Saturday, November 14, 2020

Round Two: Valley of Tears

Valley of Tears: Season 1, Episode 2 (B+)

This show really seems to fluctuate between the intensity of battle when the soldiers are suddenly under attack and a more casual attitude expressed by those who haven’t yet accepted the reality of what’s going on around them. The best example is Lior Ashkenazi’s Menny, who just wants to drive his nice car up to try to find his son and is happy to eat the food that his unexpected passenger has brought despite the fact that it’s Yom Kippur. It was jarring to see the nonchalant way in which the commanders told the soldiers to eat the fruit and vegetables that they had stockpiled to break their fast so that they would be ready even without a confirmed idea of what the engagement was going to be. Avinoam has been panicking since the first scene of the previous episode, and it’s clear that, even though his intelligence is good, his attitude isn’t too helpful. Yoav coming back to save him after locking him in resulted in a complicated reaction from Avinoam, whose knowledge of the base and the ways to either hide or escape it are going to be extremely crucial to everyone’s survival. It’s also clear that Dafna isn’t going to be told that she needs to leave just because she’s a woman, and she’s intent on having a more active role in whatever is to come. The final moment of this episode and the one before it was powerful, and the inclusion of real footage is a nice touch. I’ll look forward to watching the next two episodes when they premiere this coming Thursday.

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