We’ve arrived at the conclusion of Season 1 of “Citadel”, and the final episode, “Secrets in Night Need Early Rains”, lives up to the tagline “Everything you know is a lie.” That the writers and producers intentionally meant to lead the audience the entire season one way then completely redefine everything that had been previously told and shown to us hints that a lot of thought went into to arc of this season. For me, that bodes well for the arc of the spinoff series’, if they can pull off the acting and the set pieces.

Louis writes: The first season of “Citadel” ends with a shocking revelation that completely took me by surprise. It doesn’t even matter to me that there were no clues provided in earlier episodes that could have led to this conclusion. Frankly, this development made the whole season worth watching to reach this point.

Are there unmanned subs sailing the oceans that contain nuclear weapons? It seems highly unlikely to me. Yet no one is on this submarine when Kyle and Davik enter. Carter hacks into the submarine which does not speak to adequate Russian security over their own devices, and this seems highly improbable.

The melding of the flashbacks into the present day events is faster in this episode, without as much leading visual exposition, and that seems to be the reason to reveal as many surprises as possible, to lay down all the breadcrumbs for the questions that we will inevitably be left with at the end of Season 1.

There is a casual convenience about the difference between the loss of Kyle’s actual memories, and the unaffected muscle memory of Mason’s physical abilities. I would more easily be able to suspend that disbelief if we were talking a gap of a year or two. Eight years is a long time for muscle memory to reactivate so easily and with the same level of skill as before without any new training.

Louis writes: I was surprised as well that Kyle knew how to do a parachute drop to a precise location on a moving target. There is a mention as he is fighting Davik that Backstop only removed his memories but not his skills.

There is a reference late in the episode to Citadel being in touch with other federal agencies. This brings up the question of how did these other agencies react when Citadel went down. I would like more insight into that plot line.

The tidbit that Citadel was in open direct contact with other world agencies is a bit of a surprise. I’d have imagined it would have been on a more covert level, since hey, they are a secret agency bound to no state or global authority but their own, so you’d think they’d want to avoid being potentially in the direct line of fire to be held responsible for their actions.

Manticore’s destruction of Citadel infrastructure and physical assets seems a bit suspect… they wanted to keep and use the X-Case technology for themselves, why not other assets like computer servers and databases and other tech that was being developed to be used against them?

However, if that destruction was a manifestation of Dahlia’s absolute rage and desire for revenge, that makes sense. She’s still a little bitter about what happened 30 years ago, given her treatment of Bernard to extract every last one of Citadel secrets so she could burn it all down.

Louis writes: Be patient and wait for the double revelation at the end of this episode.

Oh yeah, I was expecting that revelation, but I’d only anticipated half of it. I didn’t suspect the bigger reveal until the opening sequence showing the flashback to the bombing in Serbia. It’s easy to figure out that the child would grow up to be Mason Kane (the history of spy fiction being replete with the backstory of taking in orphans and raising them to be agents). The reveal of the rest of Mason’s history complicates matters considering how his personal psychological damages and demons around family and abandonment connect to everything we’ve seen about his behavior in the years before Citadel fell.

This week’s closing credits song is “Mad World” by 2WEI, Fleurie, and Tommee Profitt (2022). I hadn’t realized there were so many covers of the 1983 original by Tears for Fears.

We also get a sneak preview for the next chapter in the series, “Citadel: Diana” seems poised to expand the Citadel spyverse in a very different direction, and I’m curious to see where that leads.

Don’t miss our reviews for all episodes of the series:
“Citadel” opens on a confusing but energetic and entertaining world of spies
“Citadel” Episode 3: “Infinite Shadows” cast doubts on everyone
“Citadel” Episode 4: “Tell Her Everything” questions all loyalties
“Citadel” Episode 5: “Time Renders Us Enemies” again changes what we know

Amazon Studios’ action thriller CITADEL is available now on Prime Video.

Twitter: @CitadelOnPrime, #CitadelOnPrime

Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency—tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people—was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. With Citadel’s fall, elite agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They’ve remained hidden ever since, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.