S01.E02: Spies Appear in Night Time

[jenrising]

Quote

Kyle and Bernard journey to New York City to steal the Citadel X Case from Manticore Headquarters before it’s too late. Later, Kyle learns that a figure from his past is still alive and he risks everything to find them.

 

[AnimeMania]

They waste time driving from Wyoming to New York.

The building alarms are blaring, but he walks out of the building like there is no security.

He has no money and the case has a tracker, yet is still able to leave America and go to Spain. When he reaches Spain, there are the people tracking the case. They couldn't have caught up to him sooner.

They do the action scenes well, but everything else seems a little contrived.

The entire Season had to be reworked quickly, so they probably couldn't get the show's plot as polished as they would have liked. I shouldn't judge it a harshly as I do, I should wait for Season 2 to see if they can build a cohesive story. 

[HerkyJerky]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

The entire Season had to be reworked quickly,

Why?

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, HerkyJerky said:

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

The entire Season had to be reworked quickly,

Why?

Amazon's Citadel Cost $300 Million After Major Reshoots And Showrunner Firing

Russo Brothers' Amazon Series Citadel Forced Into Major Reshoots, Creative Overhaul

'Citadel's Creative Drama Makes Russo Brothers' Spy Series One of the Most Expensive

I heard a rumor that by the end of filming they had two completely different versions of the show and they let Amazon choose which one they liked better.

[BellaBabe2022]

These two episodes were full of plot holes and major logic fails, including how did Mason manage to get out of the building, but it was still a fun watch. I think it worked for me because the episodes are relatively short. I'll admit that both Nadia and Mason losing their memories doesn't seem necessary, and all of the gore is silly. It is not the type of show that I would usually watch, and I think it's obvious who the traitor is, but I'm still going to catch the next episode.

Edited April 28, 2023 by BellaBabe2022

[magdalene]

There was a time when I thought Richard Madden might make a good James Bond (right after I saw him in Bodyguard).  But when I saw Bullet Train I changed my opinion to Aaron Taylor Johnson.

But whoever will be the next Bond Madden is doing himself no favors being involved in this rather generic action drama fancied up with an obviously high budget. His role is rather generic too.  Not a good audition if he wants to be Bond.

I'll continue watching but it doesn't have that special something for me and I don't like the gore.

[WritinMan]

$200 million+ (maybe $300 million) for six episodes of this, huh?

Not particularly impressed after two episodes.

Tucci is stealing the show because the two leads could not be more bland.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Did Nadia manage to inject the memory vial in between the chaos? At what point she gained her memories back? What if she never lose them to begin with?

Could Mason Kane be possibly related to Dahlia Archer?
 

Edited April 29, 2023 by SnazzyDaisy

[BaskingsharkGTX]

It is a bold choice making the show SO stupid that the audience don't dare nitpick it because once they start doing so, listing EVERYTHING that's idiotic and makes no sense will make their heads explode

I know about the reshoots, firings etc, but $300 million seems like a very steep price tag for what is essentially a very blah show made up of ancient cliches we have seen 1,000,000 times before, lightly warmed over in the Russo bros' air fryer. And given that response to it appears to be pretty muted, the plans to build an entire universe around this (I think the India and Italy-set shows are already filming or in pre) seems a little premature. 

Ho hum. At least it's somewhat fun, unlike more or less every other show that's kicking around at the moment, the eps are short and there are only 6 of them. Maybe they can at least spice up the inevitable Nadia/Kyle-Mason/Kyle's Wife love triangle with the Nadia remembers/Kyle doesn't thing.  

[Constantinople]

Given Nadia Sinh / Charlotte Vernon's ability to routinely beat the crap out of people much larger than her and who are presumably equally well trained, including when recovering from being shot in the leg, she should have been named Jaime Sommers.

48 minutes ago, BaskingsharkGTX said:

It is a bold choice making the show SO stupid that the audience don't dare nitpick it because once they start doing so, listing EVERYTHING that's idiotic and makes no sense will make their heads explode

Good point. I started doing that with Episode 1 and eventually gave up.

In general, I find it enjoyably stupid. As others have noted, it probably helps that the episodes are only 40 minutes.

That said, this isn't $300 million good. If they hadn't already committed to Season 2, I wouldn't have expected it to be renewed.

[Snazzy Daisy]

47 minutes ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

I have to assume that the suit Mrs. Jonas was wearing had to stay buttoned for body double/cgi purposes, but it seemed more unrealistic for movement than the dress thingy from the first episode.

 

Let’s see whether Nadia will stick to her fashion theme - scarlet outfits with pointy shoulders. Life on the run can be fashionable in Citadel universe.  

 

48 minutes ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

I was  disappointed when Dahlia was monologuing to an unseen "guest" at the end that it wasn't Mason's wife.

I will laugh if the show makes Abby a Manticore’s sleeper agent.

 

[edhopper]

It really is a mess of a show. I am compelled to watch it burn.

[blackwing]

For me, the most unbelievable thing is that Bernard either didn't consider that Manticore could track the case, or he doesn't care.  It's obvious that Manticore found them by following the case.  So why not at least have a line acknowledging they can't disable the tracker, or are in the process of trying to do so?

On 4/29/2023 at 7:54 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

Did Nadia manage to inject the memory vial in between the chaos? At what point she gained her memories back? What if she never lose them to begin with?

I was confused by this too.  It seems to me that she did get her memories back, because she suddenly became an extremely lethal hand-to-hand fighter instead of simply trying to brain the bad guy with a frying pan. 

Then we saw the shot of the vial lying on the ground.  There definitely was a needle sticking out of it.  But I thought there might have been the liquid still in the vial?  So did she actually inject herself, in which case, why the lingering shot on the vial?  Or did she just pretend to inject herself,  hence the possible shot of a full vial, meaning she had her memories all along?

Also, did Mason/Kyle not inject himself?  He doesn't seem to have any of his memories, which is why he asked her if they were in a relationship.  Why didn't he inject himself?  He had plenty of time on his way to Valencia.

On 4/29/2023 at 12:00 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

I will laugh if the show makes Abby a Manticore’s sleeper agent.

That would be very stereotypical for a show like this, and I would not at all be surprised.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Also, did Mason/Kyle not inject himself?  He doesn't seem to have any of his memories, which is why he asked her if they were in a relationship.  Why didn't he inject himself?  He had plenty of time on his way to Valencia.

No, Mason/Kyle didn't inject himself, the vial was broken during the fight on the highway. 

[magdalene]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:49 AM, AnimeMania said:

Amazon's Citadel Cost $300 Million After Major Reshoots And Showrunner Firing

Russo Brothers' Amazon Series Citadel Forced Into Major Reshoots, Creative Overhaul

'Citadel's Creative Drama Makes Russo Brothers' Spy Series One of the Most Expensive

I heard a rumor that by the end of filming they had two completely different versions of the show and they let Amazon choose which one they liked better.

If this is the improved version I shudder to think what the other version is like.

[shrewd.buddha]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:44 AM, AnimeMania said:

The entire Season had to be reworked quickly, so they probably couldn't get the show's plot as polished as they would have liked.

Did one of the versions of this show *not* involve an eight year time jump?  Because there is zero percent difference in the actors' appearance before and after the train action sequence.  It's laughable.

I feel the show could benefit from Stanley dialing back the Tucci-ness by about 25%.  The Russo Brothers have destroyed quippy-ness for everyone.

It wasn't until the implanted memory chips showed up that I realized this was sci-fi spy action show.  That is not a deal-breaker, but expectations have been adjusted.
So, their blocked memories cannot be 'released' unless they get a DNA-specific injection?  Sure; that sounds reasonable...
I suppose other types of implanted advanced technology will eventually show up. Maybe Tucci is a cyborg.

For some reason, when Mason/Kyle and his family were whisked away from their idyllic farm life to the Citadel's secret bunker, my first thought was "who is going to feed the chickens now?"

Edited May 4, 2023 by shrewd.buddha

[AnimeMania]

57 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

Did one of the versions of this show *not* involve an eight year time jump?  Because there is zero percent difference in the actors' appearance before and after the train action sequence.  It's laughable.

I believe the other version was Roland Møller (the guy playing the twins) as Laszlo Milla, a former top Citadel agent, turned lead operative of Citadel’s rival intelligence agency, Manticore, Laszlo was incarcerated in a Citadel detention facility for years. All that time was spent stewing over the man responsible for his capture, Mason Kane. Now liberated, Laszlo sets his sights on getting revenge on Mason and bringing down Citadel once and for all. Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Nadia Sinh, daughter of a former Director of Citadel. 

Some of this could still be true, I don't see why they couldn't incorporate most of the scrapped version's action scenes into future episodes, since they involve all of the same people, on roughly the same sides.

They have to be careful with what happens in the story because other countries, Mexico, Italy, India, and Spain are producing versions of the TV Series that ties into this one, some happening during different timelines, but all should be considered canon.

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

It wasn't until the implanted memory chips showed up that I realized this was sci-fi spy action show.  That is not a deal-breaker, but expectations have been adjusted.

The train looked ultra modern, somewhat futuristic, but maybe I'm just not up to date on my luxury trains.  But earlier in the first episode, you see Chopra using a compact that has a holographic screen in it.  And Tucci's computer screen was also holographic/ futuristic.  I'm not sure if this is supposed to be in the future, because everything else looks modern day.  Or if Citadel just has access to sci-fi level technology in our timeline. 

I love Stanley Tucci, and was very happy to see him alive at the end of the episode.  But didn't he get shot right through the head?  I hope all torture happens off screen.  I don't need that.  Lesley Manville plays a great villain, and considering I last saw her in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, damn, seeing her in this type of role is very different.  I also liked seeing Moira Kelly, even if just for a short bit.  Also, with all due respect @shrewd.buddha, there is no such thing as too much Tucci-ness.  That's like saying too much chocolate or wine.  Nope, never too much.  Bring on the Tucci!  😁

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

They have to be careful with what happens in the story because other countries, Mexico, Italy, India, and Spain are producing versions of the TV Series that ties into this one, some happening during different timelines, but all should be considered canon.

What the what?  Are they all "official" productions?  If so, isn't there some supreme show writer who coordinates all these various story lines? 

As so many others have pointed out, the show is a mess on many levels.  (Seriously, no one bothers to think there's a tracker on the case???)  But it's also entertaining.  I'll nit pick away at a more "serious" spy show like Rabbit Hole, and just watch this one until it no longer entertains me.