Hijack Season 2 Episode 2 Review: The Show Continues Treading Water

Critic’s Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

2.5

It’s been so long between the seasons, and Hijack seems unaware we’ve forgotten half the cast.

Who is John Bailey-Brown?

A quick search reveals that he was one of the Season 1 villains who hijacked the K29 to get himself out of jail. He was never apprehended in the Hijack Season 1 finale.

Hijack Season 2 Episode 2, “Control,” is not a major improvement from the season premiere. It is cowardly, slow, and too talky.

However, we learn a very important detail: Sam is looking for one John Bailey-Brown, who is hiding out in Germany. Incapable of doing it himself, Sam hijacks a train to force the government’s hand.

This is where I’m pleading with the show to offer us some answers. They are working so hard to create a mystery around Sam’s action, but we can all see that something is quite wrong with him.

While being held hostage in a hijacked plane would be enough to undo most people, Sam maintained a relatively calm disposition. He was composed and level-headed, with little to no signs of fear or mental compromise.

Introducing the Loss Theory

But the Sam in this episode looks like a shell of a man. He’s withdrawn, dull, and passive — like someone in mourning. The same demeanor is carried by the ex-wife, a country away.

Since Hijack has decided not to give us answers, we’re left to speculate. We’re speculating because this doesn’t make sense. 

Sam Nelson isn’t a terrorist. The man who once negotiated his way through a hijacking wouldn’t suddenly hijack a train and threaten mass casualties, unless something broke him.

Something must have happened. The breadcrumbs suggest Kai may be dead — possibly at John’s hands — though the show hasn’t confirmed this.

Think about it: we’ve seen almost everyone from Hijack Season 1 who survived, but no Kai. He was a pretty huge part of Sam’s story in Season 1, so his absence speaks volumes.

If John, known for killing anyone who gets in his way, went after Kai for Sam’s role in foiling the hijacking, it would explain why Sam and Marsha look like shells of their former selves.

Losing a son, especially to murder, is enough to undo any parent.

It is enough to turn a fairly mundane lawyer and corporate negotiator into a hijacker who doesn’t care who dies or lives if it brings him justice for his son’s murder.

Of course, this is all purely hypothetical because that’s the only way anyone can justify Sam’s actions.

Doing Too Much Yet Too Little

But back to the events of the episode, everything falls flat — it falls flat because we simply are in the dark too much, no pun intended.

With Season 1, we knew exactly where everyone stood and how the story would flow. Here, we’re left grasping at straws. Everyone is a suspect, and no one is.

While Sam appears to have his own mission, there also seems to be something else in the background that involves Otto and organized crime. How are those two things connected? Are they connected?

Is everything we’re seeing an illusion, and is it a plan Sam has orchestrated to ensure his plan succeeds? While I don’t buy him as an evil 1980s action-movie villain, I see him as a Money Heist professor-type orchestrating a massive plan.

The season risks collapsing under the weight of its own mysteries, and we need one of those flashback episodes that fill in the gaps.

Otherwise, it’s just a lot of talking and half-assed threats that don’t create any excitement.

Even what is supposed to shift the gear when the passengers realize something is wrong becomes an annoyance instead of adding to the thrill.

There is a huge disconnect between the control room and the cars because there is no connection between them. Sam was the connection between the cockpit and the cabin in Season 1.

Now he’s straddling both roles and doing a very bad job with either.

Even the conversation with the police lacks the charm of a hijacker-negotiator negotiation. This is how it felt in my mind:

This is how the negotiation felt — cartoonish, hollow, and stripped of stakes

Hijack needs to make us care by telling us why Sam has hijacked this train, and the reason better be convincing.

Gut Check

I was lost for a good portion of this episode because I kept expecting answers, but everyone is remaining reticent. They didn’t have to say that Sam is looking for his son’s killer (speculatively), but they could have nudged us in the right direction.

My brain nearly got fried trying to anticipate the next big thing that’ll happen, but everyone kept talking, bitching, and being annoying. There is little urgency to this situation, and the numerous storylines are not doing the show a favor.

Stray Observations

• Oh, those teachers are totally in a romantic relationship! Even the students clocked it. However, I’d hate it if they were the ones to die. We’ve seen this play before.

• Toby Jones, despite his character saying nothing of importance, has such a great onscreen presence that he never fails to make an impression.

Over to you, Hijack fanatics? What did you think?

I know I’m not impressed so far, but I still hope things turn around soon and the show recaptures its former charm.

Would you support Sam if the situation were as I speculated? How far are you willing to support him? Kidnapping? Blackmail? Torture? Homicide?

The comments section is wide open.

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

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