During an interview with Collider, Manifest actor Josh Dallas (Once Upon A Time) talks about the end of the fourth and final season of the series and what lies ahead for his character. He also describes the process he took in preparation for his first episode as director.
Manifest first premiered on NBC in 2018, immediately captivating audiences with the mystery of what happened on Flight 828 that caused the passengers to return to a world five years into the future with no recollection of anything. Last year the show was canceled, leaving fans distraught with no answers to the tragic ending of season three. Fortunately, Netflix revived the series for one final season, split into two parts. The first half was released at the beginning of the month and revealed many connections between the incoming apocalypse and the passengers’ death date.
According to the interview, Dallas himself says that the finale will bring the closure that everybody seeks. “Everything is going to get tied up and all your questions will be answered, including the biggest question of all. What happened to those passengers on Flight 828?”
He says of the tattered father/son relationship that has been an integral element throughout the show: “That dynamic between Ben and Cal is super, super complicated now, because… there’s something deep down inside of Ben that blames Cal, and blames him for his mother’s death because of his relationship with Angelina, which he doesn’t quite understand. He doesn’t fully understand why he would have this connection with her, and I think that creates some really tough situations between the two of them, because he’s still a little boy. He’s not a grownup. He’s not an adult, and it’s at a time where he needs his dad the most, and Ben knows that. But there’s a part of Ben that just can’t give himself over to him to be his father, which is heartbreaking and horrible.”
Dallas also believes his character Ben will find love again. He says, “I think as we go into part two of Season 4, you will see Ben’s heart open, and him sort of crawling back to the Ben that we’ve known from the beginning, although changed for sure from this experience, but changed for the better I think. Yeah, I think his heart opens.”
Speaking about his experience directing, Dallas says he had talked about it with showrunner Jeff Rake (The Mysteries of Laura, The Tomorrow People) during the third season but production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he didn’t have a choice in which episode he directed, Dallas is fortunate to have received a great episode and “help tell a more 360-degree view of this story, a story that is so important to me.” He also describes his struggle with time management as a director rather than an actor: “Time is your enemy on any set, no matter how many days you have to shoot an episode in, but the clock is always ticking, and the clock is your nemesis.” In preparation for the job, Dallas shadowed various Manifest directors and explains how useful it was to ask questions.
Manifest, season 4 part one is now streaming on Netflix. More details to come regarding part two.
You can watch the interview on YouTube below.