Citadel Season 1 Episode 1-3 Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of episodes 1-3 of Citadel Season 1. The two episode will be released tomorrow on Prime Video.

Those looking for the next big action drama series will certainly find it in Citadel. Fielding a trove of executive producers, including Joe and Anthony Russo, their effect could be felt. Ambitious in scope and production value, the series certainly does not waste any time at setting the tone for this globe-trotting action spy thriller, pinning two spy organizations against each other as they tried to take the other down in a back and forth battle in the shadows. Ambition and scope comes moving pieces to contend with and for the most part, the first three episodes make the most of them but it wasn’t necessarily seamless. There’s a lot of backstory here and even more backstory left to tell. That being said, trying to keep up with it was a little rough at times. The three episodes so far boast running times at or around the 40 minute mark so there presumably could have been more done. However, there could also be legitimate reasons both narratively and practically for that choice.

As mentioned, Citadel does not waste any time as Citadel agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) found themselves caught in the crossfire of a failed mission and had their memories wiped as their organization crumbled at the hands of their rivals, Manticore. Born out of either end of the ideological spectrum, Citadel was anti spy organization spy organization loyal to no man or foreign governments including operatives all around the world whose sole focus was to work in the shadows and protect the safety and security all peoples while Manticore was a different spy organization possessing virtually the same resources built from the world’s biggest crime families to advance their own interests. As the threat of Manticore grew, the former handler of Mason and Nadia, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), attempted to mount an offensive by trying to bring Mason back from relative obscurity living under a different identity for the last eight years with a new family. However, that process proved not to be necessarily seamless.

Eventually, Mason found Nadia who was once presumed dead but escaped her circumstances in exciting fashion. As the two got back into action, their dynamic drastically changed in contrast to their glory days. Offering merely a glimpse of it through the first three episodes, it is far less interesting compared to where they started though it has the potential to get there. Either way, the key to saving whatever was left of Citadel was a case containing all its secrets. It is clear to see why Manticore would be interested in the case so Mason, Nadia, and Bernard needed to get to it first. However, the case was only the beginning as far as they were concerned. While Bernard soon found himself in danger, with his many years of experience as a spy, he had contingency plans and plenty of other tricks up his sleeve. Ultimately, he knew a lot more than he was letting on overall, even when it came to Mason and Nadia. Considering the subject matter, it shouldn’t comes as much of a surprise that the secrets did not end there as things were not what they seemed and characters can’t be trusted. The latter is especially true after the reveal that the destruction of Citadel may have been an inside job.

As most of the first three episodes were dominated by exposition, there wasn’t much of a chance for anyone to truly stand out. The opening act set the bar so high that everything coming after failed to reach that level. The chemistry between Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas was so electric in that opening act that once the dynamic between Mason and Nadia changed, that electric chemistry took a big hit. That being said, when it came to Madden, the opening act was perhaps too small of a sample size as he simply looked lost as Mason from the end of that act on. The latter, on the other hand, was a force essentially by default, arguably carrying Madden through the first 3 episodes. While Tucci was a scene-stealer as the quick-witted Bernard, Lesley Manville, as high-ranking Manticore member, looks to be a promising big bad or at least one of them.

At the end of the day, Citadel is a series with pieces that show promise but has yet to put them together in enough of a satisfying way though it still has the chance to do so. While the production value is there, it has to be supported by more consistent storytelling.

still courtesy of Prime Video

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.