Manifest S01E10 "Crosswinds" Recap

Ben shows up to Vance's memorial service but NSA Agent Powell runs him off, believing that Ben is somehow involved with Vance's death. While Ben is leaving a journalist called Arron approaches him to ask him to come on his podcast about the 828 mystery. Ben rejects the offer, believing it to be a foolish move that will put himself and his family at risk. He is however intrigued when he learns from Aaron that one hour before the Red Hook incident, a mysterious figure known as "the Major" arrived at the site by way of Black Hawk helicopter.

Ben questions Autumn about the Major and she can only share that she once overheard a speakerphone call that revealed that the Major is a woman. This woman said that money wasn't a problem because of some 'holy grail' they are pursuing that is supposed to be priceless. Ben follows this lead while Autumn secretly discards her burner phone into the ocean. However, some time later a mysterious man approaches her to give her a new burner phone and states that the Major wants to speak with her.

Ben begins listening to Aaron's podcast and is taken aback when he hears the phrase "holy grail" be mentioned. Ben asks him about it and Aaron says that he learned about it through one of his sources. A senator had been overheard saying, "It's the holy grail; we have to be the first or 828 blows up in our face."

Ben tracks down Agent Powell and share what information he knows, trying to get him to investigate the Black Hawk that visited Red Hook. Eventually Powell agrees and shares with Ben that Black Hawk is a VIP transportation unit and the passenger name is classified. It's also currently set to arrive in New York from Langley. Powell warns him to be careful, having only agreed to do help Ben in the hopes of solving Vance's death. Ben goes on Aaron's podcast to talk about everything he has learned about the Major and the holy grail. But after the episode is recorded, Ben insists to Aaron that he cannot release the episode yet. This episode is his insurance policy in case anything happens to him. Aaron reluctantly agrees. Some time later, Powell is kidnapped by some mysterious men while on the way home and thrown into a black Escalade.

Michaela goes to check on the passengers from the warehouse who are now staying at a nice house by the water. They're in a catatonic state but when she briefly makes contact with one, Paul, he jolts awake. He is now suffering with amnesia and Michael starts to hear a new voice calling out to her saying "Find her" while in a blizzard.

Michaela believes that the "her" is Paul's wife, who had never showed up at the hangar when flight 828 returned. Michaela and Jared are able to track her down but they discover that the reason why she didn't show up is that Paul was abusive. When Michael returns to the house of the passengers, she hears the calling again but this time she also sees a hand and knee touching the snow. Michael then surmises that this calling isn't for her. Saanvi intervenes in Michaela's attempts to reprimand Paul for his past abuses, and shares with her that this holy grail Ben has been talking about isn't an object but in all likelihood a person. Red Hook had been testing the passengers to determine which ones were the most sensitive to callings. This means that Cal needs to be kept secret and protected from the Major. At home, Cal is shown to be asleep in bed until he wakes to have the same calling that Michaela has been having. There is a person walking through  blizzard holding a photo of Michaela. While Cal experiences this, his hand turns blue from frostbite though the episode ends before it can be determined if that damage is permanent to him.

Olive becomes concerned about her mother's well-being and invites Danny over to try to get them to reconcile. Unfortunately this happens at the same time Ben is visiting because Cal had asked him over. The two nearly fight but Grace stops them and talks about her feelings and the stress she's experienced from Ben's return and her conflicted feelings. Ben says he now understands and kisses his children goodbye before leaving to mourn this personal loss and to resume his investigation.

Lourdes tracks her cycle and shares with Jared that she's ovulating but he asks her to wait due to his recent near-death experience and wanting to regain his bearings in work and life. While helping Michaela with the investigation into the whereabouts of Paul's wife, he picks up on her increasing efforts to keep a distance between them. When he later confronts her about this, she declares that she will not be the "wrecking ball" to his happiness with Lourdes, sharing her intentions to ask that they no longer be partners at work. Jared insists that she is not a wrecking ball and that the only reason he didn't come to meet her at the hangar when 828 first returned is because he knew that he would never go back home if he did. He declares that she is his soul mate and the two finally re-consummate their feelings by sleeping together.

Manifest airs on Mondays on NBC at 10/9c.