The second season of Hijack picks up with a premise that immediately flips the script by moving the action from the clouds to the subterranean tunnels of Berlin. This time around, Sam Nelson finds himself at the centre of a crisis on an underground train, but with a darker twist: he is the one forced into the role of the hijacker. Driven by the tragic loss of his son and a direct threat to his ex wife, Marsha, Sam is coerced into a high stakes game of leverage. It is a bold direction for the series that manages to provide a fresh continuation for what was originally intended to be a limited series, effectively bridging the gap between Sam’s past trauma and a new international conspiracy.
While the series remains a high quality production with sharp cinematography and Idris Elba’s usual commanding presence, it is hard to deny that this instalment is a major downgrade from the first. It simply does not pack the same punch or keep the viewer as consistently gripped as the flight from Dubai. The story lacks that same level of immediate interest, and both the plot developments and the new characters feel significantly less essential than the ensemble we met in the first season. While it is far from bad television, it lacks the lightning in a bottle intensity that made the debut a global phenomenon.
The narrative does maintain a solid connection with the previous events, weaving the fallout of the first hijacking into the current plot without it feeling like a forced reboot. However, after what has been a somewhat lacklustre reception to this second outing, you have to wonder if a third season will actually eventuate. Whether audiences are ready for another round of Sam Nelson’s high stakes diplomacy is a question that remains up in the air, even if a follow up is certainly possible.