This is a spoiler review for Citadel episode “Infinite Shadows”. For a spoiler review for the first two episodes, click here.
We pick up right where we left off. Bernard (Stanley Tucci) is officially revealed to be alive, and Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Mason (Richard Madden) are off to a safe house. Nadia has to get the bullet out of Mason’s shoulder, and as she performs the surgery, she asks what Mason/Kyle has been up to over the past 8 years. Mason asks her to tell him who he was, and asks questions about their relationship. From there, we get to dive in to flashbacks!
Ten years ago was the first time they met, and it was in the middle of a mission. Mason Kane is nothing like Kyle Conroy, he’s super cocky. Leads the agency, and always takes the most dangerous missions. In this area, it’s the place where Madden has shined in the show most consistently. He’s not super convincing as an American, but he’s even worse as a good ole country boy American. Some of the action scenes here are dismal in the cinematography angles led by Newton Thomas Sigel also as a co-director. What this flashback leads to is 2 weeks after this mission, we get to see how Mason and Nadia’s relationship truly develops. The scene of the two in bed, is the best use so far of the rotating camera in Citadel, providing a drawn out look into the first time they get super close.
Back in the present, we see Nadia login to the computer system, where she reaches out to an unknown person over a communications network. This person is in fact holding a package for Nadia, and has maintained it for the 8 years. We can see now Nadia tells her Valencia may be compromised, and this gives us a clue as to why Nadia in the last episode wrote on her arm right before her memory was being wiped to go to Valencia.
Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville) is holding Bernard, and she wants the password to unlock one of Citadel’s systems. She threatens his wife and daughter, as well as Mason’s, knowing they’re in Wyoming. Bernard tries to throw her off, but she’s not falling for it. Bernard gets a couple of teeth pulled, and then Dahlia brings in Anders with a brain stem torture device. We do get a glance at the mothers and daughters in hiding. We get to know how Kyle and Abby (Ashleigh Cummings) met, both in memory rehab. This draws more suspicions up, because in a show like this, there’s no such thing as coincidences. And this is proven out in the final moments of the Citadel episode. Because Bernard shows Anders (Roland Møller), that the woman he loves is still alive. That woman, being named Brielle, is Abby!
Nadia tries to leave Mason behind, because she doesn’t want him getting caught up in her mess. Especially as it looks like she’s the one who betrayed Citadel. Mason reels her back in, talking about white lights in a sea of red. They find Carter Spence (Osy Ikhile) from the flashback has left video messages looking for help. They head to Morroco where Kyle has to be Mason in order to get in the front door for them to rescue Carter.
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In getting the codes to go find Carter, Mason gets to learn from the Balduino the word on the street is Nadia was in fact the one that betrayed Citadel. In the car, Nadia tells Mason that what Balduino said was not true. She brings a little evidence to play when he mentions Bernard said taking down Citadel was an inside job. Nadia tells Kyle she won’t talk about what happened between her and Mason because that information is between her and Mason. She makes him pick if he will actually trust her or not.
This episode does a much better job at introducing everyone, and giving people a background for Citadel. It’s the downside of going for the main characters having amnesia tactic. Continuing to build the chemistry up between Chopra Jonas and Madden is important to not only help the series progress, but also because it’s the biggest thing the show has going for it currently. Citadel has been renewed for a second season, but with the writer’s strike that could easily go out the window. The story-line for the season need to improve drastically in order to maintain an audience. We’ve reached the halfway point for the show, and honestly I’m wondering how things are going to finish up. How are you feeling? – Katie Rentschler
Rating: 6/10
Citadel premieres new episodes every Friday on Amazon Prime.
