Hijack Episode 3 Recap & Ending Explained: ‘Hijack’ is an exhilarating thriller drama on Apple TV+. With its two-episode premiere, the writing set its tone incredibly well. It promised a taut narrative filled with just the right amount of suspense. It introduced multiple characters with distinct personalities to give us an insight into their different kinds of responses. Be it a family of four, or a lone man with no luggage, it establishes their detailed characteristics. The fantastic writing is paired with grounded performances by the actors.
While flight KA29 is being hijacked by a group of kidnappers, no one on the ground knows the truth. Thanks to Alice Sinclair, who cleverly doubts previous conclusions and builds new ones the flight control team gets a hint of the plane’s current situation.
*Spoilers ahead*
Hijack Episode 3 Recap:
Episode 3: Draw a Blank
Episode 2 of Hijack ended with Alice Sinclair (Eve Myles) figuring out the truth about KA29’s hijack. Her clue is a straight deviation from the plane’s usual route. She calls Zahra Gahfoor (Archie Panjabi) from UK’s counter-terrorism unit to clarify the details of the unusual communication. As a result, Zahra heads to her office to inform the duty officer. Eventually, she notifies them about the deviation, whereas Alice explains how she deduced the probable hijack.
In the plane, Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) overhears whispering between fellow passengers. A middle-aged couple speaks in Arabic, which Sam cannot understand. The husband, Yussuf (Naseer Memarzia) decides to tell Sam about something important. But his wife, Rashida (Fatima Adoum) stops him because she does not want Yussuf to put them in danger. However, Leesha (Antonia Salib) translates that conversation for Sam and Hugo (Harry Michell). Yussuf says that the guns used by hijackers are fake.
The Truth about Hijackers’ Guns
After hearing about Yussuf’s doubt, Hugo tries to intervene and take control of the situation. He feels that they have no need to fear and can turn the tables around. Sam thinks it’s a bad idea and advises Hugo against it. Hugo still goes on to work as per his approach. Turns out, Yussuf was in the Egyptian military for years and had worked on many hijack situations. Lewis (Jack McMullen) sees them whispering and tries to intimidate them. Sam reverts any possible danger to their lives.
Once Lewis leaves, Yussuf shares his deduction. Apparently, there was no bullet the last time a shot was fired. So, Yussuf believes they have blanks in their guns. Hugo insists they should find out whether there was a bullet. Sam advises against it. He reveals that he and Captain Robin (Ben Miles) have found a way to communicate with the ground about the hijack. Hugo’s plan might jeopardize their attempt to get safely rescued and even put someone’s life at risk.
No matter how much Sam tries to convince him otherwise, Hugo continues to believe that they should investigate the matter. He pretends to feel unwell and asks Jamie (Aiméee Kelly) to go to the bathroom. She agrees only if he keeps the door open and lets her come along. She does not want to risk him lying about it. He walks up to the toilet seat to puke and instead starts scribbling something on a piece of paper. Meanwhile, he keeps making noises to keep up the façade.
Before returning to his seat, Hugo throws the ball of paper into the economy class. Miranda (Alexis Zegerman) notices that and picks it up. Hugo is trying to make her look for bullets on the floor. She eventually gets down on her knees and looks around for it. By the time she can return to her seat, Lewis notices her. She says she was looking for her glasses.
The Plane Route Deviation
The Istanbul control team tries to contact their plane. So, Stuart (Neil Maskell) brings Robin back to the cockpit to speak with them. The team notes that the plane is outside the expected airway. Stuart overhears it. Robin pretends that he is carrying out a standard procedure not to let Stuart learn about what he did.
In the economy class, Nasir (Nebras Jamali) gets worried about his uncle’s health. He needs his insulin, which is in the bag inside the cabinet. So, Nasir asks hijacker Jaden (Mohamed Elsandel) for permission. But Jaden refuses it and rather threatens to shoot him. On the other hand, Jamie intimidates the passengers and threatens to shoot someone as per Stuart’s orders.
Marsha (Christine Adams) goes for a lecture that is supposed to decide whether she gets her new job or not. Kai (Jude Cudjoe) meanwhile goes out, intending to help his father. Meanwhile, Hugo remains as restless as ever about finding the bullet’s status. Miranda signals to Sam that there are no bullets on the floor.
Stuart suspects Robin has been communicating with people outside through his game chat. He intimidates Robin to get an answer. When he hits Robin in the head, Sam tries to stop him. Sam even holds Stuart’s arm when he tries to attack. Seeing Sam being defensive, Stuart gets angry. He starts feeling as if he is losing control over the situation. So, he scares Sam off hoping it would stop him from taking any such step in the future. He even gets all the screens turned off.
Seeing this option of communication closed, Sam decides to know if the bullet is blank. Arthur (Jeremy Ang Jones) informs them about the one that the young girls found in the bathroom. Hussain gives a drawing of two bullets to help them differentiate between a blank and an usual one.
Hijack Episode 3 Ending Explained:
Did the hijackers’ guns have blanks in them?
The counter-terrorism department decides its next course of action to get in touch with the flight. Daniel (Max Beesley) offers to help Zahra in finding any possible suspects. He pulls out the data and realises that only one of them, Jonty (James Burrows), is a felon. But no records of the five hijackers exist.
Stuart informs someone on call that their operation has commenced. He tells that person to go ahead with their next move. Deevia (Zora Bishop) says that they should give the passengers their meals. While Jamie is against it, Stuart allows it.
Arthur goes to the economy class with water bottles and uses that chance to ask Mona about the bullet shape. She makes it clear that the bullet was a blank. Arthur informs Sam about this new information. As a result, Sam plans out with Hugo how they are to take out the hijackers.
Meanwhile, Nasir stands up to take out his uncle’s insulin medicine from the cabinet. Jaden attacks him and stops him from taking it. It creates a distraction for Sam to walk swiftly back to the economy class. He walks past the seats and takes out a drawer to attack Terry. Terry fights back and hits Sam.
Suddenly, Jonty arrives there to save Sam. While Terry continues to threaten Sam, Sam asks him to shoot. He basically dares Terry to do so, knowing that the gun is filled with blanks. But the episode ends with a shot getting fired and we do not see any video. So, it remains unclear whether Sam remained safe or whether the guns have blanks or real bullets.
