Hijack episode 3 recap: Were the hijackers using blank rounds? 

Episode 3 of Apple TV+'s Hijack, which released on Tuesday, July 4, was a very intense affair. Titled Draw a Blank, it saw our heroes trying to figure out if the hijackers were using life or black rounds. The head terrorist did however reveal that he had live rounds. Episode 3 was directed by Jim Field Smith and written by Adam Gyngell, Fred Fernandez Armesto, and George Kay.

The series' story revolves around how a flight that was supposed to travel from Dubai to London has been hijacked and everyone on board is at risk of losing their lives. A successful business negotiator on board, Sam (played by Idris Elba), must save the day and even try to neutralize the terrorists.

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Hijack episode 3 recap: Why did Sam wrestle one of the hijackers?

Episode 3 began with the airplane getting out of Iraqi airspace. A veteran Egyptian military man named Yussuf believed that the terrorists in the hijacked airplane were geared with blank bullets and their guns weren't real. Hugo wanted to learn more about the artillery but Sam was adamant that the guns and bullets were real.

The plane then entered Turkish airspace and got contacted by the Turkish air controller, who interacted with the captain and told him that the plane was off course. This happened right in front of the hijacker's boss, Stuart, but he didn't seem to be bothered.

Zahra took the incident to the British government in London. She explained to the officials that when a plane is in trouble, it begins zigzagging and that was exactly what the hijacked plane was doing. Back in the aircraft, Hugo decided to play the hero and fake illness. He sent a note to business class asking to search for a bullet. If it was found, the guns were real.

When Stuart realized that the passengers were moving around way too much, he ordered an end to toilet breaks, as he didn't want any more ruckus on the plane. The pilot secretly informed Sam that the flight had changed directions but Stuart figured out that they were in contact. He hit the pilot and pushed Sam and every screen was turned off.

After this incident, Hugo thought that the guns were indeed fake. The business class passengers didn't find a bullet but a girl had found one earlier. Sam asked Yussuf if he could figure out that the bullets were blank. Back in London, Zahra and Daniel discovered that there was only one known criminal on the flight called Jonty Collins. It was shown that they even knew about the five hijackers.

After a while, Sam figured out that the bullets were indeed blank. He turned to Hugo for help. But the latter was afraid to act as the bad guy. Nasir was triggered because his uncle had been disrespected. He fought with one of the terrorists.

While this was going on, Sam sneaked at the back of the plane to disarm one of the terrorists named Marcus. Meanwhile, Stuart switched the black rounds with real bullets in his gun. At the back of the plane, Sam wrestled Marcus for a while and asked him to prove that the bullets were real by pulling the trigger.

The episode ended with a shot of the plane's exterior and the sound of a gunshot. Episode 4 will reveal if it was shot by Marcus or Stuart.

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Hijack synopsis

The official synopsis reads as:

"When Flight KA29 is hijacked during its seven-hour journey from Dubai to London, corporate negotiator Sam Nelson tries to use his professional skills to save everyone on board."

The series stars Idris Elba as Sam Nelson, Neil Maskell as Stuart Atterton, Eve Myles as Alice Sinclair, Christine Adams as Marsha Smith-Nelson, Max Beesley as DI Daniel Farrell, Archie Panjabi as DCI Zahra Gahfoor, Ben Miles as Captain Robin Allen, and Kate Phillips as Collette Fisher.