Citadel Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Time Renders Us Enemies
On the bright side, Citadel Season 1 Episode 5, “Time Renders Us Enemies,” makes it clear who isn’t the mole; however, we still don’t know who betrayed Citadel 8 years ago.
Maybe one day we will learn the truth, but, honestly, I’m past the point of caring about their identity. Thankfully though, Nadia is officially given the all-clear from suspicion.
Of course, we didn’t actually think it was her anyways, but at least now the show can move on from heavily insinuating it’s her and spend time developing some other storyline. There are sadly multiple storylines that could use that attention.
Along with the underdeveloped storylines, the other major issue plaguing Citadel is the inconsistent pacing of the show.
So many moments are rushed through — we watch Mason and Nadia infiltrate and rescue Carter for all of 30 seconds, and then the next thing we know, they’re out, safe and sound in a car driving somewhere.
Then, “Time Renders Us Enemies” suddenly jumps back to Bernard telling Anders about Brielle/Celeste, which first happened back on Citadel Season 1 Episode 3, “Infinite Shadows.” The show is all over the place.
There should be some tension and suspense in a thriller series, and there’s none in Citadel because the show rushes through just about everything. Instead of giving us edge-of-your-seat experiences, the show prioritizes flashbacks where it attempts to pull off a poorly executed mystery.
Citadel has proven that it can do great action scenes, and it will occasionally give its all-star cast some great material to work with. It contains the makings of a great show, but Citadel tried to do too much with the concept, resulting in a subpar series.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still entertaining, but Citadel could have been a lot better.
“Time Renders Us Enemies” does manage to use flashbacks well in regard to Nadia’s daughter. They enhance the reveal, completely faking us out the first time Nadia reaches out to Rahi Gambhir.
It does pain me a little to admit that flashbacks are used well with this particular twist; however, I still maintain that the overuse of flashbacks has been to Citadel‘s detriment. Season 1 should have been set 8-9 years ago if the show is that desperate to flashback to that time during every episode.
Stray Thoughts
- The penultimate episode of a six-episode season only being 35 minutes long is a strange choice.
- I do admire how much Nadia fights for her friend.
- Dalia blaming Bernard for Anders’ death is a smart move, but here’s hoping it backfires on her.
- At least now we also know why Manticore needs to bring Mason in alive.
- Nadia announcing that she destroyed the Oz Key is an underwhelming reveal (but it was the right decision).
What did you think of this episode of Citadel? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Citadel premiere Fridays on Prime Video.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).