Draw A Blank – The episode opens as Alice Sinclair (Eve Myles) informs counterterrorism agent, Zahra Gahfoor (Archie Panjabi) about flight KA29 veering off its flight path. They briefly discuss Sam Nelson’s (Idris Elba) to his wife, Marsha Nelson-Smith (Christine Adams). Interrupting a crucial meeting, Zahra needs to convince acting JTAC Duty Officer Lydia (Poppy Roe) to report the potential hijacking.

As flight KA29 enters Iraqi airspace, Yussuf (Nasser Memarzia) and his wife have a disagreement about him wanting to talk to Sam. Hugo (Harry Michell) questions the reason for their argument. Leesha (Antonia Salib) claims Yussef believes the hijackers’ weapons are fake replicas. Hugh suggests they utilize it to their advantage. Sam questions if Yussuf’s suspicion is true. Hugo convinces Leesha to confront Yussef about his fake weapon theory. Refusing to heed his wife’s advice, Yussef admits to having a 30-year military career, specializing in hijackings. Lewis (Jack McMullen) notices the couple arguing. Sam assures him that the other passengers were trying to calm Yussef’s fears of never seeing his grandchildren again.

Leesha explains how Yussuf dealt with PLO hijackers that believed blanks offered the same intimidation as live rounds. Hugo reminds her of the recent fired round. He suggests spreading information to encourage the other passengers to be on the lookout for bullet casings. Against the idea, Sam informs them that he and Pilot Robin Allen (Ben Miles) alerted ground control of the flight path sift. Hugo tells Deevia Khan (Zora Bishop). Jamie Constantinou (Aimee Kelly) suggests escorting Hugo to the restroom but keep the door ajar and don’t flush the toilet. In the restroom, he writes a note before forcing himself to vomit. Heading back to his seat, he tosses the note into the aisle of business class. A female passenger retrieves the note that encourages them to search for a spent casing. If none are found, switch on the overhead light and push the call button if any are found.

Istanbul Control agents grow concerned when Robin fails to respond to hails after five minutes. Robin tells Stuart Atterton (Neil Maskell) to expect more when the plane crosses another border. Stuart orders him to respond to the hails. When Robin contacts the Istanbul tower, the operator points out the plane has veered 12 miles off its planned flight path. Robin blames it on crosswinds before making the necessary adjustments to get the plan back on track.

A passenger tells Nasir (Nebras Jamali) that his diabetic uncle needs his insulin, inside a bag in the overhead compartment. After a bit of back and forth, Nasair informs Jaden (Mohamed Elsandel) who declines his request. Determined, Nasir shows more persistence, resulting in an altercation.

Stuart tells Lewis and Jamie that the passengers will no longer be permitted restroom breaks. The female messenger who retrieved Hugo’s note implements a search for a bullet. Stuart stresses the importance of violence to keep the passengers under control. Storming off, Lewis encounters the female searching for the bullet. He gives her a stern warning while Jamie threatens another passenger with a gun. Hugo is beginning Yussuf’s blank cartridge theory when an overhead light comes on.

In London – Zahra speaks with Lydia and Parth (Abhin Galeya) about the potential hijacking of flight KA29. With evidence laid out, Alice says the plane did not maintain its flight path which Robin blamed on crosswinds. She points out that the recent adjustment did not put the plane back on its flight path. Parth orders her to contact the Foreign Secretary.

Flight KA29 – Stuart hits Robin in the head with his weapon when he refuses to tell him who he was trying to contact. Sam intervenes by reminding Stuart of Robin’s role in operating the plane. Stuart tries to hit him with his gun but Sam is quick to act. Baffled, he threatens to order Jamie to shoot a passenger if he doesn’t permit him to hit him in the face. Changing his mind, Stuart orders all screens to be disabled. Taking a minute to collect himself, Sam urges Leesha to ask Yussuf if he has proof the hijackers’ weapons are replicas. Yussuf needs to examine them to make sure. Arthur (Jeremy Ang Jones) informs Sam of the bullet Namoi (Mei Henri) found in the restroom. He says Terry (Jasper Britton) has the bullet but believes Namoi and Mona (Cecilia Appiah) who also saw it can help identify it. Yussuf sketches a real bullet and blank. Nasir grows more concerned about his diabetic uncle’s worsening condition.

London Offices –Parth works on getting everything together before the Foreign Secretary arrives. Zahra receives a call from DI Daniel O’Farrell (Max Beesley) looking for information. She declines to fill him in on the potential hijacking.

Flight KA29 –  Stuart makes a call but the recipient doesn’t answer. He leaves a voicemail – “Operation commenced.” He voices concern about the individual not answering his call. Deevia warns not serving meals to the passengers will cause more chaos. He agrees to one bottled water per passenger.

London Office – Heidi (Camilla Beeput) calls Gahfoor to alert her of only one passenger from 200 draws a red flag. Jonty Collins (James Burrows) was sentenced to prison for armed robbery and attempted murder. She adds he was recently paroled. Zahra sends Daniel an email.

Flight KA29 – Deevia and Colette (Kate Phillips) hand out bottled water. Sam slips Yussuf’s bullet sketch to Deevia who passes it to Arthur. After Namoi receives the sketch, she flips on her reading light to confirm the bullet in the restroom was blank. He relays the information to Sam.

London Office – Daniel confirms Zahra Heidi’s claims of only Jonty’s prison stint. He informs her of five passengers, not in the national database, having valid passports. Zahra suggests they are involved in the hijacking.

Flight KA29 – Hugo and Sam discuss a strategy to inspect the hijackers’ weapons. They agree Terry is the best place to start since he is isolated in the back. Jaden catches Nasir in his overhead compartment. An altercation breaks out. Stuart switches out the ammo in his clip with live rounds as the hysteria intensifies. Jamie notices Sam’s seat is empty. Sam’s ambushing Terry is nearly a flop when Jonty jumps in to help. A bruised and bloody Nasir is escorted back to his seat. David and Kate realize their daughter, Lizzy Miller (Lucia Aliu) is gone. Getting the best of Jonty and Sam, Terry reaches for his weapon. Jonty flees, leaving Sam to deal with Terry alone. Sam accuses him of utilizing blanks. Armed with real ammo, Stuart approaches the scene. Sam demands Terry to fire his weapon when a shot rings out. The episode comes to an end.

 

Hijack Review

I’ve got to say that I am pleased with the way the show is building. A lot of viewers may feel it is too slow, but I feel everything is offered in just the right amounts. This episode, of course, wasn’t perfect and there were plenty of lackluster moments, but all in all, I would give the episode a 5.6. The scene with Sam’s son finding the condoms was practically useless as was his wife’s lecture. She might have posed a very intriguing theory but I just didn’t see the need for it. The ending to the episode was also a bit of a shame, seeing that the oldest of the hijackers got the better of two other fully capable men.

It’s not that it’s not possible, of course. I did find the “blank bullet” theory interesting and can’t wait to see how they spin the rest of that tale.

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