Since the exhilarating return of Apple TV’s thriller Hijack for its much-anticipated second season, the show has consistently captivated audiences with unexpected plot twists. Each installment keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, eager for the next revelation.

The premiere of Season 2 left fans stunned with the revelation that Sam Nelson, portrayed by Idris Elba, has taken on the role of the hijacker. Episode 2 shed light on the reasons behind Sam’s unusual behavior, revealing that John Bailey-Brown, played by Ian Burfield, a key figure from the Kingdom Airlines hijacking in Season 1, is influencing Sam’s decisions. The third episode of the second season, aptly named “Baggage,” finally uncovers the motivation driving Sam to hijack the train and his relentless pursuit of Bailey-Brown.

For those who haven’t caught up yet, consider this your spoiler alert: the unfolding drama is tied to the tragic demise of a significant character.

Warning: Spoilers for Hijack Season 2, Episode 3 are ahead.

In Episode 2, tensions escalated as Sam issued a dire warning to the authorities: locate Bailey-Brown in Germany and provide his precise whereabouts, or face the grim reality of 200 passengers on the hijacked train being in jeopardy. The latest episode confirms what fans feared: Sam’s son, Kai, played by Jude Cudjoe, has died. Moreover, Sam’s ex-wife, Marsha, portrayed by Christine Adams, finds herself in peril. This emotional “baggage” is the driving force behind Sam’s drastic actions in commandeering the train.

So why did Hijack kill off Kai? How did Kai die? And why did Jude Cudjoe leave Hijack? We’ve got answers from Season 2, Episode 3, plus comments from our interview with Hijack co-creator Jim Field Smith.

Why Did Hijack Kill Off Kai? How Hijack Season 2 Wrote Kai Off The Show:

Olivia (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the woman who was waiting to meet with Sam that day to discuss Bailey-Brown, first figured out the connection between Sam’s train hijacking, the death of his son, and Flight KA29. “That’s today!” Olivia said while reading Sam’s file. “Nelson’s son Kai was killed in a car accident a year ago today. He believes Kai was murdered by John Bailey-Brown.”

While authorities assumed Sam was searching for justice or revenge, there are more layers to the story — and certainly more layers to Sam. As we learned in Hijack Season 2’s first two episodes, Sam’s mother Marsha was hiding out alone in a cabin in the woods on the day of a dark anniversary. Now that we know it’s the anniversary of Sam’s death, there’s even greater reason to fear for her safety — and rightfully so!

Early in Episode 3, Marsha tearfully mourned her son and opened a box of his baby memories, which include a footprint and hospital bracelet from the day he was born. When Faber (Toby Jones) admitted he had been protecting Bailey-Brown and sent Sam the photo he requested, it seemed as though everything was going according to plan. But shortly after Sam confirmed Bailey-Brown was in Berlin, he received another anonymous text: a photo of Marsha in her cabin alongside the message, “Good. Now get him on the train.”

Sam isn’t running the hijack or actively seeking revenge for his son’s death. Someone else is pulling the strings and using Marsha as leverage. “You think this is me?!” Sam emotionally asked as Episode 3’s pressure continued to mount. “That if I just want to let you go I could? But I can’t! Because this isnit me doing this. It’s the mother of my son. These people killed my son and now they’re gonna kill his mother… They told me Marsha would die if I failed.”

As Faber clocked before the episode ended, Sam’s not a killer. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He’s just a father grieving his son. So why did Hijack kill Kai? And why did Jude Cudjoe leave the show?

Why Did Jude Cudjoe Leave Hijack? Hijack Co-Creator Jim Field Smith Explains Why Hijack Killed Sam’s Son:

Since the big Season 2 Kai spoiler was under wraps, Jude Cudjoe has yet to speak out about departing the show, but considering he played such a crucial role in Season 1, the twist came as a genuine shock. During an interview with Hijack co-creator Jim Field Smith, Decider asked about the decision to kill Kai off, versus putting his life in danger instead of Marsha’s in Season 2.

“It’s very hard to think of things that will push a human to make extreme choices. And after you’ve spent Season 1 with Sam, you know him a bit as a character, you understand where he’s coming from. You understand what his methodology is, and how he might approach certain situations. I think we explored that pretty much maxed out in Season 1,” Smith told Decider over Zoom. “And so if you’re going to go again, you’ve got to explore change within that character. We struggled for a bit when we were thinking of ideas for Season 2, to think what would motivate Sam to do something extreme. And really, the list of things that would push you to where we want him to go starts to get quite short.”

“I think for anybody watching, family is is so compelling — the idea of what would you do for your family,” Smith continued. “Obviously we’d explored that to a certain extent with Sam ultimately trying to get back to Marsha in Season 1. And we didn’t want to retread that. So it you start to look at other targets and the list of people that it can be is quite short.”

Based on Smith’s comments, Kai’s death on Hijack sounds like a purely creative decision. But we’ll be sure to update this piece with additional info.

Hijack Season 2, Episode 3 Ending Explained: Who Killed Freddie?

On top of Kai’s death, Hijack Episode 3 ended with another shocking cliffhanger and another casualty. When Sam and Otto detrained to check the explosive situation out, they left Freddie behind in the driver’s car. When they returned, he’d been murdered! By who? We don’t know. But Season 1, Episode 6’s big twist proved, the show is famous for hiding someone who’s in on the hijack in plain sight. We’ll have to tune in to Season 2, Episode 4 to learn who on the train is a murderer and why!

New episodes of Hijack premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV.