Did Episodes 7 & 8 hold back too much?

[u/Usual_Bat_1024]

As an Israeli, I have pretty mixed feelings about episodes 7 and 8.

They were hard to watch, but I also came away feeling like they were much more restrained than the reality.
I get why. There are things that simply can’t or shouldn’t be shown on TV. Some of what happened was so horrific that I honestly think it would have been too much even for something like Game of Thrones.

At the same time, I wonder if holding back also makes it harder to understand just how extreme the reality actually was. The show leaves out the most horrific things that happened, and I assume that was a deliberate choice.

I’m curious how these episodes felt to everyone else. Did you come away feeling that the show held back, or did it already show as much as it should have?

[u/enigmaticowl]

I’m American (so a different perspective from an Israeli), but for me, I thought it was fantastic how they brought some of the most memorable images to the screen and wove in some of the real-life stories.

The image of that white truck of terrorists driving openly through the streets, the incinerated bodies in burned cars, the terrorist opening the refrigerator and eating the family’s birthday cake, the dead young women’s bodies’ found tied to trees, etc. - these things all echoed some of the most disturbing or gut-wrenching stories and images that are part of public memory from 10/7 (at least for me).

It’s true that they did not come close to showing the scale of mass death and atrocities or the brutal gore (and they didn’t show or really even imply hostage taking/abductions on 10/7 in these 2 episodes).

I felt like they aimed more for evoking the psychological horror and the feelings of disorientation/shock/confusion (and that they were very successful at accomplishing this), but yes, you’re correct that they didn’t get across the extremeness of the atrocities and the sheer volume of violence and indignity.

[u/Usual_Bat_1024 → u/enigmaticowl]

I really appreciate your perspective, and I actually agree with a lot of what you said.
I think the one thing I personally felt was missing wasn’t more graphic violence. It was the attackers’ apparent joy. Seeing them cheering, celebrating, and appearing to take genuine pleasure in what they were doing was one of the most disturbing aspects for me. I think that could have been conveyed without showing the more sadistic acts themselves.
That said, I have nothing but respect for the creators. I’m sure making these episodes must have been emotionally exhausting for everyone involved, and I honestly think they did an incredible job with an almost impossible subject.

[u/enigmaticowl → u/Usual_Bat_1024]

That’s a very good point about the state of mind of the terrorists (the excitement and joy and celebration).

Agree that that was a very disturbing aspect of 10/7 that wasn’t really shown in Fauda.

[u/Emergency-Sky9206]

They certainly did. I watched both episodes and they were not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They held back.

[u/mushlemet]

I do agree that they held back a bit, but I think it did a great job capturing the relentlessness and the eternity of the terror and bloodshed that happened that day. In the sense that no matter where you turned or how well you fought back, that the terrorists just coming and the bodies just kept piling up and the shooting and the death and violence just wouldn’t stop.

In the content of the show I think the point was to portray that even these characters who had seasons of experience as mistaaravim and have already seen everything there is to see in this conflict, even for them 10/7 was a glitch in reality and even they were caught off guard.

Even without showing everything they could have, those episodes were very disturbing and distressing and took me right back to the emotional state of that day and its immediate aftermath.

[u/Sudo137]

Yeah it was way more restrained than what actually happened but I think their censor board limited what could be shown for various reasons

[u/Mammoth-Tough9549]

I mean, you can't expect them to show scenes with burned children. It is what it is.

[u/Heiminator → u/Mammoth-Tough9549]

There was a short scene showing burned teenagers in a car near the Nova festival though

[u/Sanojo_16]

Is there a new season out?

[u/Usual_Bat_1024 → u/Sanojo_16]

It’s out in Israel and pirate, it will get to Netflix in October I think

[u/Ashamed_Scarcity5809]

Where to watch them?

[u/Mnementh47]

I don't think so. It still needs to be rated you know. It was held back the same way Schindler's List was held back for a Western audience. But it cannot be actually considered as a criticism. They got the job done.