Hijack Season 2 Episode 1 Review: No One Asked For This, Yet Here We Are

Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0

3

Two years after what was thought to be the series finale aired, Idris Elba returns as Sam Nelson in Hijack Season 2.

I’ll start by stating the obvious: limited series should remain limited.

Gluttony can be a killer, and a second season of this show could very well be a case of insatiable gluttony from Apple executives.

It’s possible the show was renewed for a new season because of its impressive ratings, not because there was anything left to say.

After watching Hijack Season 2 Episode 1, “Signal,” I’m conflicted. On the one hand, I see potential, but on the other hand, I’m doubtful the payoff will be worth it.

The show is tense as ever, and the season’s first episode builds on that tension. We find Sam in another mass transit setting: a train in Berlin.

Keeping the theme constrained to modes of mass transit, such as planes and trains, is a smart decision because it gives the narrative some cohesiveness, but it is not sustainable in the long term.

A man can find himself in risky situations in similar settings so many times.

We follow Sam as he eyes someone and follows them around. He plays hide-and-seek with the man before ratting him out to the police.

Tensions, But Nothing More

The first half of the episode is rough. One has to clock their brain’s processing power to try to understand what the hell is happening — and even then, the challenge fails.

What is Sam up to now? Given that the first hijacking was purely by accident, what happened in the interim to make him the man he is today? Who is that man, though?

As far as anyone knows, Sam Nelson is still a high-powered corporate negotiator. Then why is he acting like Tamar from Tehran, following people around and hatching plans?

I’m not one of those people who nitpicks every aspect of a show to try to catch in moments of strained believability, but I’m not willing to overlook a regular Joe morphing into John Rambo in one season.

His skills are in negotiating, probably some basic combat skills, but nothing more. The season needs to limit him to that role.

The episode progressively finds its footing as some odd things stand out, tightening the preexisting tensions.

Why is the train’s conductor so nervous? The man looks like he’s seen a ghost that keeps getting larger the farther the train goes — as if there is something bad ahead.

Christian Näthe’s performance as Otto is the episode’s secret weapon, possibly the season’s. Everything would have fallen apart without him. He single-handedly carries most of the tension without uttering much.

Things pick up when a class of high school students boards the train for a school trip, and at that moment, I could see Heartstopper written all over it.

The Paris trip in Season 3 remains iconic, and I don’t know if this is just because Heartstopper is on my mind, but I could swear these two teachers are romantic partners.

The class is another strong plot device that heightens the stakes if anything goes wrong.

The potential loss of young lives and the unpredictability that comes with teenagers also help the story dial up the tensions.

There are also several side storylines that we could have done without.

One of the weakest aspects of Hijack Season 1 was the tonal whiplash of being in the middle of a tense scene, only for the next one to feature something as mundane as two people sitting across from each other.

They should have structured the narrative to remain on the train as much as possible. Anything that can be communicated via radio does not require a scene in the control room.

And for scenes that must be included, placing them at the beginning or end of the episode gives the best parts the runway to take off. But if they continue to be undercut, the effect is different.

While “Signal” succeeds in setting up the tension, it’s not a success in any other conceivable way.

Gut Check

This episode gives us little. It’s better than giving us nothing, but not that much better. We get a basic understanding of the situation, even though most of the episode lost me. 

The writers withhold too much, even though we can almost tell that there’s something wrong with this version of Nelson.

Their trump card is the cliffhanger that leaves us wondering if we heard Nelson correctly. 

This would work as a plot twist in another episode, but given that this premiere isn’t the strongest, it feels like we’re being manipulated into watching the next one.

We’ll bite.

But as far as plot twists go, it does look smart — a bit early, but smart. By making Nelson the hijacker, the show can explore a different side of the story rather than making Season 1 v2.0.

Whether this succeeds remains to be seen.

My biggest concern is that tying this season’s events to the Kingdom Flight 29 will backfire.

All things considered, Nelson’s outcome was better than that of some other people on that flight. Some PTSD? Sure. But him going after someone responsible for the hijacking? Why? Those he loves survived, so grief cannot be the motivator.

If he’s doing this just because he can, who does he think he is? John Rambo?

I’m curious to hear what you think of the episode Hijack fanatics. Do you like that the show is back, or should it have remained limited?

What are your feelings about this episode?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.

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