When people ask me what I’m watching (which is today’s lowest bar possible icebreaker), I always list a few shows and then say, “and I’m always in the process of watching ‘Fauda,’” much like I told my daughter’s English teacher last year that, “I’m always in the middle of reading ‘The Great Gatsby.’”

Both statements are true, and I’m sure also only apply to me. Both are more or less perfect works of art.

“Fauda” is, for me, unequivocally the greatest show I have ever seen. If you need convincing, go somewhere else, and then come back to me when you agree. Each of the first four seasons somehow got better, but I am not going to do the thing where I frame Season 5 in the context of the whole “Fauda” arc. I will, however, remind you about how incredible Season 4 was as we traveled through Brussels, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and left Doron and his buddies lying, shot, in Jenin.

In a normal universe, Season 5 would have picked up where we left off. In ours, Oct. 7, 2023, happened, and that’s where we go instead. The new season dropped on Sept. 8, which means that by Sept. 11 I had watched the whole thing, sort of. More on that shortly.

I think we all know that in a post-traumatic landscape, Season 5 would be tough. Sometimes, and this time, it sure sucks to have been right.

No spoilers will be provided today, but rest assured that Season 5 is heavy on the aftermath of Oct. 7 and features a few episodes in Marseilles, Doron and Eli going undercover, and a will-they-stop-the-attack-in-time storyline that will feel “Fauda”-familiar. All of that will bring you some joy as a “Fauda” fan and give you a satisfying-ish payoff.

What will not bring you joy are the two episodes that go back in time and play out the characters’ experiences on Oct. 7, nor the necessary-but-awful callbacks we get to the day throughout the 11 episodes. Full disclosure: There was no way I was watching those two episodes (much like I still can’t watch the end of Season 3), and the intro assured me that I didn’t need to watch them to get back to the plot in Episode 10.

Thank goodness.

It’s a little unfair to compare Season 5 to the previous four; suffice it to say that it is still a must-watch, yet it is not as breathtaking as the others. On the other hand, what else could possibly happen to this show after Oct. 7? Everything in the Jewish world has gotten worse or just about stayed the same, at best; the same rule applies to “Fauda.”

You will find the bad guys significantly less developed than the likes of Abu Ahmad, Walid, Al-Makdasi, Bashar or Adel. You will want more from Liat. You will miss Gabriel and Maya from Season 4. And for a while, you’ll wonder why the show isn’t giving those characters more room to breathe. Eventually, though, you realize that Season 5 has different priorities. The villains are not really the point this time.

At the same time, you realize that Season 5 is trying to do something almost impossible: remain “Fauda” while also becoming a show that exists after Oct. 7. To hold onto something we treasure, hold onto the pain and darkness that followed, and somehow make room for both at once.

But, just as important, you will be reminded of how many people the show has lost along the way: Boaz, Moreno, Amos, Shirin, Avichai, Abu Maher, Yaara, Caspi…. By the end of this season, you realize just how much survival has cost.

As if the Jewish people, and the State of Israel, need that reminder.

Must the show go on? I certainly hope so. But if not, I’ll still always be in the middle of watching “Fauda” anyway.

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