The Messy 'Citadel' Finale Previews Its Next Messy Installment, 'Citadel: Diana'

The Citadel season finale aired today, and it’s messy. I would try to break it down, but I don’t think I can fully do it justice without rewatching the entire series again. However, here are the season-long highlights (spoilers):

— Eight years ago, Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) were spies for a secretive organization called Citadel. Bernard (Stanley Tucci) was their handler. After a mission went awry, they lost their memories through a procedure called backstopping, which erases compromised spies’ memories.

— In the present, Mason — living under the identity of Kyle Jacobs — is pulled back into the spy world and receives vials containing both his and Nadia’s memories. During a gunfight, Mason’s vial is smashed, but he later manages to inject Nadia’s memories back into her brain.

— After the injection, Nadia learns about her past with Mason before their memories were erased. They were lovers, and Mason had proposed to Nadia. She ran away and secretly had their child, Asha.

— Mason had tried to find Nadia during her hiding and sought help from Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville), the UK Ambassador to the United States and the primary villain of the season. It is revealed that Dahlia is Mason’s mother, and she holds a grudge against Citadel for her husband’s death.

— Mason provides Dahlia with information about Citadel in exchange for Nadia’s whereabouts. Dahlia uses this information to kill numerous Citadel spies. Ultimately, it is revealed that Mason himself was the mole within Citadel.

— Kyle Jacobs, unaware of the details of his past as Mason Kane or being the mole, successfully completes a mission and reunites Nadia with their kidnapped daughter, Asha. After this mission, Mason’s memories are reinjected into Kyle’s brain, and he discovers the truth about his identity, his past with Nadia, and Abby’s true identity as Celeste, another Citadel spy.

— Before losing his memory, Mason believed that Celeste/Abby was a mole and had her backstopped. Celeste continued living as Abby and married Mason/Kyle. If Celeste/Abby regains her memories, she will realize that she hates her husband.

Digging further into the plot would be challenging as there are shaky elements, massive plot holes, and inconsistencies. It’s mostly important to note that Prime Video paid $300 million for six episodes of this mediocre, convoluted, confusing, and badly written spy series from the Russo Brothers. Spending such a large sum means that Citadel is essentially too big to fail. Even before the season launched, it had been renewed for a second season. That renewal became official this week.

But that’s not all! The Citadel season finale also previewed the next entry into the Citadel “spyverse,” Citadel: Diana, starring Matilda De Angelis. Details about its plot are unknown at this time, and there isn’t even an IMDb page for it yet. However, there is a teaser at the end of the season finale, or you can watch it here, accompanied by an algorithm-friendly cover of “Mad World.”