Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0
3
Is it fun because it’s a genuinely good episode, or was this the natural outcome? Either way, I’ll take it.
“Control” is what Hijack Season 2 should have been — engaging, high-octane, and progressive.
All the arcs that have been playing in the foreground and the background finally converge as the truth comes to light.
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
It’s only disappointing that we had to sit through all those mediocre episodes, and many couldn’t.
Marsha’s Arc Pays Off Too Little Too Late
The Marsha subplot hasn’t been the most interesting part. It has lacked the urgency Kai’s arc instilled, and with Marsha suffering the same Grieving Parent Look as Sam, it doesn’t feel urgent that she survive.
If anything, the “neighbors” would put her out of the misery she seems consumed by. However, Marsha says ‘Not today demons. Not today.’
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
She fights to stay alive when the neighbors start hunting her, and suddenly, the bereft mother is a fighter. These scenes had the potential to be as boring as the arc, but when the dogs enter the picture, a sense of urgency and dread follows.
Compared to humans, outsmarting sniffer dogs is like thinking you can beat a chess grandmaster after a few games of checkers.
I hope Marsha doesn’t freeze to death, because we don’t learn her fate by the episode’s end.
The Train Shenanigans Are Surprisingly Interesting
Back on the train, Hijack takes the predictable route: Sam survives, and Jess gets shot. She also survives, but just for a little while.
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
We really haven’t learned much about Jess, but knowing John Bailey-Brown & Co., they have a strong hold over her. We should be happy when she dies, but there is an air of sadness. She killed someone in cold blood, but her death has the biggest emotional impact.
Who would have thought that? With Freddy and Petra gone without much emotional disturbance, it’s ironic that the woman responsible for their deaths, at least in part, is the one to get the sympathies.
But just to give her a little credit, she does something good in her final moments and helps Sam decouple the train cars.
The Sam we knew from Hijack Season 1 is back!
He’s not just asking the passengers to stay calm while taking law enforcement in circles; he’s proactively working toward a solution.
Additionally, we see his empathy in full display, something that made him a hero worth rooting for in the first season.
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
If I were in his shoes, I’d throw Jess under the train tracks and carry on with my day, but Sam understands how to use people as assets. He also knows Jess is being forced to do this, leaving her no option, since he’s in the same shoes.
That’s cute, but Hijack’s decision to rob the bad guys of their agency this season feels like a mockery. Can’t I have just one character whom I hate with passion?
What happened to the Stuarts of the world? This season fails because it lacks good antagonists; a hijack is only as good as its hijackers.
The Truth Will Let the Hijack Proceed
Finally, the Germans learn that Sam is being forced to do this, but I could have told you people, if only you’d asked me.
Murnau wants this done as quickly as possible before Bailey-Brown gets on the train, but Ada is more measured in her approach. Her previous decision to just keep talking to Sam aggravated me, but in this instance, it prevents a tragedy.
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
The Germans allow Sam to continue with the hijack, but why? If they got some passengers off, why not everyone else? Is anything going to change when they meet with Bailey-Brown’s people?
What’s stopping them from blowing the train now that there’s not that much leverage? I don’t understand what Sam thinks he will accomplish by showing up with a half-full train.
Elsewhere, Zahra and Daniel confront Stuart, and one has to wonder: why all this focus on Stuart? How does the hijack benefit him in prison? It’s not like he’s the one getting out.
This leads me to believe that Kai’s death was not an accident and that Stuart orchestrated it. Having lost his younger brother Lewis in the first hijacking, he blames Sam for the death.
What if he killed Kai as vengeance and is using Sam’s grief to rub it in? Everyone knows he’s evil enough to do it.
The season finale has a lot of questions to answer before this hijack even begins to make sense. For now, I’m glad we might get some resolution in the finale. Cautiously so, though.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
Gut Check
“Control” is probably the best episode of the season. It feels like a proper thriller, has a longer runtime, and uses most of its arcs to build the larger story rather than making them feel like sidequests.
It’s what the entire season should have been, but it sabotaged itself too early. However, it might just be The Penultimate Episode Charm, where penultimate episodes are usually well-executed to set up an epic season finale.
Stray Observations
- Despite their limited duration, the scenes between Peter, Olivia, and that other guy were comedic gold. The guy using “boom” as a reaction when everyone can almost hear the bomb ticking, or Olivia not knowing how a sound recorder works? Top-tier comedy in the middle of a tragedy.
- Some people truly have no survival instincts. Between blowing up in a train and overcoming my fear to jump to the next car, guess what decision I’d make? It’s not the one Rebecca or George made.
(Kevin Baker/Apple TV)
- Speaking of George, we might be seeing the next Skarsgård family phenomenon with the Hollands. I knew the kid looked familiar; it’s Paddy Holland, Tom Holland’s brother.
- I’ve never seen animosity like the one displayed by the soldier who had his gun trained on Sam. That man was ready to turn Sam into a sieve before the order was done being uttered. Thank god he wasn’t trigger-happy.
Now that the whole thing is nearing its end, what do you think, Hijack fanatics? Is Sam hiding something from the authorities and seeking his own justice? Is he on a suicide mission?
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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