Hijack Season 2 Finale Explained: Stuart’s revenge, the ending song and the truth about Kai

Who really was behind the hijack? We explain the Hijack Season 2 finale, the truth about Kai’s death, Stuart’s revenge, and the meaning of that beautiful ending song.

It is not often that we see a series capable of dragging its audience through a sequence of “supposed truths,” each different from the last, until the events are finally explained only in the finale. This didn’t even happen in the first season of Hijack, where the enemy was fairly clear from the start. But those who have finally reached the last episode of Hijack Season 2 will surely have counted on their fingers all the times the series tried to make us believe something ultimately false.

It all started with a train hijack in Berlin, and in the first episode, Sam seemed to be the one intentionally carrying out the plan. In fact, that is exactly what the German police believe for almost the entire duration, even planning to neutralize Sam until the very last episode. However, the plot of the second season revealed a partial truth in episode 3, leading us to explain why Sam Nelson hijacked the train in this article: at that time, everything pointed toward Sam being blackmailed by John Bailey-Brown, who was trying to regain his freedom.

Why Sam Nelson Hijacked the Train: The Truth About Kai and John Bailey-Brown

The series finale, however, reveals an entirely different reality that must be explained separately: who was the real mastermind behind this hijack? And what does this plot twist mean in relation to the death of Kai, Sam’s son, who lost his life a year earlier? In this article, we delve into what happened in Hijack Season 2, Stuart’s malevolent plan from prison, and Sam’s role in the middle of it all—a role illuminated in a new light thanks to the finale’s ending song. Join us.

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Fool Me Twice: the Hijack Season 2 Finale explained

Our assumptions begin to crumble between episodes 7 and 8, when John Bailey-Brown is extracted by agents and brought toward the train. His utter confusion in the face of the evolving events doesn’t quite match the idea that he is the mastermind using Sam to regain his freedom. Either John is still pretending to be uninvolved, or the truth is far more complex.

Who really was behind the hijack? In reality, Hijack Season 2 fooled us twice. The first deception occurred in the very first episodes, leading us to believe that Sam was the true hijacker—a hypothesis we didn’t hold onto for long, knowing Sam’s fundamentally good nature. While the death of Kai and a thirst for justice could have blinded him, it wouldn’t have turned him into a true criminal.

Hijack — Season 2 Official Trailer | Apple TV

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Midway through the season, the series offered a second, more credible version of the facts: Sam is “just a puppet,” as he himself tells the driver, Otto. At that point, the idea was that Sam was being blackmailed—under the threat of Marsha’s death and the lives of the passengers—to force him to play the villain and convince the German police to release John Bailey-Brown, the mastermind of the first season. According to the “truth” we believed at the midpoint, the ultimate goal was simply to set Bailey-Brown free.

The Season 2 finale, however, uncovers a third truth that nullifies the first two: even John Bailey-Brown knows nothing about the reason for this hijack. The entire operation was orchestrated by Stuart, operating from prison, to kill Bailey-Brown and become the head of the criminal organization. It was a meticulously crafted plan aimed at both seeking revenge on Sam (the man responsible for his arrest in Hijack Season 1) and clearing the path to leadership by eliminating John Bailey-Brown.

This means Stuart played everyone from the start: Sam (by letting him believe the goal was freeing JBB), Bailey-Brown (leading him to his death on the train without him ever suspecting a thing), and us, the viewers.

The death of Kai in the light of the plot twist

When Sam realizes that John Bailey-Brown didn’t even know who Kai was, we see a cold rage explode in his eyes. It is the fury of discovering he has been manipulated from the very beginning—something that happened to the audience as well, though without the weight of having terrified 200 passengers for hours.

What does the plot twist regarding Stuart as the true mastermind mean in relation to Kai’s death? It’s simple: Kai didn’t die for a senseless act of revenge by John Bailey-Brown against Sam. His death was a necessary condition for Sam to fall into Stuart’s trap and hijack the train a year later. Therefore, it was Stuart who killed Kai in a plan perfectly calculated from the start.

It was necessary for Sam to be willing to do anything to avenge his son’s death. It was also necessary for Sam to believe that John Bailey-Brown was responsible: had he suspected Stuart’s hand behind the curtain, he would have easily guessed that the ultimate goal of involving him in the operation was to kill him (and Marsha). The blackmail would never have worked because Sam would have realized he had nothing to gain by participating in the hijack.

Instead, convinced he was helping John Bailey-Brown regain his freedom, Sam consented to becoming the “villain” of the train, believing that once the final goal was reached, he and Marsha would be safe. This is the source of Sam’s explosive anger in the Hijack Season 2 finale: he was used to facilitate his own demise, and Stuart’s original plan intended for every member of his family—starting with Kai and ending with Marsha—to die.

“Don’t Go to Strangers”: Why Sam Nelson is the only safe harbor left

The final image of the series is dedicated to Sam, speaking on the phone with Marsha for the first time since the season began. We have followed his every move, suspected him, empathized with him, and stood by his side—all while being manipulated by a villain whose full reach was hidden from us until the very end.

In that final scene, we are forced to re-evaluate Sam’s character throughout Hijack Season 2. Sam remains a brilliant mind and a refined negotiator, capable of outthinking his enemies and orchestrating events to ensure the best possible outcome. This time, thwarting the villains seemed almost impossible; indeed, Sam was prepared to die, provided that Marsha was saved.

As the series slides toward the closing credits, a hauntingly beautiful song plays in the background. That track becomes the key to correctly interpreting Sam’s character: it is Don’t Go to Strangers, one of the signature songs by American songwriter J.J. Cale, from his 1971 debut album, Naturally.

As Sam looks directly into the camera, seemingly peering into our souls, we hear the lyrics:

If I’m standing in a crowd, call my name, call it loud
Don’t go to strangers, woman, call on me

Wave your arms in the air, let me know that you’re there
When in doubt, oh woman, call on me

Don't Go To Strangers

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Don’t Go To Strangers is an invitation to trust. It seems to radiate from Sam’s eyes, addressed to Marsha and to everyone who, even for a moment, doubted his intentions. Sam Nelson is still the “good” negotiator, capable of steering desperate events toward a positive conclusion. He succeeded once again, in a dire situation where hundreds of lives hung in the balance. He managed to sabotage the plan, avoid his own death, save Marsha, and leak enough information to the police to prove that someone far more subtle and ruthless was behind the hijack.

The ending song of Hijack Season 2 thus restores our faith in Sam Nelson and the world. Stuart is exposed, his role in the affair finally clear. Ultimately, his only “success” in the entire second season was killing John Bailey-Brown, yet he failed to seize control of the organization. His clan is destroyed, the innocent are safe, and Sam’s role is vindicated.

The main characters are still there, ready to return for a potential Season 3 of Hijack—the information everyone is now craving. While nothing has been confirmed so far, the foundation for hope is firmly in place.