In the studio we’re huge fans of both suspenseful action movies and prestige television shows. So when Hijack was released on
Apple TV+
with Idris Elba of The Wire and Luther fame, we knew we were in for a wild ride.
First off, there’s some good Idris action – about 30 minutes of this show is him just sitting down and silently glaring at people, which we loved. There’s definitely some sillier elements, which stand in contrast to the absolute seriousness in which the show takes itself. However overall we were highly entertained as our hero Sam Nelson convinced hijackers, other passengers, air traffic control, the police, and maybe even the government to do what he wanted.
Rating: a solid B+.
So looking back after a graceful(ish) series landing, there’s just a few loose ends we believe worthy of mention. Before we get into the deets though, be aware that this article will spoil the heck out of all episodes of this show. So strap yourself in, place your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked positions, here comes the Hijack Debrief.
Dont say you weren't warned!
So we have questions
First up: why did the pilot open the cockpit door? All this could have been avoided if he hadn’t folded like a newspaper when they brought out his illicit affair partner. Surely in a post 9/11 world that’s the cardinal rule: Never. Open. That. Cockpit. Door!
Why didn’t the pilots switch the plane’s transponder to the international hijack code 7500? It exists for the very scenario of silently warning people on the ground. Disappointed this one wasn’t mentioned when APUs and Ram-Air Turbines got a shout out.
Detective Daniel gets results.
Why is Detective Daniel the best police officer in London? And why does everyone else automatically know this? When he’s brought into the crisis room, he’s introduced just as “Daniel” with no rank or department, and the question of if he needs an induction is just ignored. Classic Daniel!
Why did Sam’s son Kai say Sam’s job was “difficult to explain”? He’s a business negotiator Kai. He negotiates business deals. This is made better when Sam explains what he does to Amanda in a sentence in the final episode.
Why did the police send officers all the way out to check in on Sam’s flat after the silent 999 call, but when asked if they wanted to look inside were like “Nah, thanks”?
This is hands-down the funniest moment of the series.
How did Daniel get comprehensively out-played and outpaced by the hijacker's mum? He’s not demonstrating the competence expected for an officer of his reputation.
The cleaners in Sam’s flat – what was their plan? They just seemed to watch TV, and at one point did some actual cleaning.
Why didn’t the cleaners understand Kai was very obviously using a code when he said “I’ll come home on my BIKE 😉, that BIKE I was using this morning 😉”?
The least competent police surveillance.
Why did the police to follow the released criminal masterminds so closely, driving literally within sight of them down a quiet country road, even with multiple trackers and drones? Another black mark for Daniel here I’m afraid.
What route did Daniel take that allowed him to drive from the countryside to Sam’s central London flat in about 10 minutes? Couldn’t he have delegated this to someone closer? Classic Daniel.
How did it take over 4 minutes for the plane to get from London Bridge to the Houses of Parliament? By our calculations that’s an average speed of roughly 22mph? This is a nitpick (in a list of nitpicks) but the whole show plays with the ‘realtime’ aspect of a 7 hour flight, so it’s fair game to mention.
Sam had a pretty nice place - he must be really good at business negotiations.
Why was the TV news report more interested in the airline share price than the threat of a fully loaded passenger plane ploughing into London?
Why didn’t the Prime Minister give a shit throughout all this? She didn’t even make the briefest of appearances with the threat of a jet crashing into the capital. This whole show does not reflect well on the British government if we’re being honest.
Why did people in the government crisis room need to have ‘stock shorting’ explained to them as if it was some sort of exotic trade?
Did the whole stock thing really make any sense in the end? Wouldn’t they have suspended the share price? Wouldn’t it have been obvious who shorted it and be easily accessible information to investigators?
Daniel got results.
Why did the kidnappers decide to walk Kai out with very obviously tied wrists with Daniel still in direct line of sight and within earshot? Keeping tally, I’d call this one a win for Daniel, but really the kidnappers did all the work for him.
Why did the engines literally explode on landing? Has this ever happened?
Why didn’t they use the slides to get off the plane?
Why instead did they use a single stairs truck and how did it line up with the plane door when the landing gear had been half destroyed?
Why didn’t the armed assault team not board the plane sooner?
Why didn’t the armed assault team have better intel of the hijackers than “one has a beard”?
Sam's pretty chill about being under gunpoint - must be all those hardcore business negotiations he's taken part in.
This is a big one - why didn’t Sam get shot many times over? Every episode had a least one instance of insubordination or even direct violence towards the hijackers and every time he survived due to his extreme (yet inexplicable) negotiating skills.
Why did Sam stay on the plane after everyone else had got off? Who made him the Plane King?
How did Stuart (aka BULL-Maskell) get forgotten when everyone disembarked and then get behind Sam and close the door?
Why didn’t Sam lock himself in the cockpit when he realised Stuart was hunting him and the guns were missing? Wasn’t that a major plot point that this door was totally impregnable?
And now for a special section on Amanda - the villain and hero of the final episode
Why did Amanda shoot the pilot? He wasn’t going to stop her getting into the cockpit. Side note: a one-handed headshot whilst walking – Amanda’s definitely put some hours in at the range.
How did the Home Secretary’s offer of immunity seemingly stand after the plane landed? She committed pre-meditated murder of a pilot on a commercial flight! Legally does he even have that authority?
Following on from this, the Home Sec backed up his offer by saying “it’s a resigning matter”. Why would Amanda care about a politician's job security in her predicament?
How many people have a picture of themselves on their lock screen?
Why didn’t they let the First Officer land the plane? Even with Amanda’s career in the Navy I doubt she was best prepared to deadstick land a commercial airliner over central London. This is demonstrated later when she pulls a risky steep banked turn to line up for the runway – watch that sink rate Amanda!
What even happened about Amanda’s hostage daughter? Is she ok?
Was Amanda actually allowed to just go home at the end? Seriously?
So to wrap up - Hijack, aka Airborne Luther, aka Stringer Bell on a Plane, aka Club World Stacker Pentecost (Pacific Rim was a great film, fight me). Suspenseful, action-packed, and some solid Idris content, but maybe a bit lax on the details. For all the faults they do get a lot of stuff right – the sets are pretty realistic and you can tell people put a lot of care into the production. We highly recommend it as a casual watch, although you need to enthusiastically suspend your disbelief.
If you’ve read this far: are you someone who also cares about the details? At Set Reset we reimagine how people see, experience and interact with data. Attention to detail is the name of the game, and key to our process is asking the right questions. If you have a data design project that needs to nail the landing, or are a fellow creative who respects the rules of the sky give us a shout. Use the code “that BIKE I was using this morning 😉” so we know it’s you.
