Bnei Aruba

It could have, maybe, 6 episodes of 1h total.

Instead, season 2 totally unnecessary, adding characters and plots that did not match.

It's not bad, but it's incredible long for no reason.

Really interested in the first few episodes, but later it transoforms in a bad soap opera-like tv show and the plot is unconvincing and just plainly bad.

This is one for fans of Homeland or lesser spy dramas. There is nobody who we would recognise as stars and the subtitles and the complicated plot makes it hard to follow at times but it is worth sticking with. There was an American version of this but it did not last long. I find it hard to praise this enough,it has good action scenes but also requires the viewer to engage their brain. Unlike so many American tv shows it actually uses real locations,not 1970s style sets.

Typically any suspense/action thriller coming from Israel will involve a Palestinian sub-plot of someone trying to blow something up. Hostages is a breath of fresh air and a masterpiece of intricate plot twists mixed with suspense and action. There were a few holes and issues with predictability (I guessed the major "twist" in the first episode after the character set-ups), but for the most part it is very well-acted and gives the viewer insight into the lives of various segments of Israeli society. In fact, the underlining theme seemed to be that if you take away the "other" (i.e. the Palestinians...never so much as mentioned once here) in the surreal, dehumanizing and ultra-militarized society that is Israel, the citizens themselves will eventually turn on each other for whatever reason. In the end of season one, you find yourself asking if there really are any heroes or "good guys" to be found at all in this series. That being said, I'd say just watch Season 1, as the 2nd seems to have jumped the shark.

This is the first Israeli native TV serial I've watched and it left me surprised. The characters and acting backed by a very strong storyline was too good.These sort of TV shows are very rare and it's a must watch if you like action, suspense, drama with good storyline. Edge of the seat thriller !