Josh Dallas on how that shocking 'Manifest' death will shape the final episodes

When Manifest creator Jeff Rake and his cast and crew got a chance at a new round of episodes for the celebrated sci-fi mystery over on Netflix, we were told to expect big things as the entire creative team prepared to wrap up the epic story of life, death and strange powers. To up the anticipation level, the streamer opted to release Season 4 in two big chunks, and when the first half dropped last month, it left us with a major death and an uncertain future for the family at the heart of the story. Now, one of the show's stars has opened up about what comes next.

If you were going to place odds at the beginning of Season 4 as to who might not survive the first round of 10 episodes, smart money would've probably been on Cal (Ty Doran), Ben and Grace Stone's special son who just might be the key to saving the world, if cancer doesn't get him first. Facing a resurgence of the illness which left him bedridden, Cal seemed to be in a very bad way as the first half of Season 1 wrapped up, but this is Manifiest, which means we'd better be prepared for the unexpected.

The unexpected arrived in the form of Zeke (Matt Long), who overheard his friends discussing just how vital to everyone's future Cal might be. With the fate of the world on the line, Zeke decided to step in and use his gifts to take Cal's cancer into himself, Green Mile-style. It meant Cal survived, but Zeke died at his nephew's bedside, leaving Mick Stone (Melissa Roxburgh) to mourn her husband and Ben (Josh Dallas) to celebrate his son's survival while mourning the loss of his brother-in-law.

Speaking to TVLine this week, Dallas addressed the fallout from Zeke's death, and explained that while we can expect the usual twists in the final round of Manifest episodes, losing Zeke will also deepen the Stone family bond.

“Once we see Part 2 of Manifest’s [final season], there’s going to be a reason why they may be separated for a bit of time,” Dallas said. “But I think it’s going to bond them closer together. It will be a level of grief that Ben will understand and will try to help guide his sister out of, but he also knows that she needs to deal with it in her own way as he did.”

Of course, grief is not the only thing the family will have to deal with. There are plenty of other Manifest mysteries waiting in the final 10 episodes, including what to do about Angelina (Holly Taylor), and how Zeke's sacrifice will play out for Cal himself. Dallas obviously couldn't drop any major spoilers about the larger arc of the series, but he did explain that, in the wake of getting his dying son back, Ben will be a little more like his old self, and he might even fulfill a lot of fans' wishes by connecting with Saanvi (Parveen Kaur).

“As we go forward in the story, you start to see the old Ben come back more, although changed from this journey that he’s gone on,” Dallas said. “I think his heart does start to open.”

He continued, “[Ben and Saanvi are] very similar in many, many ways. They have a connection and a deep friendship and a deep love and a deep respect for each other. They’re two lonely people, and we’ll see where that goes. I think they’re both desperate for a connection, whether that’s with each other or with anything, or to have a connection that’s outside of what’s happening. I think they’re both really yearning for that.”

Manifest returns soon for its final episodes on Netflix.

Looking for another sci-fi mystery in the meantime? Stream La Brea on Peacock.