Ok so Amazon Prime's new show The Citadel has just dropped it's first two episodes and
throughout this video we're gonna be breaking down the brand new show.
Backed by the Russo Brothers The studio has put a lot into it with the series apparently
costing roughly 42 million per episode.
This is going to be a groundbreaking global event and though this is the main series we
know that it's also going to be getting several local language spin off.
These will take place in the Citadel universe and have each series taking famous actors
from the country it's set in and giving them their own spy story that ties into the main
plot.
It sounds like a really interesting premise and Amazon must be really confident to be
launching such a massive global series like this.
But what is it about exactly?
Well in it we follow Citadel agents Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh as they're pulled back
into the life due to a mission going awry that caused their memories to be erased and
Citadel to be put on the backfoot.
I think that the series definitely wears it's influences on it's sleeve and there's lots
of nods to James Bond, Mission Impossible, The Bourne Movies and well...every spy film
out there.
Luckily I just so happen to be an expert on them and though not all of these might be
intentional I will be talking about where they potentially pull from and the original
work that inspired them.
Now we start off with an upside down shot on a train in the italian alps.
This then rotates around and introduces us to Nadia.
Symbolically an upside down shot like this is supposed to represent the underworld which
is very much the case with this spy agency operating under the surface of society.
Cold opens are of course a staple of spy movies as well with this very much following that
format before we cut to titles and then the rest of the story.
Now if you recognise the font of the locations used throughout the series then that might
be because it's also the exact same one that we use in our thumbnails.
Little bit of trivia for you but this font is actually called Agency which again adds
to the idea that we're following secret agents working for an agency.
I actually chuckled a bit when I noticed this and it shows how much thought they put into
every aspect of the show.
Had I not used the font myself then I might not have noticed it but it's a great little
detail that really adds to the series.
Anyway this train is where we meet both Mason and Nadia.
Nadia is introduced wearing a bright red dress which just so happens to be the same colour
as what shes re-introduced to use wearing in episode 2.
She's very much meant to embody the classic Femme Fatale which incase you don't know,
it's basically french for lethal or deadly woman.
The dictionary definition of it is a woman who tries to outwit others by using her beauty,
charm and sexual allure.
That's very much the case with Nadia and to me she's echoing several bond girls that we've
had throughout the years.
Though Ursella Andres is credited as being the first one it was actually Eunice Gayson
who played Sylvia Trench in Doctor No.
She showed up wearing a red dress and this was later riffed on by Solange in Casino Royale.
Vespa Lynd too wore a red dress as did Lupe Lamora in licence to kill.
Might be a reach on that but what I think isn't a reach is the classic spy set piece
that is a speeding train.
This has become a staple of the genre with us getting them in From Russia With Love,
Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, Golden Eye, Skyfall, Spectre and Many more.
The first Mission Impossible movie ended with one as well and it's often a quintessential
location to have an action scene at due to the speed and small corridors that the characters
are confined to.
Nadia shoulder bumps her target in this opening and it lets us know the two people that we
need to be paying attention to.
Now turns out that her guy in the chair is Bernard Orlick played by Stanley Tucci.
Man starts talking about his bloody ex wife and we get to meet her later on and find out
why they're exes.
We also hear about her gadgets including an explosive perfurme and some red lipstick which
no man can resist.
Now at this bit we're introduced to Mason Kane flicking a lighter and speaking italian
like the suave spy he is.
Sean Connerys first scene as James Bond started off with him sparking up a lighter which I
think this moment might be a nod to.
However it's revealed that Mason doesnt actually smoke and he's just carrying this because
he doesn't like being told he can't.
Both are multi-linguil and would need this to of course blend in to any environment.
Though there's a bit of sexual tension we see that Mason has a wedding ring and later
learn that he has a wife in his new life.
Something suspicious going on as he doesnt meet her until after he loses his memory and
we'll be talking theories later on about what might be happening.
Nice bit of symbolism here in that Nadia has earrings with two chain links locked together
whereas when we meet with her in the present she just has singular ones.
Might be symbolising the pair working together as a team or it might be a reach.
Now while Nadia goes off to get the target Mason goes after his bodyguard leading to
a bathroom fight that echoes the black and white opening of Casino Royale.
We also get another nod to bond in Nadias pistol that she holds up to the target.
This is a silver baretta and though Bond eventually ended up using the Walther PPK, the first
gun he ever had in the books was a Beretta 418.
Author Ian Fleming actually got a letter from a fan known as Geoffrey Boothroyd who said
that he thought the Baretta was actually more of a ladies weapon and Fleming wrote back
to him asking if he had any ohter recommendations.
Boothroyd suggested the Walther PPk and as thank you Fleming included a character called
Major Boothroyd in the next book who would later go on to become Q.
Now the target reveals.
its atrap
And that false information was fed to lure Citadel out so he could deliver a message.
This comes directly from Manticore which is a beast from Greek Mythology that has the
body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion and the face of a man.
Before you start going, oh that last ones not so bad, shut the f**k up for a second.
The mans mouth is filled with shark like teeth and yeah, just an all round baddie.
On the opposite side of this a citadel is a fortified location where people tend to
take shelter during war.
The group have shaped historical events that have averted them very much tying in with
this name.
Now due to comments in at the end of the episode we know that an agent has been turned so them
springing this trap is all because of a betrayal.
The bodyguard goes out the window which is how Tee Hee was killed in Live and Let Die
with Jaws also going out the window in Spy Who Loved Me.
Turns out that Manticore knows of the locations of several citadel locations which they have
executed.
Man also reveals a ten rings esque tattoo and reveals that they have people everywhere.
Luckily Mason arrives to save the day leading to a fight on the train before it all goes
to hell.
The target sets off an explosive which derails the train and both are left at the bottom
of a river.
Now from here we cut to the title sequence which shows several of their deeds such as
a CIA plot to kill castro which we also see failed.
There's the idea that very little are known about them with us also seeing a passport
for Pryiyankas character which says Charlotte.
This is another name that she used alongside Nadia in the opening and it's one that she
adopts in episode 2.
There's a flash of Heidi too and it's clear that they had several Identities like Bourne.
We also see the logo and get a quick pop in of what I believe is a manticore for a split
second.
Anyway after this we cut to Mason floating in the water evoking images of the opening
of Skyfall.
Cut to him in a hospital bed in Bellagio where we learn Mason now has amnesia.
Similar to Jason Bourne the series centres around him discovering his but unlike Bourne
Mason actually makes a life for himself.
We join him 8 years later going under the name Kyle in Oregon with his wife Abby and
Daughter Hendrix.
Manticore are making waves with a terrorist attack in LA and Mason gets flashbacks of
his past life when viewing them.
Come roughly the 17 minute mark of episode too we see as more attacks continue to happen
rocking the world.
Cut to Mason in a therapy session and we see that he has a wedding ring however we later
learn that it isnt the one from the start.
Obviously Abby didn't want a hand me down and this shows that the pair met after the
train mission.
Still though something causes him to hold onto it because along with the lighter and
passport it's all he has from before his ammnesia.
Mason feels like he mustve been bad because no ones come looking for him and the therapist
then suggests finding his family through submitting a DNA sample into a database.
This eventually flags up to Bernard who has to pull him out of hiding because of the X
case being located.
This contains the memories of all the agents along with the intel they possessed such as
nuke codes, black site locations and who let the dogs out.
Now the other person after this X case is a character called Dahlia Archer.
We join her in the next scene meeting with the Secretary Of State and ironically we can
catch her trimming her roses.
Dahlias are of course flowers and they're known for their ability to bloom when so many
others have died.
Shes masquerading as the UK ambassador but really she's part of the manticore organisation.
Working alongside the Primeminister she doesnt mind accusing the press on camera of being
foreign assets even if that reporters accent, worst british accent Ive ever heard mate,
get the spy, shes a spy.
Now Dhalia has learned the CIA know where the X case is and this sets her off on trying
to track it down.
Now normally when it comes to villains like this you have the brains behind everything
and a henchman who handles the dirty work.
In this case it's henchmen and we next meet the Silje tw...loo there's no way I'm pronouncing
this right so we'll just call them either Anders or Davik.
Played by Roland Miller they track down the case whilst Citadel on the other side of this
do what they need to to get their hands on it too.
We see Bernard who's learned of Dhalias meeting and he realises that time is short.
Abducting Mason and his family in the night he fills in what Citadel actually are whilst
we watch Manticore get their hands on the X case from a CIA blacksite.
Alongside his ex-wife, her wife and their daughter theyre hidden out at a secret location
to bring Mason back up to speed.
We discover that they are a super spy organisation created in the 30s that went over the heads
of each nations security network in order to do things that are best for the world instead
of a specific country.
Just like how manticore have their symbol on their wrist we also see that tattoos have
been placed on their too.
They brought down the Berlin Wall, stopped Y2k and also hacked the PSN store so everyone
got given a free game when it went back online.
However someone stole the list of all their agents which is similar to the NOC list from
the first mission impossible.
This gave them the names and locations of all their agents which set off the attack
on the train.
Founded by 8 of the worlds wealthiest families Manticore launched a global attack to kill
all the Citadel agents they could.
With it being a world wide thing the spin off series could very much use this as an
event to push their own shows but we'll see when we learn more about them.
Bernard says they have to go to New York to get the case but on the way they have to recruit
Nadia whcih takes us into episode 2.
Here we see things from Nadia's perspective and watch as she climbs out the river only
to be basically put in a Misery-able situation ey.
Abducted and tied to a bed she ends up killing her captor but her memory is erased.
Obviously this is a protocl put in place incase agents get caught or compromised as there
is the potential that torture could make them divulge their secrets.
It leaves her up s**ts creek though however she does leave a note on her arm saying Go
To Valencia Asha.
This is where she later ends up with the character working in spain.
Back with Mason we see Bernard and his wife saying I think that we should tell them, she
should know.
It has been said by Ashleigh Cummings that her character Abby has more to her than meets
the eye and it is possible that there might be something going on with her that we aren't
privvy too.
Though Bernard tracked Mason through the DNA donation he may have been keeping his eye
on him through Abby.
Abby could be a Citadel agent as well or she may have had something done to her memory
so she could lie as a sleeper cell.
When youre dealing with memory there are lots of things that you can do with it to manipulate
characters so I do think that we might get some twists and turns involving some of the
characters that we think we know.
Look I dunno mate, throwing theories out here based off a conversation that's written to
be ambiguous and things I've pieced together from s**t said in interviews.
Anyway we get the classic heist scene with Mason having to go through body scanners in
a building while he's followed by security.
Busting them up we get some classic jazz as he makes his way out but in doing this it
alerts Manticore that he's still alive.
Openign the case sends out a worldwide scanner that shows all of the agents on the planet
and it gives Mason a way to get back his memories.
However there's just one little roadblock.
The twins end up shooting Bernard through the back in his vehicle echoing the opening
of the second bourne movie in a scene that still f**ks me up to this day.
There's a shootout outside and we can see the van has the website neocomm.com on it.
As of making this video it's not been registered but I was hoping we'd get a cool citadel easter
egg.
The phrase neocomm is actually a term used to insult the far left and it means neo communists
which could be the creative team making fun of the citadel organisation.
I dunno mate, probably grasphing at straws because I dont thin its this big orarching
thing political commentary thing here mate, just a fun spy show yeah.
No politics nee..what do you mean the Ambassador of the UK is the bad guy f**.
In the carnage Masons memory implant is cracked but he gets a link to the past with Nadia's
location in Valencia popping up on the X Case.
Here we see the Fallas Festival which is held to commemorate St Joseph.
Now Nadia doesn't seem to interested in those events 8 years ago and to her she woke up
in a strange cabin with a murdered man on the floor.
Throwing a knife at her like Bernard did to him we get a great scene of him trying to
reveal the truth to her.
I really think the show hits its high points in moments like this and though its not deliberately
dropping jokes all the time there is a nice little undercurrent of humour that runs through
the scenes.
one of the twins arrives leading to a big stand off but Nadia regains her memories and
figths back.
Love watching the before and after of Nadia getting her memories back and Priyanka does
a great job of bringing the two sides out.
Now we do get a moment in which she talks about how she remembers everything and during
this we see several scenes I'm guessing will be expanded on throughout the season.
Guess who went through em in slow mo, Spoils, Kevin Spoils and in them we see the train
scene from episode one along with the detonator, Nadia and Mason kissing on the train and then
a shot we haven't seen before.
Nadia is in a white bathroom and then we cut to what seems like the living room of this
house with her and Mason dressed up.
Guessing this is from their time living together and potetnially Mason might get his memories
back at some point which expands upon this.
Though the vial is smashed there is the potential that the memories uploaded to the citadel
server can be retrieved.
Now in the next scene we catch Nadia in white camoflague with other soldiers holding a gun
up to Mason.
Taking place in the woods im guessing this might be their first meeting.
We can catch what look like off road jeeps in this scene and in one of the other shots
we can catch the pair riding together in one continuing on from this scene.
Trailers for the series have shown several parts of this scene with them clearly working
together and against each other possibly due to Nadia being a double Agent.
There's a moment where the pair get in a heated argument together, a shot of them in bed and
some light hearted moments before ending on a more cryptic one.
We see Nadia saying 'Mason can never find out' and this could be hinting at Nadia potentially
getting pregnant and losing the baby or something along those lines.
Now her getting her memories back whilst Mason doesnt allows him to be a fish out of water
while she can kinda fill in the blanks.
I'm guessing the next thing that they do will reveal that Bernard is actually still alive
and they'll have to rescue him from Dhalia who we see in the next scene.
I did get these two episodes early so I'm not sure if this is in the final release but
at the end there was a trailer showing what was coming up in the season.
It had several parts that expanded on Nadia's memories and also clear indication that there
was an agent that betrayed Citadel.
Anyway it's theory time, theory time, theory time.
I think it would be wild if we discovered that this was actually Mason though I dunno
why they'd put him in harms way like they did on the train.
They might have wanted to take him off the board though due to him being a loose end
which may be why they were so surprised to see him alive.
Its probably a cliche twist to take it that way and the trailer does make things look
like Nadia is the one doing it due to the shot of her holding a gun to mason being on
screen as this narration takes place.
As I said though we see other parts of this scene including them escaping together so
I dont think its her.
She also remembers everything and therefore she'd know if she worked for the other side
and probably instantly kill Mason.
Him not having his memories is the only thing stopping him from doing it and I think Nadia
would have to wrestle with whether to avenge her fallen comrades or spare the man she loves.
Now Nadia keeping a secret from Mason could also hint at what happened.
Potentially Mason found this out and it f**ked him up so badly that he decided to switch
sides.
Lots of things that we could get and anyway that ends theory time, theory time, theory
time, theory time.
Now that closes out both episodes and I hope you had fun going through it and seeing some
of the references they dropped in.
Hopefully I see you back next week and let me know what you thought of the show in the
comments section below.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect
scene in Spider-Man Homecoming.
We break down the entire thing so it’s definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll
see you next time.
Take care, Peace