Sumith Prasad
The fifth episode of Apple TV+’s thriller series ‘Hijack,’ titled ‘Less Than an Hour,’ follows the aftermath of the release of the hijackers’ demands to the home secretary of England. He talks to the foreign secretary to find out what really is happening with Flight KA29. Back in the flight, Lewis manages to stay alive and fight for his life, only for Sam Nelson to use the same to potentially save the flight, passengers, and crew members from the hijackers. The intriguing episode ends with a significant decision Sam makes and a startling cliffhanger. If you are up for diving deep into the same, let us share our take on the episode’s climax! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Hijack Episode 5 Recap
‘Less Than an Hour’ begins with the English home secretary talking to the foreign secretary regarding the demands he received from an unknown man. After getting briefed about the hijacking of Flight KA29, he reveals to the foreign secretary and other officers that the hijackers are demanding the release of Edgar Janssen and John Bailey-Brown from prison. Edgar and John are the heads of the “Cheapside Firm,” an international drug dealing network the two of them had been maintaining before their arrests. Although the duo doesn’t deal with drugs directly, they provide a network to dealers and traffickers for trading drugs. After Lewis manages to stay alive, Sam Nelson devices a plan to resolve the predicament on board.
Sam finds out that Lewis and Stuart are brothers and asks the latter to land in Hungary to save his brother by providing adequate medical care. Sam wants Anna Kovac, the co-pilot of the flight, to talk to Hungarian authorities in Hungarian to inform them about the hijacking under the pretense of providing care for Lewis. After much deliberation, irrespective of the opposition of his fellow hijackers, Stuart agrees to the same. Anna makes contact with Hungarian authorities and informs them about the hijacking. Daniel and Zahra coordinate an in-depth investigation into Stuart and Lewis by talking to their mother Elaine, who lets the former know that the Cheapside Firm killed the father of her children under suspicion.
Elaine then runs away from the officers. When Lewis learns about the emergency landing, he kills himself. He may have thought that the leaders of the Cheapside Firm would kill his mother and brother if their mission got sabotaged in his name after the emergency landing. Dubai officials break into the house of Neela and discover her, her family, and Abdullah’s dead bodies. The photographs of the dead bodies are shared among the English authorities, who realize the gravity of the threat they are dealing with.
Hijack Episode 5 Ending: Why Does Sam Abort the Landing?
When Lewis fights for his life, Sam realizes that the same is an opportunity to make the hijackers land the flight somewhere to put an end to the predicament. He makes use of Anna’s knowledge of Hungarian, a language the hijackers cannot comprehend. He assumes that the Hungarian authorities will help them conquer the handful of hijackers once they land and he nearly succeeds in fulfilling his plan but two factors make him abort the same. First of all, Sam learns that the allies of the hijackers know about his family and where he lives. The negotiator realizes that his family is under threat and his actions on board the flight will affect their lives.
Sam must have realized that a confrontation between the hijackers and the Hungarian authorities would provoke the former group’s allies to kill his separated wife Marsha and son Kai. He aborts the landing of the flight in Hungary possibly to buy himself more time to devise another plan that may not threaten the lives of his family members. The negotiator must have understood that his actions have to be calculated and non-threatening to Marsha and Kai, which is not the case with the emergency landing. But Sam may not be thinking only about his family. After Lewis kills himself, he must have realized that moving forward with the landing may only provoke the hijackers, especially since the plan to land was conceived in the name of saving Lewis.
Trying to land the flight after Lewis’ death may have provoked Stuart, possibly leading him to threaten the lives of the passengers. Sam may want to avoid the death of another passenger. In addition, he may not want Stuart to contact the latter’s allies to let them know about the trap, which may provoke them to kill his family. Furthermore, moving forward with the landing may also kill the trust Sam has earned from Stuart. If that happens, he may not get another chance to save the flight or his family, making him abort the landing.
Will Kai Get Killed?
While Sam aborts the landing, two men pretending to be cleaners, seemingly belonging to Edgar and John’s Cheapside Firm, arrive at the negotiator’s address. They want to kill Sam’s family members, like their allies kill Neela and others in Dubai, to make it clear to him that he shouldn’t take them for granted. They enter the house while Sam’s son Kai is waiting for his father. However, Kai may manage to save his life for now, especially since the two murderers do not know about him being there for certain. He may find a way to hide from them or even run away from the place, especially since he sees them right after their arrival.
Having said that, Kai’s life may remain in danger even if he escapes from the house and the two murderers for now. The heads of Cheapside Firm may want their men to keep an eye on Sam’s family until their demands are met and the mission gets completed. Sam’s action on board may further affect the fate of his son. Therefore, we can expect the negotiator to come up with a new plan that doesn’t threaten his wife or son’s lives directly.
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