Most critics like this a great deal, and the praise gathers in the same places. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Nessa Stein is the near-universal draw; The Times pairs her with Stephen Rea as the cast that warms an otherwise cerebral series. Hugo Blick’s intricate plotting and deliberate, old-fashioned pacing are admired, with Vulture in particular valuing its patience and its Hitchcockian touches. Several reviews credit it for taking the Israel-Palestine conflict seriously, approaching it through lies and betrayals rather than headlines.
The reservations are about manner and speed. Even admirers mention vagueness, arty indulgence and a coldness the cast has to work against, and The Independent warns that the portentous dialogue and slow pace will irritate some viewers. Variety is the only mixed verdict, finding the series ambitious and well cast but plodding and short on urgency. The spread is otherwise narrow: nobody dismisses it, and the argument is over whether its stateliness is a virtue.