Our Boys

Our Boys tackles the intense and timely issue of Jewish-Palestinian relations in Israel, but it starts off pretty slow and confusing. Honestly, after the first episode, I almost gave up, thinking it wasn’t for me. But I decided to give it another shot, and by the second episode, the show started to find its footing — so much so that the second episode might be the series' peak. It’s filled with fear of the unknown and tension in every moment. Unfortunately, after the fourth episode, the quality dips back into mediocrity. This series could have easily wrapped up in five episodes. The murder is clear, the investigation moves quickly, and what’s left is mostly a dive into the thoughts and opinions of Palestinians and Jews in this conflict-ridden region, exploring what faith (or perhaps two faiths) can do. Our Boys ends up being less of a crime thriller and more of a commentary on the deep divisions within one country. I struggled with the religious extremism portrayed, finding it hard to connect, but I’m glad I stuck it out to the tenth episode because the ending was quite impactful. (07/25/2021)

The biblical phrase "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" is perhaps more true on the hot soil of Israel than elsewhere. I must admit that all of this gives me the creeps. Who is actually in the right and who is not? Who to pity and who not to pity? Similar questions and dilemmas related to the topic fill my mind. Still, I have the persistent feeling that if the creators had condensed the plot into six episodes, the whole story would have packed much more of a punch and certainly been more attractive to the audience. (75%) (11/17/2022)

I have really mixed feelings about this series. On the one hand, it was a great insight into the Palestinian-Israeli relations with all the manipulations and political pressures that show how human life doesn't matter; on the other, the creators probably suffered from Alzheimer's because in some episodes they lost track of the previous story, and the result was a bit odd, to put it mildly. 4*- (09/16/2020)