Episode 3 of Hijack kicks off with a tense phone conversation between Alice and Zahra. Alice voices her profound concerns, firmly stating that the likelihood of Flight 29 being hijacked is alarmingly high. Zahra, faced with a daunting decision, opts to err on the side of caution and rushes to meet with the duty officer to take decisive action.
Elsewhere, the atmosphere is charged with whispers and speculation. An Egyptian passenger, Yussuf, boldly asserts that the guns wielded by the hijackers are merely fakes. How does he know? He spent three decades in the Egyptian military, dealing with hijackings as a routine matter. According to his extensive experience, the PLO typically resorts to using blanks during hijackings. They create enough commotion to keep passengers in check without causing any real harm. Hugo, seated beside Sam, finds Yussuf's theory convincing. He alludes to the earlier gunshot, when passengers tried to overpower one of the hijackers. The bullet remained elusive, leaving no casualties or holes in the plane's fuselage.
Sam cautions Hugo against taking any risky actions based on hunch, but Hugo remains resolute. He feigns illness and stealthily leaves a note near the toilet for the other passengers. It reads, "Check the floor for bullets," a cryptic message that stirs curiosity and anxiety among the already tense travelers.
Meanwhile, the unexpected deviation has thrown the plane off its intended course, prompting Istanbul ATC to contact them. Robin, forced to correct the flight path, works closely with Stuart, who listens intently to the radio chatter. The situation is further complicated when one of the passengers urgently requests insulin, only to be denied by Jaden. Stuart convenes a quick meeting with the others, urging them to minimize distractions like frequent toilet breaks and keep the atmosphere as calm as possible.
The passenger, who stumbled across Hug's enigmatic note, found his suspicions hardening like ice. Despite this, Sam sternly counseled him to abandon his hypothesis, warning against any reckless endangerment of lives on the aircraft. Meanwhile, Zahra, with utmost care, recounted the sequence of events to her superiors, seeking guidance in the midst of this confusion.
Alice, with her keen eye, lent a helping hand, revealing the subtle signs embedded in Flight 29's erratic course changes and subsequent overcorrection, reminiscent of Robin's earlier maneuvers. It was like a puzzle piece fitting into the larger picture, adding to the mystery.
The confined cabin was now a pot of boiling tension as Stuart caught Robin engaged in a whispered conversation with a fellow passenger. Sam intervened swiftly, grabbing Stuart's hand in a show of restraint that left the latter helpless. After a tense standoff, Sam relented, and the atmosphere gradually returned to a semblance of normality, albeit tenuously, like a thin veil over a raging storm.
Stuart, eager to assert his authority, embarrassed Sam by demanding a verbatim repetition of his words. It was a show of power that forced a reluctant smile from the beleaguered pilot. He then ordered all screens to be extinguished, a move that Hugo interpreted as further proof of his argument, seeing Stuart's restraint in not executing Sam as an example.
Meanwhile, Marsha, engaged in a job interview at the university, drew parallels between the unfolding drama on the plane and the paradoxical concept of Schrodinger's Cat. She spoke of the baffling possibility that two mutually exclusive realities could coexist, a theory that echoed the chaos unfolding before her eyes.
This intriguing analogy piqued Sam's interest in Yussuf's theory, which the latter insisted he could not prove without examining the gun. Overhearing their conversation, Arthur, a diligent cabin crew member, rose to his feet and revealed a startling discovery - a bullet found in the bathroom.
Sam eagerly inquired if Yussuf could deduce anything from the bullet through the interpreting passenger, sketching out the two possible scenarios. The tension in the air was thick as they awaited his response. Meanwhile, the man whose condition worsened with each passing moment, urgently needed insulin, sparking whispers among the passengers and urging Jaden to provide the critical medication.
On the ground, the Foreign Secretary granted permission to the Counterterrorism unit to initiate a strategy, green-lighting their actions. They embarked on their mission, operating under the assumption that a hijacking was indeed underway.
Daniel urgently requested Zahra to send him the manifest of the flight. His intention was to cross-check the names against the database, searching for any criminal records. Stuart concurred with Deevia's suggestion of providing food and water to the passengers, aiming to keep them calm and composed.
Heidi apprised Zahra that the manifest revealed only one male passenger with a significant criminal history. Reluctantly, Zahra emailed the manifest to Daniel, realizing the gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, the girl who had witnessed the bullet confirmed to Arthur that it was indeed a blank, and the guns were merely fakes.
Daniel ran the names through the database, and to his surprise, five of them did not yield any results. This oddity led them to deduce the identities of the hijackers.
Suddenly, Nasir, the nephew of the sick man, rose to retrieve his medication. Jaden, filled with rage, shoved him and began assaulting Nasir. Sam, realizing the need for swift action, hatched a plan with Hugo to neutralize Terry, as he seemed the most vulnerable target. However, Hugo chickened out, leaving Sam to forge ahead alone. He crawled through the aisles, making his way to the rear of the plane.
Stuart retrieved something from the bag that Alec had stashed in the overhead cabin. To his horror, they were real bullets, which he swiftly loaded into his gun. Lewis intervened, assisting Jaden in calming the situation.
Sam managed to neutralize Terry, but he required assistance from Jonty, ironically the only passenger on the plane whose name matched a serious criminal record in the database.
The episode culminated with the deafening sound of a gunshot, leaving everyone in suspense. Terry had been pointing his gun at Sam, who boldly claimed the bullets were blanks. This revelation stunned Terry. In the midst of the chaos, a five-year-old girl named Lizzie fled from her seat, while Stuart, now armed with live bullets, ominously made his way towards the panicked passengers.
