The fifth season of the Netflix series 'Fauda' centers on the personal impact of the October 7 attacks, presenting what creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff describe as the show's most personal story to date. The season was developed in the years following the attacks.
A Quest for Revenge
The season opens with the definition of 'Tha’r,' Arabic for 'blood revenge.' Salem (Bian Anteer), a Bedouin man who lost his son during the October 7 attacks, discovers that the Hamas terrorist responsible has relocated to Marseille, France. He proposes a revenge mission to Eli (Yaakov Zada-Daniel), an Israeli friend who also lost loved ones in the attacks.
Eli approaches Doron Kavillio (Lior Raz), a former IDF colleague struggling with PTSD-related memory issues in the wake of October 7. When Doron learns that Eli and Salem have already departed for Marseille, he enlists the help of another IDF colleague, Gabi (Itzik Cohen), and travels to the French city himself. Doron's objective is to prevent Salem and Eli from carrying out their dangerous revenge plot.
Character Responses to Trauma
'Fauda' has historically focused on individuals operating on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the series is known for its espionage and action sequences, the fifth season places a significant emphasis on the trauma and aftermath of the October 7 attacks. Doron, despite his own post-attack trauma and his wife Gali's (Netta Garti) desire to avoid deep cover operations, feels compelled to protect his friend Eli.
Lior Raz's performance as Doron is a key element of the season, as he navigates his memory retrieval challenges and his efforts to assist Eli in locating the individuals responsible for the deaths of his loved ones. The season's narrative arc culminates with Doron discovering the violent aftermath of Salem and Eli's encounter with the former Hamas terrorist in Marseille, finding an injured Eli in an alley.
The creators have stated that the fifth season takes a different direction from its predecessors, offering a compelling examination of how long-standing characters grapple with the horrors and consequences of October 7. The season's narrative, however, does not delve deeply into the subsequent Gaza war.