What Happened To Zeke In ‘Manifest?’

(Spoilers for Manifest will obviously be found below.)

Manifest has finally made its final descent on Netflix with the back half of Season 4 arriving on June 2. Any moment now, people will find out how that Death Date stuff shakes out and if Saanvi will ever be able to stop stressing out. Creator Jeff Rake promised that the series finale will be the most ambitious display ever seen on this already bonkers show, but there was a surprise in store for viewers, too.

Back in the midseason finale, Michaela’s husband, Zeke, died. This wasn’t his first brush with the Grim Reaper, of course, but he was actually dead this time. Dead as a flight-warped nail, in fact, and while his death would have been tragic enough had it been an accident or otherwise “ordinary” passing, very little is normal on this show. So, we saw Zeke decide to sacrifice himself by absorbing Cal’s cancer, since he could be the key to defeating the inexplicably evil Angelina and apparently saving the whole world.

Actor Matt Long recently discussed how he learned about his character’s fate (which he subsequently kept a secret from the rest of the cast) from Rake. From Tudum:

“He sat me down and told me everything,” Long recalls. “He told me about the [series] finale. He also told me that Zeke was going to give his life to save Cal, and therefore, hopefully, save the lifeboat and everyone on planet Earth. That was hard to hear, but also I loved the way it was going to go down.”

“[Jeff]’s such a great storyteller that I was emotional at lunch just hearing it,” he continues. “I love my character so much, and I feel so close to him, because he’s had such a powerful story. He’s carried so much shame. And so hearing about what was going to happen to him just really moved me, even though it meant that I wasn’t going to be in it quite as much, which is a bummer.”

However, Zeke isn’t totally off the map in this final batch of episodes. He does surface as Ghost Zeke and visits Michaela in order to help her get on with it. And in order to do so, she’s going to have to team up with her ex and fellow detective, Mr. Jared Vasquez. Hmm.

Manifest‘s final fourth season episodes are streaming on Netflix.