The tension inside the hijacked Berlin U-Bahn train reaches a breaking point this week. Apple TV+ released Episode 5 of Hijack Season 2, titled “Outage,” on Wednesday, February 11. The episode delivers the confrontation viewers have been waiting for: the passengers, pushed to their limits, finally push back.
But the biggest shock does not come from the hostages. It comes from London, where DI Daniel O’Farrell (Max Beesley) tracks down a ghost from Sam Nelson’s past. Neil Maskell returns as Stuart, the surviving hijacker from Flight KA29. His reappearance changes everything we thought we knew about Season 2’s motive.
Here is a complete recap of the chaos, the communications blackout, and the return of Season 1’s most dangerous loose end.
Sam’s Frightening Realization and the Communications Blackout
The episode opens with a growing sense of dread. The passengers have been trapped in the dark tunnel for hours. Food is running low. The hijackers are growing impatient. Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) watches the situation slip out of his control .
Sam comes to a frightening realization: this is not a random act of terror. The people holding the train are taking orders from someone off-board. He just does not know who yet.
Then, the outage hits.
All communications inside the train go dead. Phones lose signal. The hijackers’ radios go silent. Even the train’s internal systems flicker. The blackout isolates everyone. The passengers cannot call for help. The hijackers cannot receive orders. Sam cannot negotiate .
This is when the passengers versus hijacker truth finally surfaces.
Without the hijackers able to contact their bosses, the power dynamic inside the train shifts. The passengers see fear in their captors’ eyes. A small group of hostages decides they are no longer willing to wait to be rescued. They confront one of the hijackers directly. The scene is chaotic and loud. It is not a choreographed fight scene—it is raw panic. Sam steps in to prevent a bloodbath, but the damage is done. The hijackers now know the passengers are not just scared sheep. They are a threat .
The Return of Stuart: Season 1’s Villain Is Back
While Sam fights to keep the train from exploding into violence, Daniel O’Farrell is making progress on the ground.
Daniel tracks down Elaine Atterton, the mother of Lewis and Stuart. Viewers will remember Stuart as the nervous hijacker from Season 1 who let Sam manipulate him into landing the plane. Lewis was his brother, who died on Flight KA29 .
Daniel corners Elaine, hoping she can explain why Sam is somehow involved in a second hijacking. Elaine is terrified. She reveals that her husband, Peter, was killed by the same organization behind the Berlin hijacking. The group, known as The Cheapside Firm, punished Lewis for disobeying orders on the plane by murdering their father .
Elaine says she has no choice but to cooperate. If she talks, her remaining son—Stuart—will be killed.
Then, Neil Maskell appears on screen as Stuart.
Stuart initially claims he knows nothing about the Berlin train. But Daniel is not buying it. He mentions Stuart’s mother, father, and brother. The mention of his family, specifically his father’s murder, strikes a visible nerve. Stuart’s face hardens. His loyalty to the people who killed his father is clearly not strong. But is he telling the truth about being out of the loop? Or is he already working for the same bosses who destroyed his family? .
Why the Creators Brought Stuart Back
Series co-creator Jim Field Smith explained why Stuart had to return.
“At the end of season 1, there is a lot of unanswered questions. There is a lot of unfinished business and Stuart probably represents the pinnacle of that unfinished business. This guy hurt [Sam’s] family and chose to hurt his family and vice versa. Stuart was thrown under the bus by his higher-ups in season 1 and he feels like he has got unfinished business too.”
Smith confirmed that Sam being on the train is not a coincidence. There is no luck involved. The Berlin hijacking is directly connected to Flight KA29. The events of Season 2 are deliberate consequences of Season 1 .
This revelation changes the context of the entire season. Sam is not just a negotiator who happened to be in the wrong place again. He was targeted. The passengers versus hijacker dynamic is now a personal war between Sam and the ghosts of his past.
Passenger Frustration Boils Over
Back on the train, the Outage continues to fuel suspicion and anger.
Reviewers noted that Episode 5 excels at showing the psychological toll of the hijacking. The passengers are not extras. They are individuals who have been pushed past their breaking point. One scene shows a group of men surrounding a hijacker, demanding the train move. Another shows a woman screaming at Sam, blaming him for making things worse .
The show uses the blackout to strip away the procedural elements. Without maps, timers, or communication feeds, the audience is as blind as the hostages. This creates a raw, uncomfortable viewing experience. You feel the panic of not knowing who is in control .
Sam is forced to make decisions without any reliable information. Every word he chooses is heavy. Every strategy is a gamble.
Lewis’s Death and the Weight of Season 1
The episode also circles back to Lewis, Stuart’s brother, who died in Season 1.
In Season 1, Sam told Stuart that Lewis pulled a pen from his own wound, sacrificing himself to prevent the plane from landing. But in Episode 5, Sam reflects on that moment. The show leaves room for doubt. Did Lewis actually sacrifice himself, or did Sam help him along to save everyone else? .
This ambiguity hangs over Stuart’s return. If Stuart believes Sam killed his brother, his motive for helping the new hijackers becomes clear. If Stuart knows Sam told the truth, his anger should be directed at The Cheapside Firm.
The show does not answer this question yet. It leaves the tension dangling, which fuels the passenger versus hijacker conflict inside the train and the Sam versus Stuart conflict brewing outside of it.
Release Info and How to Watch Hijack Season 2 Episode 5
Hijack Season 2 Episode 5 premiered globally on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 .
Streaming Details for Global Audiences:
- USA & Canada: Available at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET on Apple TV+ .
- United Kingdom: Available at 8:00 a.m. GMT .
- Australia: Available at 7:00 p.m. AEDT .
- India: Available at 1:30 p.m. IST .
- Global: Available in over 100 countries simultaneously via the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, Xbox, and tv.apple.com .
Remaining Episode Schedule (Confirmed):
- Episode 6: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 .
- Episode 7: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 .
- Episode 8 (Season Finale): Wednesday, March 4, 2026 .
Correction Notice: Some earlier reports listed the finale date as February 25, but Apple TV+ officially confirmed the March 4 date for the 8-episode run .
Also Read:
Cast Updates for Season 2
Returning Cast:
- Idris Elba as Sam Nelson
- Christine Adams as Marsha Nelson-Smith
- Max Beesley as DI Daniel O’Farrell
- Archie Panjabi as DCI Zahra Gahfoor
- Neil Maskell as Stuart (Episode 5 debut)
New Cast Members:
- Christian Näthe as Otto
- Clare-Hope Ashitey as Olivia Thatcher
- Lisa Vicari as Clara Berger
- Toby Jones as Peter Faber
- Christiane Paul as Ada Winter
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