The train, akin to the enigmatic Hijack, has finally departed from the station that is Season 2, and we're off to new adventures. Despite a few initial delays, the journey has picked up momentum, and Episode 3, "Baggage," has propelled us forward at a rapid pace. To bring this analogy to its apt conclusion, we finally feel like we're making progress.
Are there still flaws? Absolutely. The new premise, despite being a clever inversion of the first season's, which justifies another run of episodes without relying on the same sh*t happening to the same guy twice, has lost some of the compelling aspects that made Sam Nelson intriguing in the first place. And a train is far less interesting than a plane, which is probably why much of this season has taken place on and around tracks, platforms, and control centers, rather than the locomotive itself. However, the good is beginning to outweigh the bad, mostly.
We begin with a fakeout. Despite my insistence that there wasn't really a bomb in the briefcase that Sam made Freddie carry onto the platform, "Baggage" starts with enough smoke and fire to imply that there was indeed an explosive in there. Has Sam finally lost the plot? Nope, it's a trick. The briefcase didn't contain any explosives at all. The smoke is simply that - smoke. Freddie ends up back on the train, back in the cab, while the authorities start to panic that they're losing control of the situation.
Meanwhile, Olivia fills in Winter - and indeed the audience - on who Sam is and what he wants. The new information here is that Sam and Marsha's son, Kai, was killed exactly a year prior, and Sam believes John Bailey-Brown is responsible. Clara begins using this information, with help from Faber, to negotiate with Sam over the radio.
Sam seems kind of receptive, but things keep complicating matters. News of the hijacking spreads like wildfire across social media and eventually makes its way back to the train, making the passengers unruly. And since Sam is in such a bad mood this season, he isn't well-positioned to assuage their suspicions. This is clearly a house of cards, and it's about to come tumbling down.
But Sam's right about one thing — John Bailey-Brown is indeed in Germany. However, the records of Hamburg border crossings at the time that Sam's CCTV still suggests JBB arrived have been deleted, from an IP address located at a residential address Winter recognizes. It's a nondescript building loaned by the German state to the British for clandestine purposes. It was Faber who deleted those records because MI5 is holding JBB and protecting him. Winter threatens to blow the whistle, so Faber calls one of his agents, Lang, and instructs him to take a photo of JBB and send it across. Oh, and to find out who talked.
Sam receives that photo and is immediately relieved. He thinks the situation is about to be over, which is a bit peculiar since there's no evidence that the photo was taken recently — it could have been from JBB's Facebook page for all he knows. But it doesn't matter anyway, since this is far from the end of things. In the next big twist of "Hijack" Season 2, Episode 3, it's revealed that Sam is being pressured by someone else — someone who is currently watching Marsha and sending Sam threatening messages and instructions. The latest one is to get JBB onto the train with him.
Sam is clearly being strong-armed and framed, which he shares with Otto and Freddie, but crucially not Clara and Winter, even though they begin to sense something is amiss when GSG 9 sends a robot into the station and realizes that the explosion was a hoax. It doesn't seem like Sam wants to hurt anyone. But it doesn't help his case for them to believe that, as will become clear.
There's a contingency plan in place. When the train loses power, Sam and Otto get out and explore the tracks, discovering a substantial explosive device mounted underneath it. If Sam doesn't accomplish his mission, not only will Marsha die — it's everyone on the train too. While this is happening, someone breaks into the cab and murders Freddie. Mei discovers his body and immediately assumes Sam did it, causing even more chaos amongst the passengers.
Sam manages to turn all this to his advantage. He dumps Freddie's body on the platform and tells Winter about the bomb, convincing her of his seriousness. This gets the train moving again and forces GSG 9 to back off. We're moving in the right direction, but there's still a long way to go before Sam can ensure Marsha and the train's passengers are safe.
