Tag Archives: Citadel

Citadel: Baked Alaskas [S2:E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A stronger start, but the jury is still out if it can rebound from a very mixed first outing.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

A computer screen with information on Frank Sharpe.

Citadel Review Introduction

Back in 2023, one of the few ambitious projects in the streaming era started. I mean, what is the point of having a global streaming conglomerate if you are not going to do something with it? Citadel and its Spyverse were going to be a worldwide streaming universe where different countries would add to the growing lore. Conceptionally fascinating, practically quite a mess, with Season One devolving into massive expensive reshoots, which didn’t help the promotion of the spin-offs Diana & Honey Bunny. But the series has been improving with each iteration, so it is time to see if the original series can continue the charge, or if this is the last hurrah.

So, to set the scene, everyone has gone into hiding after the events of Season One. But the reach of Manticore is large, and soon, nowhere is safe to hide. In England, a smuggler is enjoying a party only to have his entire security taken out by Hutch (Jack Reynor), for he is hunting for Paolo Braga (Gabriel Leone), who didn’t suspect that the item that was being smuggled was none other than Bernard (Stanley Tucci). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel Honey Bunny – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first Citadel show that I think captured what set out to do with this series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

Doing a motorbike stunt.

Citadel: Honey Bunny Review –

We are now three seasons deep into this grand Citadel experiment from Amazon Prime. The first season was a complete mess, but that might have been more about behind-the-scenes issues than anything else. On the second outing, Diana jumped over to Italy and was an improvement on the formula. But today, it is India’s turn to show what they can do, and spoiler for the review: what they can do is quite a bit.   

So, to set the scene, we are in Nainital in the year 2000, and Hanimandakini “Honey” Raj (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) is dropping her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar) off at school and building up a café. However, things take a turn when Honey notices that she is being followed in the market. She dodges her pursuer, sends a coded message of alarm to her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar), and almost gets a surprise attack, but she misses the second tail. For you see, back in 1992 in Bombay, while Bunny was trying to make it in the acting world, she met Raahi “Bunny” Gambhir (Varun Dhawan), who was on the stunt team. But when Honey struggles to get work and is in desperate need of a job, she discovers that stunts are not all that Bunny does for money. On the side, he and his group Chacko (Shivankit Parihar) and Ludo (Soham Majumdar) also engage in a little corporate espionage. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel: Diana Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a substantial improvement on Citadel’s first outing, and while it might still be struggling to find its feet, it is heading in the right direction.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

The ruined Milan Cathedral.

Citadel: Diana Review –

I was intrigued when the first announcement of this new sort of spyverse based around duelling Citadel/Manticore organisations with companies across the world creating their own shows in the greater lore. Well, it was a fascinating concept, and I love me a good spy show. Unfortunately, the first primary season was … a bit of a mixed bag, not helped by significant production issues behind the scenes. Today, we move to Italy to see the first major spin-off and see if this concept can truly be a global work.

So, to set the scene, we open with a young lady, Diana Cavalieri (Matilda De Angelis), killing someone before turning the gun on themselves to provide a wound in the arm. It is 2030 in Milano, and it has seen better days, with citizens feeling like a police state is being created one block at a time and the ruins of the Duomo being a constant reminder to all. Diana works at Manticore Italia Quatier Generale, the powerful criminal syndicate that has grown unchecked since they defeated the Citadel spy agency. But when your criminal syndicate is being run by many powerful families, friction and mistrust will naturally occur. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel: Secrets In Night Need Early Rains & Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it sort of sticks the landing, it is a season where the issues greatly outnumbered the positives.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

A surgery under fire.

Citadel Review –

I am unsure what I expected when I sat down to watch the groundwork for a new multi-series spy universe. Maybe I was hoping for some good spy shenanigans, boundless chemistry, or even the odd action scene. However, while it started strong with The Human Enigma, it soon fell apart as the seams became apparent. Today we are looking at the finale and this season as a whole to see if they stuck the landing or floundered like a ship on the rocks.    

So to set the scene, at the end of Tell Her Everything, we discover what Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) has been hiding from Mason (Richard Madden). She has a daughter she did not tell Mason about, and Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville) has now captured her. They must land on a Russian automatic submarine and then steal all their nuclear cores to see her alive again. Oh, and only Mason can do the jump, and he still can’t remember his time as a spy. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel: Time Renders Us Enemies – TV Review

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TL;DR – A better episode, but you can still feel the foundations shaking as they barrel towards the end of the season.   

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

The world spins for Mason.

Citadel Review –

We are starting to barrel towards the end of the season, which usually fills me with wonder or dread about how they will finish it all. However, all Citadel has provoked from me so far is mild indifference, with frustration in seeing hints of something better in a sea of poor choices. I wondered if we would continue this free fall into oblivion, but thankfully, we started stabilising this week.  

So to set the scene, we start where it ended in Tell Her Everything with Mason (Richard Madden) & Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) in a black site in Morocco trying to rescue Carter Spence (Osy Ikhile), only for Carter to finger Nadia as the mole that took Citadel down. Nine years earlier, the pair were in Athens, where Mason did the unthinkable, he popped the question. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Citadel: Tell Her Everything – TV Review

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TL;DR – We, unfortunately, continue to flounder with narrative choices that make you go, ‘Wait, what?’.  

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

A car travels to a black site.

Citadel Review –

We must ask some questions as we continue down this world of spies, betrayal, and baffling narrative choices. Because in between all the debris that is the narrative, there are hints of a good show. But the wreckage is starting to pile up.     

So to set the scene, after discovering that Manticore has taken captive Carter Spence (Osy Ikhile). Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Mason (Richard Madden) head out to a black site in Morocco to try and rescue him. This, of course, does not go to plan because Carter is a broken man and possibly already compromised, but he might also know who brought Citadel down from within. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Citadel: Infinite Shadows – TV Review

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TL;DR – One or two exciting scenes, a show does not make.  

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

An upside-down house.

When we were first introduced to Citadel in The Human Enigma & Spies Appear In Night Time, a relatively straightforward introduction into a world where shadows move in the dark and whole spy organisations can collapse in an afternoon. It was an interesting opening, but soon some of the narrative scaffolding became clear. Can they build from that point, or will the fractious production shine through?  

So to set the scene, after tangling with Davik Silje (Roland Møller), Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) takes a wounded Mason (Richard Madden) to a Citadel safehouse in Cáceres, Spain. Unlike Mason, Nadia has all her memories back for better or worse and is understandably distant from Mason. However, ten years ago, in the Citadel US HQ in Utah’s deserts, Mason was given a mission to the Alborz Mountains in Iran. Where he meets Citadel’s newest agent. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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Citadel: Spies Appear In Night Time – TV Review

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TL;DR – Not a bad episode, but it is worrying when you can already see some handwaving happening.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Nadia stares down her attacker.

Citadel Review –

There are many things a good story can do. One of the main functions is that you become so caught up in the narrative that you don’t see many of the contrivances that the filmmakers have to use to get us from start to finish. That suspension of disbelief is critical, especially as you move away from reality. However, if your narrative slips, so then does that shield.

So to set the scene, we saw in The Human Enigma the almost complete destruction of the Citadel spy agency in a targeted massacre worldwide. One of those places was a train driving through the Italian Alps. The Train exploded, and we found out what happened to Mason (Richard Madden) last week. This week we open with Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) dragging herself out of the lake and trying to warn everyone, but Bernard (Stanley Tucci) implements a backstop protocol instead. She escapes but collapses from her wounds, wakes up with the bullet out of her leg, and is handcuffed to a bed. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Citadel: The Human Enigma – TV Review

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TL;DR – This opening gives you the explosive action and compelling characters you need, but the jury might still be out about the narrative.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

A body floats in the water as flames lap above.

Citadel Review –

There have been many, and I mean many, pretenders trying to take the James Bond throne. Some have come close, and some have stepped into the world but with their own take and vibe. Yet some still go straight for the juggler and try to unset the monolith. I was surprised to see the next contender come from the studio that just bought a sizable chunk of the James Bond franchise, but I am interested to see where they go with it.

So to set the scene, a train blasts through the countryside in the Italian Alps. When a mysterious lady Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), enamoured in a stunning red dress, walks into the viewing cart. But she is not there for the breathtaking views of mountain lakes. She is here for the Russian Gregor (Lev Gorn) with the enriched uranium in his bag about to sell to the highest bidder. It was all going well when Mason (Richard Madden) sat beside her. They were a team, but they are no longer a team. However, they are Citadel agents, and professionals, so they can get the job done. But all is not as it seems because uranium is not in the bag. It is a message, a warning, a declaration, and an extermination. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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