Directed by Jim Field Smith and Mo Ali, Hijack makes us privy to a man named Sam Nelson (Idris Alba), who was considered one of the best negotiators in the business. He was generally called on board when there was a lot at stake, and the corporations really needed to resolve their conflicts. As of late, we have seen a lot of series and films of a similar genre, but most of the time, they fail to leave any impact. Though there is a lot of potential in the narrative of a plane being hijacked and a corporate negotiator saving the day, we still believe that it is a risky territory, as the chances of it being reduced to something inauthentic and mundane, as it happens in most of the cases, are quite high. So let’s find out if Hijack is able to break the clutter and bring something unique and thrilling to the table.
Spoilers Alert
What Happened On The Flight From Dubai To London?
Sam Nelson was boarding the flight from Dubai to London, and it seemed like he traveled on the route quite often since the airport staff seemed to know him. At this point in Hijack, we don’t know who he is or what he does for a living. By the looks of it, he seems like a man who has contacts with influential people. The passengers on the flight were busy bickering over all sorts of issues, not knowing that in a short span of time, nothing would matter anymore as they would have a real problem at their hands. There was something fishy happening at the Dubai airport, and it seemed like a few people from the ground staff were on to something, and they were intentionally allowing illegal stuff to pass through the security check. A woman named Neela, an employee at the airport, was acting quite suspiciously, and she allowed a man who was already quite late for the flight to board even when the guards stopped him from entering. Neela and that man exchanged glances, and it was evident that he had something in his hand luggage that he was not allowed to take on board. The passengers settled down, and the flight finally took off.
Things were not fine between Sam and his wife, Marsha Nelson Smith. Marsha had moved on, and she was already seeing a man named Daniel Farell, who was a police officer, but still Sam had hope that she would eventually come back to him. He believed that if he went to London and met her face-to-face, he would be able to convince her to get back with him. Before boarding, Sam had messaged Marsha, telling her that he was coming back to London as he had a few meetings to attend. Marsha told him not to get on that plane, and the way she said it made it look like she knew that something was going to happen on it, though as of now, we cannot say it definitely.
A girl named Naomi went to the restroom, and she found a bullet shell lying on the floor. She found it very strange, and she was confused about whether she should tell the crew about it or not. Naomi, before entering the restroom, had a brief conversation with a very chivalrous old man, and after she came out, she felt that it was safe to confide in him. She showed him the bullet and asked him what she should do about it. The man said that he would take it and inform the cabin crew about it. Although Naomi trusted him, her other two friends, Casey and Mona, found him to be a little suspicious. Naomi’s friends were right, as the man informed his co-conspirators about it, and they decided to prepone the attack and hijack the plane since they didn’t have a lot of time in their hands. The old man, named Terry, had come into the business class to talk to his associate, and Sam had an intuition by looking at their body language that something was going to happen. Sam saw multiple people carrying a similar washbag and going to the restroom. When he asked one of the air hostesses about it, she told him that the flight did not provide anyone with a washbag. Sam, at this very juncture in Hijack, understood what was going to happen. Before he could think of anything else, the hijackers took out their guns and announced that the flight was now under their control.
What Did Sam Nelson Offer The Hijackers?
In the very first episode of Hijack, it is established that Sam Nelson was the kind of man who had been in difficult situations before, and amidst all that was happening on the flight, he maintained his composure. There were a couple of men sitting just behind him who wanted to take down the hijackers, but Sam dissuaded them from doing so and told them that they wouldn’t be able to achieve anything through it. He tried to make them understand that these were no common thugs and that they should wait a little bit because they would get only one chance to take them down. He told them that unless and until they knew everything about these perpetrators, right from who they were to what they wanted, they should avoid taking any steps that could put their lives in jeopardy.
The hijackers took over the cockpit as they coerced Colette, the air hostess, to ask the pilot, Robin Allen, to open the door. The hijackers knew that Colette and Robin were having an affair and that if the former pleaded, then Robin would eventually give in and go against protocol and even convince his co-pilot to open the door. First Officer Anna Kovacs actually fought with Robin and asked him not to open the door, but he didn’t listen. Robin assaulted Anna and asked her to step down as he was not going to let Colette die. The terrorists entered the cockpit and asked Robin to tell the control room that everything was fine on the flight.
The terrorists were asking for everybody’s phone and electronic devices and were going to switch off the wifi, but Sam hid his mobile and he was able to send a text to his wife and tell her that they were stuck in a perilous situation. Daniel asked Marsha what Sam did exactly, as whenever he had asked about it in the past, he had never gotten a clear answer. Marsha, in a very cryptic manner, said that he worked as a negotiator, and whenever big corporations faced a situation of conflict, they hired Sam to help their cause. Sam was the best in the business, and the way Marsha said it, we realized that a lot of his work lay outside the scope of the law.
The ending of Hijack Episode 1 brought a twist that we didn’t expect. Sam got up from his place, went to talk to the leader of the gang, and gave him an offer. Sam told them that if they allowed him to go back to his home safely, he would help them do whatever they were wanting to and make sure that they didn’t commit any mistakes in the process. Sam told them that though most of the people would get scared and obey their orders, there were a few who would likely try to fight them off and cause trouble. Sam knew that these terrorists were also on edge, and he could play with their minds to cut a deal for himself. In the upcoming episodes, we will get to know what kind of work Sam did and what his real intention was behind the offer that he made to the hijackers. We don’t think that he would risk the lives of hundreds of passengers to side with the perpetrators and he was just trying to trick them into believing that he was on their side. Sam was called an excellent negotiator, and we believed that he just wanted to know who these people were and what exactly they wanted to do so that he could take advantage of their weaknesses and save the lives of all the people.
