Hijack - Season 2
- Sacha L. Roy
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Season 2 of Hijack takes us out of the sky and into a very different kind of crisis — and while it keeps the tension high, it also makes some bold storytelling choices.
Recap
The season opens with Sam in Berlin. He’s walking through the city, enters a U-Bahn station, and you can immediately tell he’s on edge — scanning his surroundings, studying the other passengers before boarding the train.
At one point, he accuses a fellow passenger of acting suspicious. Two police officers who happen to be on the train remove the man at the next station… only for us to later realize it was a distraction. A calculated move to get the officers off the train.
Meanwhile, the train conductor, Otto, is clearly uncomfortable. He looks sick to his stomach, hesitant, almost ready to back out. At one point, he even steps off the train and hides in a station bathroom before forcing himself to return to the conductor’s cabin.
The entire first episode building tension around the idea that someone else is about to hijack the train. But then comes the twist. Sam is the one orchestrating it — with Otto’s help.
He contacts rail control and calmly announces that he is taking over the train. His demand? He wants the authorities to track down John Bailey-Brown, who he believes is somewhere in Germany, and provide him with a proof of life, a picture.
The German authorities respond quickly. Their first move is to block the train’s path by leaving an empty train on the tracks ahead. That leads to the first real showdown.
Sam sends a passenger — Freddie — off the train with a suitcase, implying that if the blocked train isn’t moved, the suitcase will explode killing the hostage. When the authorities refuse to comply, Sam escalates; a fire — or at least heavy smoke — breaks out in the station’s control room, convincing everyone that the suitcase had exploded and that he’s serious. The authorities finally move the train.
And once Sam and Otto are back in motion, they make a brief stop to retrieve Freddie — revealing that the suitcase was a bluff all along.
But then we learn something even bigger. Sam isn’t the mastermind. He’s being coerced. He’s been forced into this hijack to get proof of life that John Bailey-Brown is in Germany — otherwise, his ex-wife Marsha will be hurt. And just when that proof is delivered, the goalposts move. Now Sam must have Bailey-Brown physically brought onto the train.
It’s also revealed that this hijack is happening on a very specific day — the anniversary of Kai’s death. Sam’s son died in a car accident, which Sam believes John Bailey-Brown is ultimately responsible for what happened.
That changes everything. From the German authorities’ perspective, this looks less like a strategic hostage situation and more like a man seeking revenge. As far as they’re concerned, Sam wants Bailey-Brown on that train to settle a personal score.
But not everyone is convinced. Peter from MI5 doesn’t fully buy the revenge narrative. To him, something doesn’t add up. Sam Nelson is many things — but reckless isn’t one of them. So MI5 starts digging deeper.
At the same time, Daniel O’Farrell and Zahra take a more direct approach. They decide to visit someone who might know more than he’s letting on — Stuart, the leader of the original plane hijack in Season 1. Given how strategically similar this new situation feels, Daniel suspects he may be able to shed some light.
Meanwhile, Marsha is completely isolated. She’s staying alone at a remote cabin in the middle of the forest, supposedly on a retreat. But she’s not alone for long. A man is seen watching her from his car, parked nearby. A couple from the neighbouring cabin notices the car and informs Marsha that someone has been sitting outside for hours.
What we later find out is that the man wasn’t a threat — he was sent by Daniel O’Farrell to protect her. But before he can reach her, the neighbours shoot him. Those “helpful” neighbours were never just neighbours. They return to Marsha’s cabin with a fake injury, but Marsha has already sensed that something is off. At the first opportunity, she gets away and runs into the forest.
The situation on the train quickly escalates. Freddie — the same passenger Sam used during the suitcase bluff — is found murdered. Killed by someone still on the train. Up until this point, Sam had managed to maintain a certain level of control. The hijack was calculated. Strategic. Almost contained. Freddie’s death changes that. Suspicion couldn’t be contained among the passengers, so Sam is left with no choice. He finally addresses the entire train. He tells them that he’s hijacked the train, but that he’s not actually in control.
From that point, it becomes more about who’s pulling the strings behind it, but you need to watch for yourself!
Strengths
One of the biggest strengths of Season 2, for me, is the story itself. Season 1 ended in a very contained way. The plane hijack was resolved. That chapter felt closed.
So the obvious risk with a second season was repetition — just doing another hijack in a different setting. But that’s not what they did.
Yes, on the surface, it’s another hijacking. This time a train instead of a plane. But as the season progresses, it becomes clear that this isn’t a copy-paste scenario. It’s actually a continuation. The more it unfolds, the more it feels like the natural evolution of Season 1 rather than a forced sequel.
Another strength of Season 2 is its momentum. The show moves quickly. There’s very little filler, and each episode pushes the situation forward in a meaningful way.
New information keeps coming in, alliances change, and the stakes are constantly being changed — whether it’s on the train, with Marsha in the forest, or the MI5 / Daniel and Zahra’s / German police investigation.
That forward drive keeps the season engaging. It rarely feels slow or stagnant.
Weakness
At the same time, that fast pacing that I just mentioned can work against the show. Most of the major twists introduced in one episode tend to be resolved by the next. There aren’t many long-burning mysteries that linger over multiple episodes.
So while the season feels tight and efficient, it sometimes lacks that lingering tension that made parts of Season 1 so gripping.
Another thing is the atmosphere; in my review of the first season, I mentioned that the real-time airplane setting - mixed with how the cinematography was done helped to build tension and claustrophobia. Well, Season 2 doesn’t quite recreate that. Don’t get me wrong — the production still feels premium, like most Apple TV shows. The photography is polished and cinematic.
But it doesn’t add that extra layer of pressure. And Sam isn’t confined in the same way. The train stops. He steps out. He moves through tunnels. At one point, he’s even inside a station control room.
The scope is bigger — which works for the story — but it slightly reduces that suffocating tension that defined the first season.
Acting
Third star : Toby Jones as Peter Faber - Controlled performance throughout the season
Second star : Karima McAdams as Jess - Played her ambiguity well.
First star : Idris Elba as Sam Nelson - He still carries the show
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think Season 2 of Hijack succeeds where it easily could have failed. It doesn’t just repeat the formula of the first season. It expands it. It turned what could have been “another hijack story” into a continuation of something bigger.
It may not replicate the exact tension we had in the season 1, but it delivers something just as compelling in a different way.
As of yet, Apple TV has not confirmed a third season, but the creators haven’t ruled it out. Therefore, my fingers are crossed.
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