HaMidrasha

I watched Season 1 on Netflix and was hooked from the word 'go'. These would-be candidates for Mossad get sent out into perilous 'training' situations-and they either sink or swim. Soon, it appears that Yoni, the headmaster, has his own shadowy agenda, as the recruits drop out one by one. At the end of Season 1, Yona has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with, but may be lacking in integrity.

Season 2 opens in the Ukraine with 3 eager new Mossad recruits being led by the indomitable Yona. They're not sure what he's up to, and neither are his bosses. Two former Mossad agents, on the run with some purloined cash, get wasted by a mysterious assassin. The pretty 'Abi', Yoni's nominal supervisor, shows up to rein him in-unsuccessfully, I might add. Soon, she falls into danger from the local gang of Arabs operating on Ukraine soil. Betrayals from above & the ranks emerge also, placing the Mossad group in grave danger.

This series is the AV equivalent of a great page-turning whodunit that you can't put down, even when your wife commands you to get busy & cut the lawn. So, cook the popcorn, crack open a case of your favourite beverage, put your feet up and savour this masterpiece.

As far as Israeli shows not named Fauda, this one is pretty good. However, this show about the world's most daring spy organization is essentially a soap opera more so than anything resembling an action show. An enjoyable show if you look past the sheer improbability of many, many details

Interesting set of characters. I love that there is at least 1 person much older than the rest. Mostly in Hebrew subtitles, (I'm an English based viewer). Some things said in English, occasional dialog).

Great juxtaposition of people doing well and occasionally flubbing instructions. Lots of nuances into the main character's backgrounds--which keeps you watching. One criticism, the American brothers seemed too juvenile--almost cartoonish. Why would the government even bother with people like these.

I'm not well versed in the spy business, but I did expect Mossad to be harder on the trainees. Maybe that's the mystique. Still very riveting and interesting. Looking forward to more episodes.

I do not know why the rating is so low for this series. Overall it is very easy to get lost in and very entertaining. Maybe it is because you have to follow along with the subtitles for the most part or maybe it is because some people do not get the combination of grittiness and dark humor. Either way, if you are a fan of intrigue you should not sleep on this one-it is very good.

From time to time, I try to widen my horizons apart from UK and Scandinavian crime/thriller series, and have come across several good Israeli ones as well... The Season 1 of HaMidrasha, began to my liking, but then I realised that the trainees are not sent to their separate real assignments and I even thought of breaking off (very unusual for me); but then, the relationships and parallel stories became interesting, and the final episode became a nicely creamy mess, paving the way for Season 2 which was more versatile and interesting... Well, I am unable to judge the credibility of the events and relations, but as Mossad is of the most efficient secret services in the world, it may well so that the principle "The end justifies the means" is used very often.

The role and depiction of characters, however, is rather uneven, and many members of course are not so memorable. To me, the most interesting were Yehuda Levi as Yonna, Hana Laszlo as Doris Levi, Tzachi Halevy as Liron Hariri - apart from distinct performances, the viewers obtain a picture of their past as well, and they tend to offer most twists in the plot.

All in all, I liked it - Season 2 a bit more than 1 - almost equal to Bnei aruba and Fauda.