Warning: Spoilers for Manifest season 4, part 1
Manifest explained what happened to Cal, but provided no answers to the character’s age mystery. Jack Messina’s Cal Stone suddenly being recast with Ty Doran was easily one of season 3’s biggest loose ends heading into the show’s fourth and final season. In the months between seasons, numerous theories have offered possible explanations for the shocking twist.
Manifest season 4’s first batch of episodes explored Cal’s disappearance in great detail and actually allowed for some illuminating reveals tied directly to the show’s biggest mystery. As it turns out, touching the tailfin took Cal into the divine consciousness that made the plane disappear. In fact, where he went was the same place that the Flight 828 passengers went to in 2013. Not only that, but Captain Daly and Fiona were there too, which enabled the series to address multiple mysteries at once. One in particular that it didn’t wrap up is the issue of Cal’s age. The show still hasn’t explained why Cal is five years older.
Cal’s Aging Sets Up His Lifeboat Role
Presumably, the divine consciousness chose to add five years to Cal’s age, and it’s certainly no coincidence that Cal is now the age that he would be if the plane had never disappeared. From the looks of things, the divine consciousness must have felt that Cal needs to be older in order for him to complete his journey. As noted by Cal himself toward the end of Manifest season 4, part 1, the main characters have yet to understand why this happened. Since the show resolved other mysteries regarding Cal (but left this one open-ended), it’s likely that the answer will factor into the show’s last ten episodes.
With Cal standing revealed as the Dragon and the key to beating the Death Date, it may be that emotional and physical maturity is needed for what comes next. The trials ahead may be entirely too much for a young teenager to overcome in Manifest season 4, part 2. If that’s the reason for the change, it would be understandable. After all, it’s no secret now that it’s not just the passengers whose lives are on the line on June 2, 2024. The fate of the world is at stake, and if TJ and Olive are right about it being Cal’s destiny to save everyone, it’s all the more important that Ty Doran’s character is ready to tackle this challenge.
Manifest’s Cal Twist May Be About Sacrifice
Manifest may have already teased the real reason why Cal is so much older now. After the season 3 finale aired, showrunner Jeff Rake said that Cal sacrificed years of his life for the sake of “everyone in the world.” This description of the situation may hint at why Cal’s age is different. This idea that Cal sacrificed five years of his life fits in with a growing theory about stopping the Death Date. It’s been speculated in the past that sacrifice is the key to everything in Manifest, and based on events that have already transpired in the show, that theory may not be far from the mark.
Zeke’s two biggest moments in Manifest provide strong evidence for the role that this theme plays in the show’s overarching story. Zeke became the first (and only) character to survive the Death Date when he put his life on the line to save a drowning Cal from Jace in the season 2 finale. And then in the Manifest season 4, part 1 finale, Zeke made the ultimate sacrifice to save Cal from dying. Plus, sacrifice is an act with deep Christian connotations, so this being a factor in Manifest would seem fitting, especially with the show leaning so heavily on its religious and spiritual themes.
As noted above, understanding what exactly happened in the moment Cal touched the tailfin may be critical to Manifest’s ending. If it’s true that self-sacrifice is what the divine consciousness demands of the passengers, the reveal that five years of his life was Cal’s “sacrifice” could be a stepping stone toward the solution to the Lifeboat mystery. Once this is figured out, they’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done for the passengers to prevent the apocalypse when the Death Date arrives in 2024. This could lead to unfortunate news for the characters, especially if means one of the main characters has to make an even greater sacrifice at the end of the series.
Manifest Season 4 Could Still Be Hiding A Time Travel Reveal
Before Manifest season 4, part 1, the leading theory was that time travel was at the heart of what was really going on with Cal in the season 3 finale. But while the show seemingly debunked those claims by explaining that Cal was inside the divine consciousness, the series hasn’t exactly ruled out a time travel reveal. While it may no longer be the explanation for what happened to Flight 828, it could be still used to make sense of Cal’s aging and his current dilemma in general. It’s worth noting that while Manifest did paint a picture of Cal’s experiences after touching the tailfin, it’s not impossible that other events occurred between the scene on the plane and the moment when Cal appeared outside the Stone family home.
After Cal remembered talking to Captain Daly and Fiona, it was assumed that this was the only thing that happened to Cal prior to his aging and return in the season 3 finale. But it could be that after exiting the divine consciousness, Cal secretly wound up somewhere else. If that was the case, he could have lived out five years of his life offscreen. And because of Cal’s amnesia, it would be easy for the show to put off such a game-changing reveal. Similar to how it took him some time to recall meeting Daly and Fiona in the divine consciousness, Cal may not remember the five years he was gone until later.
Manifest has thus far avoided confirming its time travel connections, but this concept could indeed be a part of the show’s story. Even though the series already explained several of its mysteries, some remain unanswered. One such example of this is the season 2 reveal where it was discovered that Al-Zuras saw Flight 828 flying above his ship in the 16th century. If the show plans to go further with this tease in season 4, Cal’s age mystery would be particularly relevant.