Citadel Season 2 Review: Three years after the first season bombed on Prime Video, the second season of Citadel promises to amp up the spectacle, although, much like last time, it struggles to justify its ambition and scale fully. In this season, Mason, Nadia and Bernard have to face off against another dangerous threat that threatens to destroy the world as we know it.
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Citadel Season 2 Cast
Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Stanley Tucci, Ashleigh Cummings, Jack Reynor, Lesley Manville, Matt Berry, Lina El Arabi, Gabriel Leone, Merle Dandridge, Osy Ikhile, Rayna Vallandingham, Rahul Kohli, Michael Trucco
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Citadel Season 2 Directors
Joe Russo, David Weil, Greg Yaitanes
The second season has 7 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes.
Citadel Season 2 Review
Plot & direction
Citadel Season 2 reintroduces audiences to the world that, on its first run, got abysmal reviews. This time around, the world has, obviously, expanded, and there are bigger players and new operatives who want to see the world burn. It’s a tale as old as time, and as much as the Russo brothers try to push emotional trauma and whatnot into the mix, things won’t magically get better.
Mason and Nadia grapple with the events of the last season; while Mason has mommy issues, is trying to juggle his life with Abby and come to terms with his betrayal, Nadia is wracked with guilt at constantly putting Asha in harm’s way and trying to get revenge. In the midst of this is Bernard, who has accidentally made a world-destroying object that he must now keep away from the baddies, so obviously, he’s going to eventually need Mason and Nadia to work together.
This season’s plot is as obvious as one can imagine, although there is some effort to streamline the narrative. The mission runs all over the globe, and it has some moments of cohesiveness when it’s not trying to work with amnesia. It adds elements from Honey Bunny and Diana, both franchises that have officially been dropped by Amazon, which adds depth and scale and makes the franchise whole.
While that’s a nice touch, the plot’s obvious repetitiveness will come as a shock to no one. The chip in the brain is not a shocking concept in spy thrillers at this point, and while making the scale larger, Citadel is unable to be grounded and gritty. Everything seems far-fetched yet obvious, and there’s very little freshness to make it stand out among the hundreds of spy thrillers that audiences keep getting every year.
Performances
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been a known face in the action genre, and her commanding screen presence never fails to amaze us. She delivers both emotional depth and action credibility, and it’s nice to watch her get into these shoes, even though they are roughed up. Her guilt at putting Asha in harm’s way and being unable to give her stability is a nice, albeit obvious, addition to the runtime. Meanwhile, Richard Madden returns as Mason, although he’s quite unenthusiastic and limited. Stanley Tucci is the most fun one in the series and leaves you laughing and charmed. Everyone else, including Jack Reynor and Lina El Arabi, hardly has any character depth for them to showcase their skills.
Action & scale
That being said, the things that the series is known for are its action and scale, and the series delivers on both. The action is quick, smooth and extremely entertaining. One might even say that the series doubles down on the high-octane action sequences, adding elaborate shootouts and large-scale set pieces that make you sit on the edge. Unfortunately, these are far between, and while you wait for the next action moment to come around, you have to watch these characters try to justify the violence they are about to dole out.
The production value remains extremely high, and Citadel Season 2 remains absolutely beautiful. The choreography adds to that, and the locations feel expansive. Thankfully, the pacing never dips during the action sequences, so that’s something to look forward to.
Final Verdict
Citadel Season 2 is more polished and concise, but still doesn’t crack the code for being a memorable spy thriller by any means. It gets its emotional beats right this season, but beyond that, it’s a glossy, action-packed ride that is little to nothing else.
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