'Citadel' Episode03 review: Spy-thriller seems to be drowning in cliches
The third episode of Amazon Prime Video's Citadel has arrived. Starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Richard Madden, and Stanley Tucci, it picks up from where the last two episodes left off, as we progress deeper into the action-fueled stories of Nadia Sinh (PeeCee) and Mason Kane (Madden). It has been directed by Newton Thomas Sigel. Though the story limps forward, this episode largely remains underwhelming.
The plot of Episode 03: 'Infinite Shadows'
In Episode 03, Kane is still grappling with his amnesia while Sinh is forever-ready to plunge into action, and once again, the story goes on a globetrotting adventure across continents. Their colleague is in the clutches of their arch-nemesis, and another ally, who was "tight" with Kane, is enslaved in Morocco. Amidst this chaos, some solid tensions crack up between Sinh and Kane, too.
It's difficult for the show to balance action and story
Citadel is desperate to constantly tell you that this is the result of a $300M budget, and this episode takes us to locations such as Utah, Iran, and Paris. However, like the previous episodes, action takes precedence over story, and it feels like Citadel has been manufactured only to exhibit its outdoor locations, with some story having been stuffed in clumsily like an afterthought.
The humor doesn't work at all
The humor and the supposed charm (in some scenes) between the lead pair fail to hit the nail on its head, eventually coming across as unnecessary and out of sorts. You can see the "jokes" coming from miles away and they stifle under their redundancy. On that note, The Family Man is a better example of a series that effortlessly blends humor with thrill.
The episode feels stripped of any intrigue or momentum
Not only is the episode too parched, but it also tends to be oversmart, in the sense that certain aspects that otherwise don't hold much value are presented in a manner as if they have an earth-shattering revelatory quality attached to them. Even the sequences involving torture are bereft of horror and don't summon the kind of horror they are supposed to.
Positives: Performances don't fumble, and action sequences are shot well
Coming to what works, the performances remain on point, and this is an aspect that Citadel will not falter on, thanks to Madden and Chopra Jonas's exemplary artistic merit. There's a long-drawn-out Captain America-esque action sequence that has been shot with precision, and throughout the episode, we're told that secrets are waiting to be mined here that will turn the plot on its head.
Positives: 'Citadel's sub-plots are colored with potential
This episode has also birthed some potential for the remaining series (three more episodes) since it has chalked out some pivotal plot points that may be critically important to the central narrative. However, it's also not uncommon for shows and films to butcher their sub-plots, so it remains to be seen what Citadel does with the potentially engaging stories the side characters offer.
Thankfully, the cliffhanger toward the end seemed promising
Citadel shows signs of potential now and then but almost immediately begins to drown in a sea of cliches. The names, locations, and characters might be different, but it's a story we all have seen before; a story that might as well be past its expiry date. Nonetheless, the episode ended on an intriguing cliffhanger, finally amping up our hopes for the subsequent episodes.
