Citadel review: Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden's espionage thriller is an expensive mistake of epic proportions

1.5/5

What would you do if you suddenly lost your memory? What if a spy was unaware of their own identity? Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), two of Citadel's top spies, had their memories erased years ago. But evil powers from the past compel them back into action. These two ex-lovers, guided by spymaster Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), need to look back in order to move forward.

All six episodes are out and watched, but I am still figuring out why this ownership was taken. Well, first, it was exciting to watch Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden together on screen. Second, a time-lapse-based spy thriller with support from the Russo Brothers Then what went wrong? Everything, everywhere, all at once Given that the first episode left a slight impression on me, if I look back, I was just like a kid in the candy store excited to see something so grand, which Tom Cruise mesmerised us with over the years.

The first two episodes, which premiered together, gave us a glimpse into the fact that Citadel spies get into a train accident, and immediately their memories are wiped. Soon after, we see that the story has gone forward eight years, where Mason (Madden) has become Kyle, a family man. On the other hand, Nadia (Priyanka) works at a restaurant in Italy, and both are unaware of their pasts. However, their worlds collide once again after eight years, and they regain their memories in some way or another. But I seriously want to know what dosage was given to Nadia so that she got her memory back fully and Mason, aka Kyle, partially.

The rest of the four episodes are about Mason's past and how he doesn't remember important events of his life, but he makes us feed it deliberately. What should we do with this information? This was my constant question. Many such questions arise the same way Nadia and Mason ask each other, "Can I trust you?" The trust issues in my life increased after hearing them ask this so-called important query constantly, making the series look more contrived.

I read somewhere that if the writers were so lazy to create this blah series, why should one invest in critiquing it? I think I should maintain the same tone while writing this one.

While the series reaches its halfway point, the story has not even started. We see expensive stuff everywhere, given the exquisite production design to make everything look so extravagant, from the Citadel office to even the safehouse, which more looks like a greenhouse.

While we are still learning about Citadel, we are introduced to Manticore, which is its main opponent and another shadowy international organisation that aims to influence world events for the benefit of an elite group calling themselves the families. Their most recent scheme involves attempting to acquire the nuclear weapon access codes of every nation.

Whereas Citadel spies always have an X-Case, which contains sensitive information such as agent names, safe house locations, weapon codes, and information about competing agencies, the needles inside the case are what really make it useful; they can recover the memories of a backstopped Citadel agent with a single injection.

So much to take in, right? That's how I felt while watching with a deadpan face, at one point tolerating the series and waiting for 30–40 minutes to pass so that I could get on with my life.

After Quantico, the series is Priyanka Chopra's second appearance in a long format. Well, that was a good start, and how it's going shouldn't be questioned for her work. The actor's seductive dialogue delivery is the biggest drawback, and we know Priyanka is much more than that as a performer. The actor's range is just limited in this expensive show, where, despite being the lead and shouldering, she didn't even feel like a catalyst.

In one of the scenes, where Priyanka talks to her daughter about her grandfather, the actor whispers and talks in a way she would to her lover. That was the only limit, and it seemed the actor pushed herself to play this role.

Rarely do we see a lead actor who looks so disinterested and is held at gunpoint to perform. That's how Richard Madden looked in the show, irrespective of the fact that he has dual personalities and multiple layers. He is constantly held at gunpoint in the show, which is translated poorly in his performance.

With legends like Lesley Manville and Stanley Tucci, who are ultimately wasted, what were they thinking? What were the promises made to them to be a part of this show?

Citadel has been greenlit for the second season, with Joe Russo directing all the episodes. At this point in time, like Vivian says in Pretty Woman, "Big mistake. Big. Huge!"

Citadel is an expensive mistake that looks glossy, but too much of everything is also not good. Priyanka and Richard couldn't save anything in the series with their lazy writing and poor execution.