Hijack: Blanks and Bravado trigger some in-flight tensions…

With Kingdom flight KA29 just a little off-course, Alice is convinced that the aircraft’s pilot is trying to send them a subtle signal, but despite the growing circumstantial evidence of a hijack, she still has to persuade the powers-that-be that her suspicions should be taken seriously. Counter-terrorism expert Zahra may be convinced, but enlists the help of Daniel to use the police database to spot any previous encounters.

Meanwhile on the flight itself, Sam warns the other passengers about taking too many risks without truly establishing what they’re up against, but begins to suspect the idea that the hijackers’ guns may be loaded with blanks could be true.

If so, they may only have one chance to wrestle back control of the plane and that means biding their time…

*spoilers*

It’s interesting that Hijack, a drama that’s being marketed around the physical, kinetic presence of Idris Elba, relies on something else. You might well have expected that ‘Sam Nelson’ would have pulled a ‘Jack Bauer’ and saved the world three times before the ‘water evacuation’ presentation, but instead this seven part drama is nearly halfway in and if not ‘sedate’ then things are quietly simmering rather than exploding with extreme prejudice. For the most part of this third episode, Draw a Blank, Elba’s Sam Nelson isn’t kicking, thumping, fighting and smiting but simply sitting in his seat and thinking. Terrorists fret, passengers argue and (on the ground) flight controllers note their lack of… well, control, but Sam merely watches, wait and assesses. In a television landscape often littered with instant gratification, it’s basically the show telling you to be patient…. chill, listen to some calming audio about your inner chakra to soothe your fevered brow and just wait a bit.

There’s some good direction from helmer Jim Field Smith, bringing us in close and personal with the passengers, tilting the camera to achieve different vantage points. There’s a moment where head hijacker Stuart (Neil Maskell) indulges in a powerplay with Sam, making him accept a humiliating beating in lieu of another passenger being executed. You can feel the seething resentment between the two men, but even then it’s Elba’s eyes rather than his muscles that do the acting and convey every thought and instinct being restrained. Calm on the outside, you can see all the gears operating within: he’s aware that the wrong move or retaliation could get himself or others killed and he’s not willing to waste what few opportunities there may be by making the wrong move at the wrong time with the wrong information. This scene, in and of itself, might speak to why Elba (and others) signed up, defying the default go-to action-man outlet for something far more cerebral and interesting: the surgical striker rather than the hothead hammer – at least for the moment.

Terrorists fret, passengers argue and (on the ground) flight controllers note their lack of… well, control, but Sam merely watches, wait and assesses. In a television landscape often littered with instant gratification, it’s basically the show telling you to be patient…. chill, listen to some calming audio about your inner chakra to soothe your fevered brow… and just wait a bit…

We still don’t officially know why the hijack has even taken place. At this stage, the hijackers don’t even want the ground to know about events on the plane, so the indication is less likely about money and more likely about a cause or demand. ‘Stuart’ tries to make contact with someone with whom he’s apparently co-ordinating back on terra firma, but is perturbed when he can’t reach them. Is that because of something that’s gone wrong with his contact or because the plane isn’t quite where it’s supposed to be? Time will tell.

On the ground there’s a lot of bureaucracy going on with departments not willing to act without more concrete information. To a point, that’s understandable and the growing ‘evidence’ is more about the strange lack and contradictions of usually on-hand details and routines, but there’s clearly a growing amount of circumstantial evidence that we know to be true. Eve Myles’ Alice might be joining the dots correctly, but there’s higher-up-types that remain skeptical and, as always, that slows things down. It falls to Max Beesley’s doggedly determined Daniel to spot what other database checks have overlooked – that while few passengers on the manifest have criminal records, several -tellingly – don’t seem to exist at all, which leads the security forces to have a good idea who shouldn’t be on the plane. Beesley’s character is perhaps one to watch – too often such a drama will push such a character (the new beau in the life of our hero’s ex) to be a sleaze, a villain or to run jealous interference – but, so far, Daniel’s making all the right moves to at least give Sam the benefit of the doubt.

After an episode of steady strategising, the last five minutes are the most frenetic, like a dam bursting. You want action – well, here it comes. We’ve been led to believe (rightly or wrongly) that at least some of the hijackers’ arms fire only blanks, a notion that seems confirmed by more than one passenger and given credence by the fact that the one shot fired so far did no damage… a fact that a self-assured Hugo (Harry Michell playing the yuppie in the seat next to Sam) keeps pushing. Sam poo-poos the idea and doesn’t like the high risk of trying to get a message back to the Economy section to confirm it – though to be fair, it appears to have merit and eventually work. So, it’s now time for Sam to make his move and he does so by scampering down the plane and – with some assistance – manages to confront one of the terrorists who is taken by surprise by a dinner-tray to the face (not quite Jack Bauer, but it’ll do). But is it too late? It’s amazing just how quickly the tension cranks up, going from 0-60 in as many seconds and we’re left with another cliffhanger as at least one gun goes off.

Three episodes in and Hijack really is proving superior airtime.