Manganese-catalyzed C−H bond activation chemistry is emerging as a powerful and complementary method for molecular functionalization. A highly reactive seven-membered MnI intermediate is detected and characterized that is effective for H-transfer or reductive elimination to deliver alkenylated or pyridinium products, respectively. The two pathways are determined at MnI by judicious choice of an electron-deficient 2-pyrone substrate containing a 2-pyridyl directing group, which undergoes regioselective C−H bond activation, serving as a valuable system for probing the mechanistic features of Mn C−H bond activation chemistry.