Citadel Season 1, Episodes 1-4 Spoilers Ahead
Note from Marvelous Geeks’ Team: With the ongoing WGA strike, it’s imperative that we state we stand in solidarity with all writers asking for better wages and the respect they deserve in this industry. No story comes to fruition without the idea born and nurtured inside a writer’s head. Writers are the beating hearts of everything we love — we stand with them and for them.
Amazon Prime’s Citadel, from the Russo Brothers, is an expensive series to make, but it’s relatively straightforward with its plot so far. There are good guys and bad guys battling between a lofty in-between of grey areas. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering its cast consists of icons like Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville, along with heartthrobs like Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra. Frankly, the fact that it isn’t telling some convoluted, overly unique story is a good thing. The quiet focus on the characters and their relationships make the show stand out.
And here at Marvelous Geeks, we’re simple people who will always be team romance. Now, while we’re only four episodes into the series, it’s clear that there’s something palpable between Nadia (Chopra-Jones) and Mason (Madden). The chemistry is beguiling, the banter is fun, and the action sequences are made significantly more entertaining every time they share the screen. But is this a romance meant to last on a series where it’s hard to trust anyone?
When speaking with Priyanka Chopra for CBR, she notes that the relationships in the series mirror the muddiness of the real world. And if that’s the case, then it’s almost easy to hope that despite how messy Nadia and Mason’s relationship will get, it’ll endure. Numerous people have made comparisons to Casino Royale‘s James Bond and Vesper Lynd on social media. Yet, while that can be thrillingly intriguing, we need to note that nothing and no fictional relationship in the spy world could ever come close to topping the two who started it all.
Instead, Amazon Prime’s Citadel exists in a world where it’s not as dark as the Bond films but significantly not as lighthearted as a series like Chuck either. Still, lines are blurred in the series as it dabbles into more complex forms of technology while remaining grounded in the real world. Scenarios will likely get darker and more grueling as the show goes on, but, for the time being, the romance remains the question at the forefront. Are we meant to root for them? Should we root for them?
The shorter answer is we’re certainly going to. And numerous procedurals and shows like it on television prove that without a romantic relationship grounding the story in a more heartfelt place, it loses much of the substance in action. Amazon Prime’s Citadel is already heavily focused on its characters, which is a beautiful thing to note, and so long as it continues going down this path, it’ll prevail in conversations.
After an episode like Season 1, Episode 4, “Tell Her Everything,” which essentially brings to life the idea that it’s all for her, it’d be wasted potential to have characters with as much chemistry fall apart. The romance could grow into something tangible that prevails and lasts through the show’s run, becoming the very cornerstone of where its heart would lie. It’s stories such as this that people will talk about years later when romance prevails. The action is great for a moment, but the thoroughly complex characters are the ones who leave significant marks.
While we don’t yet know if Nadia is the kind of traitor who’s the downfall of Citadel or if it’s something she does as a last resort, the interactions with Mason show that there’s still more to be examined. No one on the show is inherently evil or too far gone for now, and the next few episodes could show so much in revealing the horrific grey areas all characters are dabbling with while perhaps continuing to fortify the romance.
Citadel is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.