What Happened to Zeke in 'Manifest' Season 4? Character's Fate Explained (EXCLUSIVE)

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 4, Parts 1 & 2 of Manifest.

There isn’t much that Manifest fans haven’t seen when it comes to life and death. The series opened with a family returning five years after their plane vanished, and it’s been chaotic for Ben Stone (Josh Dallas), Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh), and Cal (Jack Messina, Ty Dolan) ever since. In addition to coming to terms with missing five years of their lives, Michaela, Cal, and Ben must now keep the other passengers of their flight, Flight 828, safe until their upcoming Death Dates.

While all of this sounds quite intense, Manifest isn’t all doom and gloom. Since Season 1, fans have followed Michaela’s romance with Zeke (Matt Long). Like Michaela, Zeke skipped death once and also developed the “Callings” that have plagued her, Cal, Ben, and the other passengers throughout the series. However, their Callings brought them closer, and Zeke soon played a pivotal role in the Stone family’s lives.

In Season 4, Part 1 of Manifest, Zeke showed how much he loved Michaela and her entire family. So, does Zeke die? In 2022, Manifest creator Jeff Rake exclusively sat down with Distractify to discuss Zeke’s future in the Part 1 finale.

Plus, keep reading to find out what happened to his character in Part 2.

Although Zeke did escape death several times on Manifest, Season 4 wasn’t as kind to Michaela’s leading man. In Manifest’s midseason finale, “Inversion Illusion,” Zeke watched with the rest of the Stone family as Cal’s health declined. Cal’s leukemia, which fans thought he had cured, returned, and the family worried Cal wouldn’t survive their Death Date.

As the episode progressed, Zeke felt helpless as he watched his nephew dying in front of him. While trying to cheer Cal up with games and going over his bucket list, Zeke makes a startling realization about Cal’s fate. Zeke realizes the sapphire’s healing powers won’t heal Cal, but he can — with the help of his empathetic powers.

Once Zeke discovered he could save Cal, he took the necessary steps to save Cal from any illness or pain. Zeke’s act meant he had to die in place of Cal. Unfortunately, Zeke accepted the challenge and saved his nephew’s life by sacrificing his own.

The shocking twist enraged many fans on social media who wanted Michaela and Zeke’s romance to last. However, according to Rake, the cliffhanger was what the show needed to prepare fans for Manifest’s conclusion.

“It became clear to us pretty quickly as we kind of put everything on the board and said, ‘Okay, well, what's the most important story point along the way before series finale,’ and that was it,” Rake explained to Distractify of Zeke’s death. “Zeke's sacrifice, in conjunction with Cal’s survival. And, so, you know, right away, we knew that that's how we were going to have to get out of 4-10.”

Throughout the finale episodes of Manifest, Michaela keeps having Callings that allow her to talk with Zeke in the "glow." Though Zeke cannot reveal too much information, he tells her that the two would have met earlier if Flight 828 landed in New York in 2013 since he was working cab dropoffs at the airport.

In Part 2, we see the full circle moment of a 2018 Zeke in the cave and Michaela appearing to him, telling him to "find her," pointing to a picture of herself that he had in his pocket telling him to go to the cabin.

While fans may have thought that Zeke was gone for good, the series finale pulled at fans' heartstrings.

After being judged by the higher power and being deemed worthy, Flight 828 lands safely back ... in 2013.

Yes, it's as if the last five years didn't even happen, at least it didn't for everyone in the world that was not on the plane. The show concludes with everyone having a second chance at life.

Michaela tells Jared that she cannot marry him because the two of them want different things in life, and she knows that her cop friend Drea is who he should really be with.

Remembering what Zeke told her in the glow, Michaela runs outside and jumps into Zeke's cab. Though he doesn't know who she is since they technically haven't met, she tells him to just drive around and she'll fill him in on the story.

Therefore, leaving fans assuming that Michaela and Zeke will finally get their happy ending.

You can now stream Season 4 Part 2 of Manifest on Netflix.