REVIEW: ‘Hijack’ Episode 1 — “Final Call”

AppleTV+ knows drama, it knows thrillers, and with Hijack, the platform is taking up the task of weaving tension when the audience already knows the outcome. The series is produced by 60FortyFilms and Green Door Pictures, the series’ lead Idris Elba’s production company. The first series for Elba on the platform, Hijack is a high-octane thriller created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith, who also wrote and lead directed the series, respectively, with Mo Ali also directing in the series. In addition to Elba, the series stars Archie Panjabi, Max Beesley, Jeremy Ang Jones, Neil Maskell, Mohamed Elsandel, and Kate Phillips. And Hijack Episode 1, “Final Call,” is a hit.

A seven-episode series, Hijack is unique because it uses each of the episodes to tell its story in real-time over the seven-hour flight from Dubai to London. Taking place in the air and on the ground, audiences watch as terror spreads on the plane and the authorities on the ground scramble for answers. At the center of the series is Sam Nelson (Idris Elba), an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers. While Sam just wants to get back home to his ex-wife Marsha and son, he still pushes a high-risk strategy that could very well be his undoing. As Sam works in the air, Panjabi’s Zahra Gahfoor, a counter-terrorism officer on the ground when the plane is hijacked, becomes part of the investigation.

Mastering tension and mystery when the name of the series gives away the plot is a hard task. Through misdirection, the camera sows distrust among the audience and each of the passengers. Who are the plane’s hijackers? Who has a weapon? Every person is a suspect, and the way that the series makes you question every character they put into focus as characters board the plane drives the thrill—even when focusing on the Dubai airport and air traffic control center. With the moment happening at the halfway point of the episode, you would expect there to be a loss of interest, but instead, Hijack Episode 1 capitalizes on this. It expects you to lower your guard and takes the time to inspect how individual characters react to the situation.

It looks at the prejudices of the passengers, the way some will prioritize one life of someone they love over a plane full of people, and how you reel from a situation when no motive is given. There is a wealth of unknowns in the first hour of this series, and each subsequent moment capitalizes on the last. While the hijacking is scary, there is an added element of fear that builds when the uncertainty people feel pushes them to rash decisions. From Captian Robin Allen opening the cockpit door because of an affair, to how easy it is to change a security incident report to a false alarm, and all the ways that people fall apart under gunpoint, the panic that sets in as the hijackers take control of the plane is palpable.

The slow pacing of Hijack Episode 1 is to its benefit. Events are meaningful when they don’t cascade one after the other. There is a stillness between each major event and that allows the audience to lull into complacency but not enough downtime to lose the tense atmosphere, only to appreciate it. The episode winds you up and leads you perfectly into the second hour as Sam begins his proposition.

Hijack Episode 1 may seem slow, but its ability to keep the intensity in spite of how much knowledge the audience has is a feat that works. Additionally, entering the series knowing that each episode is one hour of the flight adds an intimacy that is sure to drive the drama and the thrill as the season continues.

Hijack Episode 1 and Episode 2 are available now on AppleTV+ with new episodes every Wednesday through August 2, 2023.