Hijack (Series Finale), Episode 7: Recap & Ending Explained – Does KA29 safely land or get crashed in London?

After spending quite a few hours with the passengers aboard flight KA29, ‘Hijack’ on Apple TV+ has finally come to an end with a riveting series finale. The series, created by Jim Field Smith and George Kay, touched upon several topics while dealing with its tense, central conflict. Its penultimate episode showed the passengers gearing up to fight the hijackers. While it created absolute chaos, something strange and surprising happened. A woman, who seemed as innocent as every other passenger, shot down the captain and took control of the cockpit. 

The series finale explores this woman’s identity. Besides, it clarifies the crucial reasons why the hijack happened in the first place. Many twists and surprising turns happen in this thrilling miniseries finale. 

*Spoilers ahead*

Hijack (Series Finale) Episode 7 Recap:

Episode 7: Brace Brace Brace

Hijack is Over

The woman who walks up to the cockpit is Amanda (Holly Aird). Earlier, she received a text message, ‘Now,’ from the released prisoners, as the hijackers did. While she takes charge of the cockpit, Sam (Idris Elba) realises that Stuart (Neil Maskell) has no clue who this woman is. By that time, the passengers get enraged and start attacking the hijackers. The ex-convict on the plane even tries to choke Terry (Jasper Britton) to death. While he takes Terry’s gun, Sam takes Stuart’s gun to calm him down. Sam knows that Stuart’s is the only gun loaded with bullets. He brings down the anger to direct them to an even bigger threat. Sam announces that the ‘hijack is over’. He then asks Jamie (Aimée Kelly) to inform the same thing to Amanda. Stuart makes it clear that Amanda is not one of them. This makes the matter even more confusing. 

Bear Raid

On the ground, Alice (Eve Myles) keeps trying to reach the plane. Meanwhile, the anti-terrorist unit considers the possibility of the hijack being connected to a ‘bear raid’. According to this theory, the issue with the Kingdom Airlines’s plane directly affects their market shares. According to an officer’s deduction, this is about an organisation hijacking the plane and then, leaking it to the media to impact their shares. In the end, the best outcome for them is the worst outcome for the plane. Louise (Hattie Morahan) considers it as a warning for a possible crash. 

Sam tries to figure out the purpose behind Amanda putting everyone’s lives at risk for. He recalls Amanda saying that she wants to go back to her family. So, he decides to communicate with her but she cuts the call. By that time, the plane starts shifting its direction and the passengers start noticing this. Alice also realises it and informs the ATU that the deviation is entirely intentional. It looks like the plane is going to crash in London. Neil (Neil Stuke) notes that they should shoot the plane down if over water but not over the city. While he firmly supports this devastating decision, Louise opposes it. To avert the threat to the capital, he believes it to be the right course of action. Against his opinion, Louise speaks with the PM not to act against their own people ,i.e., kill innocent passengers. 

On the plane, Stuart clarifies that he took the passengers’ phones so that they could not communicate their situation to those on the ground. Once they all retrieve their phones, Sam speaks with Alice. He cryptically notes the incident with the captain but lies that the first officer is flying the plane. Since Alice understands he is lying, he walks away, notices the jets flying around, and accepts a passenger named Amanda is flying the plane. However, because of Louise’s advice, the jets do not engage with the plane and saves their lives for the time being.

Alec, the Trader

Edgar Janssen (Simon McBurney) remains fixated on the Kingdom airline’s dropping price. Since he does not respect John Bailey-Brown’s (Ian Burfield) orders, John gets him shot by his pawn. While the passengers get their phones back, Alec (Justin Salinger) walks up to the cockpit. He reveals that he is the trader who made the deal so that the criminals get money. Currently, his family is also in danger as Amanda’s. They both are doing as told to ensure their safety. Right after, Sam learns about Amanda’s daughter, Elodie. He decides to use it to get access to the cockpit. He hangs up a call with the Air Traffic Control as a part of his plan – probably thinking that this will initially strengthen Amanda’s trust in him. 

By that time, the furious passengers reach there to kick it down. Sam manages to establish a dialogue with Amanda. He clarifies that he is a professional negotiator. Sam says he understands her side of the argument as a parent. ‘If my kid was in danger, I would have done the same,’ he says. It makes Amanda trust him enough to share the communication from the hijackers. She says she will be told to land the flight once they get the message that the ‘deal is done’. If no such message is sent, she is ordered to crash the plane in the middle of London. The passengers overhear this and get angrier. Sam tries to get inside the cockpit without any of them. Once inside, Sam conveys to her how they all have families that they want to get back to. As a result, Amanda agrees to cooperate with him. 

Kai’s Safety

While still stuck in his car, Daniel (Mak Beesley) calls Marsha (Christine Adams) to know that she and Kai (Jude Cudjoe) are safe and sound. Marsha informs that Kai has probably gone to Sam’s house. Then she talks about a strange call where a man asked her to confirm Sam’s address. Daniel senses a possible danger to Kai’s life and rushes to find him. Meanwhile, an officer reaches Sam’s London residence because of Kai’s call. While Cleaner Joe (Chris Corrigan) is being a disturbance, Cleaner Maz (Samson Cox-Vinell) gets a hold of him. 

Daniel calls Kai’s phone to ensure his safety. Kai manages to communicate that his life is under threat. Daniel drives there to speak with a guard. He informs that Sam’s son entered the house followed by two cleaners. Right after, Zahra (Archie Panjabi) calls him, who is a tad suspicious about Sam’s involvement in the hijack. Daniel clears her doubts and then devises a plan. He knocks on the backdoor to get the cleaners out of the house due to a fire threat. While reluctant at first, they start walking out. That’s when the officers arrest the duo and rescue Kai from their capture. 

Hijack (Series Finale) Episode 7 Ending Explained:

Does KA29 safely land or get crashed in London?

Amanda’s Situation

Once he is inside the cockpit, Sam calls Alice to land the plane. With Amanda’s help, he conveys the particulars of the plane’s status. He then informs Alice about Amanda’s fear – she will be arrested for shooting the captain. Sam clarifies Amanda did this for her family which is under threat. Home Secretary Neil, who is also on this call, assures Amanda that she will face no charges later. After making her feel safe, Sam manages to get Amanda to communicate the particulars of the flight to the ground. Soon after, they lose power, and chaos ensues in the plane. An elderly passenger appeals to other passengers to not panic.

Flight KA29

Despite the initial issues, KA29 somehow manages to make a landing. So luckily, it does not crash in the city as the criminals had earlier planned. However, they lose any connection with the flight control department, which makes it impossible to know if they are safe. After a few moments, Sam speaks with Alice and notes that they are on the ground. Then, the passengers start getting down one after the other along with the hijackers. The authorities get a hold of Alec, Jaden, Terry, and Jamie and arrest them.

However, Sam is still back on the plane. He notices that Stuart is out of his cuffs and his phone is in the cockpit. Sensing the danger, Sam texts Marsha – ‘I’m sorry’. Moments later, Stuart starts speaking and tries to get a hold of Sam. So Sam asks Marsha to call him. This was his way of distracting Stuart while he fought back. The authorities then get hold of Stuart and arrest him. Sam takes his phone and gets down from the plane. 

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Hijack (Series Finale), Episode 7 Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Hijack (Series Finale), Episode 7 Cast: Idris Elba, Archie Panjabi, Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Neil Maskell, Eve Myles Ben Miles, Kaisa Hammarlaund

Where to watch Hijack