'Manifest' Episode 5 tells us the origin story
Creator Jeff Rake's 'Manifest', starring Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas, has received orders to extend the show by three more episodes, which will stretch the show's finale till January. While this gives Rake sufficient time to tease fans a little more with the mystery, it certainly cuts down on all the flashback scenes since the child actors are coming-of-age and it will be difficult for them to fit into their roles.
Fortunately, with Jack Messina yet to come of age, the fifth episode managed to unveil the biggest truth about Cal. Other than elaborating on Cal's powers and how the boy could use it, the fifth episode takes us back by five years to show what happened with the passengers who were left behind when Montego Air Flight 828 disappeared. Presuming their near and dear ones dead, the characters moved ahead with their lives. They began dealing with the changing dynamics and picking up the pieces to put their lives back together. However, when the flight returned their already established worlds were broken up again when they realized that they had been living a lie for the past five years.