Nowadays, audiences are leaning more towards watching shows and films that are different and new. Basically, things that are well plotted, acted, and executed. On top of this, they need to have a novelty attached for them to succeed.
Hijack isn’t any of the above. The series offers nothing new from how airplane hijacking plots have played out over the years. But they did bring one thing.
Apple TV+ brought Hijack on our screens, but most importantly, they got the swanky Idris Elba on screen again. Dressed to the nines as Sam Nelson, Elba’s mission as the best negotiator in the world was to stop the titular hijack of KA29.
So did he succeed in the finale? Yes, but he also did a thing so stupid that it will make you want to have a talk with the scriptwriter.
In the finale of the Apple TV+ series Hijack, Idris Elba’s Sam Nelson and Holly Aird’s Amanda land the KA29 successfully, even though the latter was the one who shot the captain of the plane dead.
But the action doesn’t end there as Sam returns to the burning plane to get the Gucci bracelet for his ex-wife Marsha. There, he comes face to face with the hijacker Stuart. The two brawl, and Sam uses a decoy phone ring to distract the criminal till the armed forces storm the plane and arrest Stuart.
What Happened at the End of Hijack?
In the end, after Sam and Amanda land the KA29, everyone quickly hurries off it. But Sam does something peculiar. He steps into the plane again while it is on fire to get the Gucci bracelet he bought for Marsha, his ex-wife. But things don’t go smoothly for him as he meets an enraged Stuart there. The hijacker had managed to free himself from his bonds, and now he wants revenge by killing Sam.
Sam is way more intelligent than that. He isn’t going to get killed now after getting this far. So Elba’s hero distracts the criminal with a decoy- his ringing phone. He asks his ex-wife to call him, and with the scriptwriter’s blessing, she does so at precisely the right moment. The device rings long enough for Stuart to get distracted and the armed authorities to storm the KA29 and arrest him.
What Happens to Flight KA29?
The Apple TV+ show Hijack ended recently. Ultimately, Idris Elba’s Sam Nelson used his negotiation skills to land the KA29 safely on the ground. But it wasn’t easy. The plot twists, while predictable, were well utilized to give the finale a good ending. Viewers till now saw Neil Maskell’s hijacker Stuart calling the shots.
But the biggest twist was that Holly Aird’s Amanda, who didn’t have a significant role till now, killed Ben Miles’ Captain Allen and took charge of the plane. Till the last episode, Amanda was just a woman who Sam comforted when the hijacking began. So this begged the question- was Amanda in on the whole plan? Or was this a spontaneous decision by her?
The hijackers didn’t know Amanda would be a part of the mission. But it wasn’t a spontaneous decision by her. She was working for Simon McBurney’s Edgar Janssen and Ian Burfield’s John Brown, the criminals released from prison per the hijackers’ demands.
Her job was to use her naval aviation consultant experience to change the KA29’s flight path and turn it off autopilot mode. But why was she working with them? The Cheapside Firm, their crime syndicate, is holding her daughter, Elodie, hostage. So if she doesn’t do what they want, Elodie could die.
But she isn’t the only one being held double hostage like this. Justin Salinger’s Alec is too suffering the same fate because they have held his partner hostage as well. They demanded he carry on a short trade first and then bring guns onboard the craft. This explains why Alec was late while boarding the plane in the first place.
Till the final episode, it’s implied that the hijackers only wanted the release of John and Edgar from prison. But it’s later revealed that the plan goes deeper into a territory no viewer could have predicted. The criminals wanted to carry out a bear raid. This means they wanted to tank the stock of Kingdom Airlines and make money from it by betting against the falling stock.
The nefarious plans of the team were fulfilled because, as a result of the hijacking, Kingdom Airlines got plenty of negative press coverage, which made their stock prices drop sharply and rapidly. Things went as planned, and John and Edgar became rich quickly. However, greed corrupted one of them too much. Once they got their money, they were supposed to text Amanda that their daughter was safe.
However, Edgar wanted to avoid sending that text because he wanted to make as much money as possible. After all, if the plane crashed, he would make the most money in that situation. However, John wasn’t on board and murdered Edgar before fleeing. No text got sent to Amanda. So she kept flying towards central London.
The new flight path of the plane caused panic in the government, and the Royal Air Force stepped in to take the aircraft down. Thankfully, Louise, the foreign minister, convinced the British Prime Minister not to kill the British civilians. But the plane was still headed for central London on the last dregs of fuel. So now what?
Sam stepped in and convinced Amanda to let him in the cockpit by reminding her of her daughter. He asked if Elodie would want her mother to do this. Sadly, Stuart doesn’t think Elodie is alive anymore, adding another layer of grief to the story. From there on, Alice, the air traffic controller, found a good runway for the plane to land. Amanda and Sam landed safely even though the aircraft had caught on fire by then.
Is Episode 7 of Hijack the Last Episode?
As of now, Hijack is a limited Apple TV+ series. So it looks like there will be no season 2. Also, an announcement has yet to be made regarding another season. As such, it looks like episode 7 is indeed the last episode of Hijack. However, there are plenty of ways the show can be expanded on another season. For one, it will be interesting to see how Marsha reacts to the Gucci bracelet, especially after knowing the extent Sam went to retrieve it.
Also, now that the crime syndicate and Cheapside Firm know about Sam’s existence and who he is, they may go after him for foiling their plans. However, fans of the show shouldn’t expect any immediate news about renewal because of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Also, the show works really well as a limited series. So Apple TV+ might leave it at that.
Hijack is now streaming on Apple TV+.
What are your thoughts on the finale of Hijack?
Was the ending fight between Sam and Stuart a poorly written mess? Or was it executed well in the context of the show? Is Elodie alive? Does the show deserve a season 2?
Let us know in the comments below.
