Character X: And why would I do that?
Villain: Because I have your wife and kids
Character Y: Why would I do that?
Villain: Because I have your ex-wife and child
Character Z: Why would I do that?
Villain: Your girlfriend is not dead, and I know where she is
The “family bargaining chip” trope is becoming tiresome in the spy-thriller series Citadel. Titled “Time Renders Us Enemies”, episode five is just as mediocre as the previous edition. I am actually beginning to miss the pretty locations, like the gorgeous snowy mountains from episode three and the fancy Italian train from episode one.
Protagonists Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) finally reveal the secrets they had been hiding from each other. With all the buildup around Nadia’s character possibly being a “double agent” in the show, many of us were expecting a diabolical twist. Unfortunately, the surprise turns out to be overly emotional and melodramatic for the genre. Tsk Tsk.
Leslie Manville’s antagonist act as Manticore agent Dahlia Archer was impressive in earlier episodes, but even her shenanigans are getting boring now. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci as Bernard Orlick are the only ones who have a firm grip on their roles as top Citadel agents. Richard Madden unfortunately looks like he is missing facial muscles when he has to do emotional scenes and is overshadowed by Priyanka during intense sequences.
The story is beginning to lose the plot, but there are still a lot of questions left unanswered, so viewers will have reasons to watch the rest of the show. Hopefully things will bounce back to being exciting.
Stream the series on Amazon Prime Video.
Subscribe to our YouTube Podcast for reviews & ruminations
