematically and painfully, his dad sort of blames him as well,” the showrunner said.
“Ben can’t help but have this complicated feeling of ‘you did it’ toward his son,” Dallas added. “And that’s really, really rough.”
Manifest Season 4 premieres on Netflix on Nov. 4. Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for more updates.
