The new season of Hijack starts with a massive surprise. Fans watched Idris Elba’s character, Sam Nelson, save the day during a plane hijacking in season one. Now, in season two, he is the one causing the panic. At the end of the first episode, Sam tells a train conductor a shocking thing: “I’m hijacking this train”. This twist changes everything about the show and has everyone asking why.
How The Twist Changes Sam Nelson’s Story
This new direction for Sam Nelson is a complete reversal of his character. In the first season, he was the calm negotiator using his professional skills to save lives. In this season, those same skills are gone. Idris Elba says Sam is now driven by a raw, natural instinct instead of careful planning.
The show’s creator, Jim Field Smith, wanted this shift to hook the audience immediately. The goal was to make viewers wonder how the Sam they knew could become someone who seems so unhinged. This season asks a tough question about the character: what is a person truly capable of when everything they love is on the line?
โHow could Sam have got from the Sam we thought we knew to this new version of Sam who seems to be unhinged and doing things that we would never think he was capable of?โ says executive producer Jim Field Smith.
Elba himself was impressed with the creative choice. When he first heard the idea that Sam would be the hijacker, his reaction was positive. “I was like, ‘Okay, that’s clever. That’s good,’” the actor shared. He felt this twist opened the door for many other interesting story ideas for the season.
What Happens In The Hijack Season 2 Premiere
The season two premiere, titled “Signal,” is set in Berlin. Sam Nelson is edgy and nervous at a train station. He acts suspiciously, buying a soda only to throw it away and carefully scanning the faces of everyone around him. He boards an underground train, and from the start, it seems like another hostage situation is about to happen.
Sam spots a man with a red backpack acting strangely. He alerts police on the train, who remove the man. It is later shown the man was an innocent asylum seeker, making Sam’s actions look like bad judgment. Meanwhile, the train’s conductor, Otto, is clearly involved in some kind of plan. He calls someone named Marko and says he “can’t do this”. When ordered to stop at the next station, Otto speeds right past it, officially hijacking the train.
Sam forces his way into the driver’s cab. He reveals he knew something was going to happen and that he had already ensured the police were removed from the train. He then delivers the line that defines the new season: “I’m hijacking this train”. This confirms Sam is not a victim this time; he is in control.
Why Sam Nelson Might Be Taking Extreme Action
While Sam’s actions seem extreme, the episode gives clues about his motives. The story shows it has been about two and a half years since the flight hijacking. A scene reveals that Sam’s ex-wife, Marsha, is alone in a remote cabin, looking at flowers sent for an “anniversary”. This day may be the one-year anniversary of the plane hijacking.
More importantly, Sam is in Berlin to meet with authorities. He believes he has found the man responsible for the Kingdom Airlines flight hijacking. He has unfinished business. This suggests Sam’s drastic move to hijack a train is somehow connected to catching the person who caused his original trauma.
The show flips Sam’s skill set on its head. In season one, his negotiation tactics helped in the short term but caused long-term damage to his family. Now, he isn’t using those tactics himself, but he can recognize when others are trying to use them against him. His journey this season is about how far he will go to protect the people he loves, even if it means putting other lives at risk.
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How The Cast And Setting Build A New Thriller
Hijack season two brings back familiar faces and adds new ones. Christine Adams returns as Marsha, and Max Beesley and Archie Panjabi are back as Daniel and Zahra. They are joined by new characters played by actors like Toby Jones, Christiane Paul, and Lisa Vicari.
The switch from a plane to a Berlin underground train creates a new kind of tension. The setting is claustrophobic, and the story moves in real time, creating a tight, fast-paced thriller. The show continues its style of ending each episode with a cliffhanger, keeping the suspense high from week to week.
The new season of Hijack is now streaming on Apple TV+. New episodes are released each Wednesday. The season started on January 14, 2026, and will run for eight episodes, with the finale scheduled for March 4, 2026.
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