After the shocking twist at the end of last week’s season premiere, in which the protagonist, Sam Nelson, turned out to be the one hijacking the Berlin U5 train, Hijack season 2 continues to build tension in the latest episode, as we are still unclear about Sam’s exact plan or motive. The AppleTV thriller series introduces new characters who are going to play significant parts in the plot from here on. Season 2 episode 2 also creates more intrigue about Sam’s estranged wife, Marsha, who was seen living in a remote cabin in some forest in Scotland, perhaps on an unusual vacation, but things look more sinister now.
Spoiler Alert
What is the current situation regarding U5 Wagon 2600?
Hijack season 2 episode 2 begins inside the railways network control center in Berlin, where train dispatcher Clara Berger reports a strange matter to her manager, Edward Diehl. As it is common practice to track every train in the network on a live map of the underground tunnel system, Clara had naturally been keeping an eye on the movements of the U5 Wagon 2600 headed from Berlin to Honow. She had been particularly cautious about it because of the erratic behavior of the driver, Otto, which had been seen in the previous episode, and so Clara was dumbfounded when the train suddenly disappeared from the map. Now, she reports the same to Edward, who immediately contacts the driver, only to be answered back by Sam Nelson.
Realizing that something is very wrong with the train, Edward lets Clara take over the communications, since Sam only speaks English, and the dispatcher is fluent in both German and English. As she requests to speak to the driver of the train, believing that some random passenger might have taken over the communications channel, Sam clearly states what the situation actually is. He informs the control center that he has hijacked the train, and although he does not want to harm any of the 200 passengers aboard, he would not hesitate to do so if the authorities do not play along according to his plan. Despite understanding the grave situation that she is suddenly tangled up in, in just her 2nd week at her new job, Clara remains calm and continues communicating with Sam until higher authorities can take over.
Soon, the deputy chief of Berlin Police, Murnau, rushes to a school to fetch his superior, Chief Ada Winter, from a program that she had been attending to support her daughter. Ada is a bit frustrated at having to leave the program midway, but both she and her daughter are used to such emergency situations, with her being the head of Berlin Police. As she and Murnau reach the railway network control center, from where the police must have received a frantic call, they are briefed on the situation. Although Clara and the others are very confused about how the train had mysteriously disappeared off their map, despite still being in communication range, Edward figures out what had happened quite soon, as he has extensive knowledge about the railway network, having worked at the control center for a very long time. With the help of a map of an old maintenance tunnel, which had been shut down twenty years ago, after it got flooded, Edward explains how the hijacker, Sam Nelson, is trying to change lines between the U5 and the U8 using the same maintenance tunnel.
This means that the hijacked train is heading straight to the station that connects the U5 and the U8 lines, Alexanderplatz, which is immediately closed off by the authorities, with everyone inside the station safely led out onto the streets. But in order to avoid a state of panic, the authorities do not mention any specific details about the situation and only tell citizens that the station has been closed due to some security concerns. Meanwhile, Sam Nelson also does not want panic to spread on the train, for more than one reason. Firstly, if the passengers learn about the situation and start to panic, they will definitely become more difficult for Sam to handle. Or, it might be that Sam does not really want to harm the passengers, and therefore feels that they can do without even realizing that they are hostages.
Either way, he forces Otto to make a public announcement from the driver’s cabin to brief the passengers about the delay and keep up the pretense of normalcy. Therefore, he does not let Otto speak about the real situation and instead makes him say that there are some problems in the rail network, because of which the train will not be stopping at every station, and will also be taking a different route. Next, Sam wants Otto to start driving the train towards Alexanderplatz, as it has been standing still inside the tunnel for the last few minutes. There is a small hitch in this plan though, as one of the school kids, George, had pulled the emergency alarm brake when Otto had sped past some of the stations.
In order for the train to be driven again, the alarm brake needs to be reset from the very coach where it had been pulled, meaning that the driver must do it manually. He does manage to reset the alarm without raising too much suspicion, while Sam has to hide inside the cabin, as he is not supposed to be inside as a mere passenger. Things almost begin to spiral out of control when some of the passengers notice the deep cut on Otto’s head, which he had sustained when the train had jolted to a stop. But Sam pretends to find a first aid kit inside the driver’s cabin and offers to help Otto apply bandages, therefore cooking up an excuse to be inside the cabin as the train starts to move once again.
What is Sam’s demand?
Quite early into his communications with Clara Berger, Sam Nelson makes his demand clear—he wants Clara to get in touch with the German police and find him the location of a man named John Bailey-Brown. It is gradually revealed that John Bailey-Brown is indeed the man Sam had been tracking for the past several months, as he believed that the man was the real perpetrator responsible for the Kingdom Air hijack back in season 1. Based on security camera footage from the Hamburg border, Bailey-Brown had recently entered Germany, and this was the very reason for Sam having alerted the British embassy in Berlin, and also convincing them to set up a meeting with the German Federal Office of Justice representative, Arnold Goth. In this episode, we briefly follow events from inside the embassy once again, as Goth leaves the place after waiting long for Sam Nelson’s arrival, and he almost suggests Olivia Thatcher, the embassy employee, forget about the name John Bailey-Brown.
This clearly suggests, at least for now, that the German government, or some officers in the administration, know all about Bailey-Brown and his criminal activities but are trying to shield him. Despite knowing how the man had been involved in an act of terrorism and is wanted by the British authorities, they seem to be sheltering him. Goth seems to have agreed to this meeting at the embassy, not to listen to what Sam might have had to say, but so that he could convince the negotiator to stop trying to track down Bailey-Brown and keep to his own business. Sam might have guessed this, and so had decided to not show up for the meeting at all, instead taking more drastic measures to achieve his plan of getting information about the perpetrator behind the plane hijacking. Sam sticks to his demand throughout the episode, but it is very likely that his demands will keep changing throughout the season, and the question about his true intention will be constantly raised.
How do the authorities identify the hijacker?
Ada Winter knows that it is crucial for her and the authorities to figure out the identity of the hijacker quickly so that at least some attempts at negotiation can be made. This seems impossible at first, because the perpetrator is working alone, but then Olivia Thatcher from the British embassy in Berlin is the one who helps make the breakthrough. As soon as Olivia learns that there is a developing situation because of which the underground train network has been halted, she rushes to the control center, where she manages to learn about the demand made by the hijacker. Since the hijacker is demanding to be given the location of the same man Sam Nelson wanted to track down in Germany, there remains no doubt in Olivia’s mind that the British man who has hijacked the train is indeed Sam. Therefore, she quickly shares this information with Ada, who mentions the name in her next conversation with the hijacker, catching Sam by surprise.
By this time, another man named Peter Faber had also come down to the railways network control center, and although his exact role or position is not yet made very clear, he is surely going to be a central character this season. Peter Faber is a British man living in Berlin who is possibly a businessman with strong ties to the government or a direct member of the British government working with their German counterparts in some capacity. Although Ada is not very pleased at seeing the man, she has to let him stay and help, with Peter being very enthusiastic to provide his assistance. While it is too early to predict, Peter Faber might actually turn out to have connections with the arrival of John Bailey-Brown in Germany as well, meaning that he might turn out to be playing both sides.
What more do the German police task force find?
Back in season 2 episode 1, we saw a police task force carry out a raid at an apartment building in Berlin under the leadership of Detective Zoran Beck. The raid was a response to an anonymous tip received by the police, and although the apartment in question was found to be empty, there were crucial clues left behind. Various materials required in bomb-making made it clear that the inhabitant had been trying to make explosives, and then a few counterfeit U-Bahn ID cards connected the hijacking case with whatever had been going on inside the apartment. The police continue their investigation in this episode, and this is when an old-fashioned keypad phone is recovered from inside the cistern of the toilet.
As Zoran takes a look at the object, he realizes that it is a burner phone that was being used by whoever was living in the apartment, and it has only one number on it. The detective immediately gives the number a call, and a phone is heard ringing on the other side of the city. As two cleaners at a hotel room in Berlin go about their duties, one of them hears the vibrating ring of a phone from inside the drawer and immediately opens it. The wallpaper on this phone makes it obvious who it belongs to, and a welcome message on the TV in the room confirms it. It is indeed Sam’s phone, and the caller ID reads Marko, which confirms that the man seen in the first episode walking through the tunnels and essentially opening up the new path for the train had been in contact with the protagonist. As of now, it looks like Sam had hired both Marko and Otto to ensure he could carry out his plan, and it is now only a matter of time before the German police dig up more about him.
Is Marsha in danger?
In episode 2, Marsha Nelson-Smith is seen once again, this time as she takes a quick walk around the forested area in the vicinity of the cabin that she has been living in, while also making a call. Marsha calls up DI Daniel O’Farrel, confirming that the two of them are still very much in a relationship, which further confirms that she and Sam have not gotten back together. In fact, Marsha mentions that she and Sam have not even been in touch for the last six months. This is why she is confused after having received a bouquet of flowers on what seems to be her birthday, as neither of the two men in her life could have sent it. Marsha believes that Sam does not have any idea about her location in Scotland, and Daniel outright denies having sent her the flowers.
This suggests that someone else must have sent the bouquet to her, most probably in an effort to threaten her and indirectly tell her that they know where she is living. Marsha is indeed a bit spooked by this development, and there is clearly a suggestion that she is possibly in danger. This is all the more suggested by the fact that she finds the door of her cabin open when she returns from her walk and then suspiciously looks up at the upper-floor balcony. Although we do not see what or whom Marsha looks at, the fear and surprise on her face make it quite evident that whoever has sneaked in wants to either harm or abduct her.
Does Sam really blow up the hostage?
Meanwhile, Ada and Clara try to create a fake situation in which they can buy enough time to find out more about Sam and use the information to negotiate with him. They have an empty train stand still at Alexanderplatz station, so that the U5 Wagon 2600 cannot cross the station yet and will have to be halted. This irks Sam, especially after he gets access to the security cameras at the station and realizes that the police have been lying to him about the train having broken down. When an over-enthusiastic passenger enters the driver’s cabin to check on what’s going on, Sam finds the perfect opportunity to further threaten the authorities into abiding by his orders.
Sam straps his briefcase to the hands of this passenger and then makes him walk onto the empty platform at Alexanderplatz station. Nobody other than Sam himself, not even us viewers, have any idea about what this briefcase contains, but the protagonist makes it seem as if it contains a powerful bomb that could easily blow up the train and the station if detonated. When the police refuse to comply at the end of the episode, Sam does seemingly detonate the bomb, and the feed from the security cameras goes dead. While this could mean that the platform has been blown up, destroying the cameras and therefore the connection is lost, it seems unlikely that Sam would do something so evil and kill a man. What seems more likely is that the briefcase actually contained an EMP bomb of sorts, which can disable security cameras when triggered, and this is what happens in the end. Lastly, it might also be that the passenger is actually an actor hired by Sam to be part of his fake hijacking, in order to distract the authorities from something else.
