Well, the season finale of the first season of Citadel has arrived. And the writers made sure to outdo every other WTF moment the show has ever had. With spy stories, you can expect to get your fill of action but this show also decided that heightened drama in the plot would also be consistent. Citadel 1×06 reveals a lot but also leaves the viewer feeling like Mason and Nadia’s story has just begun.
Very early in the pilot episode, the script established perhaps the most important plot point of the series: Citadel was betrayed by one of its own agents. The evil Manticore organization was able to destroy Citadel with the help of someone on the inside. Certain things cast suspicion on Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) but the audience can sense those are probably red herrings. The actual mole inside Citadel will turn out to be someone else. And, indeed, it did. However, the writers didn’t just show the viewer who the mole was. They added another surprise while revealing why that person did what they did.
Season one concludes in Citadel 1×06 at a natural stopping place but lays the groundwork for character development that could bode well for season 2. The episode also remembers to provide tense action moments. This is a spy show, after all.
“You have to fight for your family.”
Nadia and Mason Kane (Richard Madden) start this episode forced to work for Manticore. Under the eye of Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville), Mason and Nadia’s daughter has been kidnapped, so they must gain control of five Russian nuclear warheads for Manticore. And only Mason’s biometrics can access the weapons. Even though the pair has the help of Citadel colleague Carter (Osy Ikhile), Manticore henchman Davik (Roland Moller) is also along for the mission. Mason has never needed to remember his skills more.
The spies have to skydive onto a Russian sub to get to the nukes, just as Mason had to do to give Citadel control of them in the first place. The contrast between Mason’s ability then and now makes for a decent action beat. A better one comes when Mason must fight Davik. He is losing until Bernard’s guidance and thoughts of his family inspire him. Hand-to-hand combat is something this show has done well, and this moment is a good example. At the same time, Nadia is deactivating the nuclear cores of the weapons under a strict time limit.
“If you’re not careful, you’re gonna lose yourself, too.”
The way Nadia accomplishes that is a tense sequence in itself. Well, sort of. You never doubt that the mission will be completed and she will be okay. But the way she must go about it is uncomfortable to watch. Nadia has to increase her body temperature to a dangerous level to avoid setting off the weapons prematurely. Her heart rate soars so high because of this that it almost kills her. Of course, only seconds are left on the countdown when she succeeds. This wouldn’t be a spy drama if something was easy.
That includes Mason and Nadia getting their daughter back. At the meeting to trade the nuclear codes, Mason says Manticore can do anything they want to bring back his old self to unlock the cores as long as they let the girl go. However, that turns out not to be necessary because Carter’s abilities as a sniper come in handy. Now, Mason and Nadia have the nuclear codes and their daughter. They go hide out and Citadel’s damaged former US. headquarters in Utah. (Wouldn’t Manticore look for them there, though?)
“There’s always repercussions for failure.”
Since they escaped the Manticore attack on their previous safehouse, Mason’s family also arrives at the same place. The reunion would be sweet if it wasn’t for the fact that Nadia and their daughter are watching in the background. What a mess this is! Helpfully, Carter manages to recreate Mason’s vial to restore his memories. Once injected, he remembers everything. Now he knows that his wife is actually a Citadel agent whose memories were wiped on his orders. More importantly, he now remembers who the mole is: himself.
Yep, Mason himself is the one who helped Manticore take down Citadel. He did it because a Citadel mission went wrong, resulting in his dad’s death, and they covered it up. Dahlia proves that to him in a scene that also reveals she is his mother. Told you the WTF moments keep topping themselves on this show. Perhaps a clue to this can be found in the episode titles. If you take the first letter of each word in each title, they spell out, “The saint is the true sinner.” The season ends with Mason saying “I don’t know” when his wife asks if he remembers. If he’s having a hard time accepting what he did, that’s understandable. Mason was not that likeable. He’s been living as Kyle for so long, though, can he become someone better?
The chemistry between Mason and Nadia has always been a highlight of this show, so that will also play into season 2. How can he stay with this other woman who doesn’t even know who she really is? Not to mention whatever Manticore might have in store next. So, good job, Citadel 1×06, I’m invested in season 2 now.
Citadel is streaming on Prime Video.
