Warning: Spoilers for Manifest season 4 part 2
Manifest’s explanation for Zeke’s return solves one of the show’s biggest Al-Zuras mysteries. First mentioned in season 2, the 16th-century explorer is the subject of several questions in the series. However, most were never answered directly, with Al-Zuras having a very limited influence on the engers’ investigations in the show’s final two seasons.
The journal left behind by Yusuv Al-Zuras was of tremendous help to the Flight 828 engers in Manifest. When his writings and drawings were first uncovered, Ben and the others didn’t know the history or the Callings, nor were they aware that this phenomenon predates them by hundreds of years. Not only did they find out Al-Zuras shared their experiences, but it was discovered that both he and his crew had caught a glimpse of Flight 828 in the sky above his ship and called it “the silver dragon.” The centuries that separated Al-Zuras and the engers naturally made this a perplexing reveal, one that the show has avoided exploring.
Zeke’s Return Reveals How Al-Zuras Saw Flight 828
The engers never figured out how Al-Zuras saw Flight 828, but various details in season 4 provide some degree of clarity to the situation. As the characters now know, they were in the divine consciousness, meaning Al-Zuras must have been there too. They occupied the glow at different times, yet crossed paths regardless. How that could be possible ties in with something Michaela learned when she met Zeke in Manifest season 4 part 2. It was explained in the show that Michaela wasn’t just talking to Zeke in the afterlife; the Zeke she was speaking to hadn’t left the glow yet. In other words, the ing of time works differently there.
Michaela being able to see and talk to 2017’s Zeke is reminiscent of Al-Zuras seeing the plane. When this happened, it was speculated that time travel was at the heart of the show’s central mystery. That theory has since been debunked, but it’s apparent now that elements of time travel really are present in Manifest’s story. Because of the connection that binds people selected by God, there are ways for them to see and interact with each other under certain circumstances.
Why Didn’t Al-Zuras Forget About Seeing Flight 828?
People always forget what they see in the glow, which raises questions about how Al-Zuras could have ed the incident. However, Zeke’s return allows for some insight into that detail as well. Since season 2 strongly implied that Al-Zuras’ ship is what Cal was looking at from the plane window when it was surrounded by light, it appears Flight 828 was in the glow when Al-Zuras saw it. As for Al-Zuras, he and his crew had likely already left, but briefly connected with the plane in the same way that Michaela linked with Zeke in Manifest season 4 part 2. If that’s true, that would explain why Al-Zuras ed the plane but Cal couldn’t recall seeing the explorer’s ship.