What I’m Watching: Our Boys

Our Boys: Season 1, Episode 5 “Chapter 5: Shabbat Shalom” (B+)

This episode’s title felt especially appropriate since things really did slow down as Simon spent time getting to know the community where his top suspects lived and Hussein got some relief from the tension around him and received a phone call from the president. Up until this point, Simon has been relatively low-key and hardly the most compelling character on this show, but in this episode, that changed. The way that he offered up details about his cover story that were apparently identical to his real life was indeed risky, as evidenced by the reactions from his fellow operatives, and it makes some sense that the one man who knew that Jews were responsible would understand because he can grasp the extreme viewpoints expressed by the mathematician, the rabbi, and ultimately those responsible for this brutal murder. Yosef Haim’s eagerness to have Simon over was his own undoing, since, after a night spent nearly being revealed as an impostor, he knew exactly what to say to unravel his top suspect after a contentious conversation with his wife. The swiftness with which Yosef Haim and his nephews were apprehended and brought in once the order was given was frightening, and certainly disorienting for the culprits and those in their immediate vicinity. I don’t know what happens next, but they’re going to need to be very careful to ensure that the information about these arrests come out in a controlled and clear way that doesn’t incite further violence, an unfortunate inevitability that can’t be prevented.