Starting a new job can be hard. There’s always a lot to learn and new people to figure out. You want to be a team player, so when you’re asked to stay late, you jump in. Then, things go off the rails. That’s the case for poor Clara (Lisa Vicari). And it doesn’t get a lot better for her in the second episode of the second season of Hijack. But are we any closer to learning why Sam (Idris Elba) has moved from hero to villain? Let’s dive in.
Spoilers below for Hijack season 2 episode 2, "Control."
A tough day
As we begin the second episode, Clara is forced to tell her boss she lost the U5 train. Her boss jumps on to contact the driver, Otto (Christian Nathe), but instead he gets Sam. Sam wants to deal in English, which puts Clara back on the radio. It’s not long before she gets Sam’s demand. The German authorities have to bring in John Bailey-Brown, or people will die.
Clara, who we learn has been on the job for two weeks, becomes the front-line communication for this evolving situation. Even after the Chief of Police (Christiane Paul) arrives, Clara is mostly left communicating things. She tries to keep an even keel, and will clearly be central to what’s going on. But it’s asking a lot of her. She’s not the only one who is under some stress.
A missed meeting
In the pilot, we met a young British officer, Olivia Thatcher (Clare-Hope Ashitey), who arranged a meeting with the German authorities and Sam. But Sam never showed up. Turns out, this isn’t the first time he’s tried to go to the government for help, with decidedly unhelpful results. She’s frustrated to be stood up.
But when Olivia learns there’s been an incident on the train, she gets curious. She isn’t brought into the meeting, but she presses enough to learn that the assailant is British. And, instantly, she knows that this has something to do with Sam. So, she heads to the train control center. But she’s not the only agent on scene.
The mysterious Mr. Faber
In the premiere, we saw Faber (Toby Jones) working on something. He’s a mysterious figure so far. He’s part of British intelligence, and he arrives under the guise of assisting Chief Winter, but he’s not very forthcoming. He clearly knows more about Sam and John Bailey-Brown than he’s saying. And he doesn’t look all too pleased when Olivia arrives.
As Olivia arrives, Winter is trying to get a handle on the situation. They’ve used a train blocking the tracks to slow Sam down and put some special forces in place. But Sam has sniffed it out and turned the tables. It does throw a wrench in his plan when Winter comes up with his name—thanks to Olivia—but he remains calm, cool, and focused.
As we leave the scene, it’s a battle of wills. That pushes Sam to do something he doesn’t want to do in order to keep his plan alive. But will he get what he wants?
Hijack season 2 episode 2 review
We learned more—specifically that Sam has been after John Bailey-Brown for a while and hasn’t gotten cooperation. But what happened after the events of the first series? We still don’t know. And we don’t understand all of Sam’s plan. But it is becoming more likely it doesn’t include Marsha (Christine Adams), at least not yet.
Marsha is in a secluded place, clearly struggling. She gets flowers in the first episode and seems on edge, presumably because she knows what’s going down. But in a quick sequence—a call with her new man Daniel (Max Beesley)—it’s clear she hasn’t been in touch with Sam and doesn’t know what’s going on. Or is it a ruse? Time will tell.
Sam has other problems, too. Otto was already showing signs of misgivings in the pilot. That only increases as things take a more serious turn this week. He’s a weak link, despite taking a payday. What will that mean for Sam and his plan? That remains to be seen.
Hijack streams on Apple TV on Wednesdays. Check back next week as we recap all the action of the second season right here!