Warning: Major Spoilers For Citadel Episodes 1 & 2 Below!Citadel takes one of the oldest story cliches imaginable and makes it one of its strongest elements. Citadel is selling itself a slick, mega-budget (it cost an estimated $300 million) take on the spy genre, but it's not reinventing the wheel either. The series is littered with homages to spy movies and shows such as the Bond franchise or The Bourne Identity, but it manages to (mostly) reuse those tropes in a way that makes them feel a little fresher.
Citadel season 1 opens with a (quite literally) explosive setpiece on a train. This sees Citadel's main characters Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Kane (Richard Madden) being lured into a trap set by rival spy organization Manticore. The two barely manage to survive, but are left with amnesia thanks to the "Backstop" chip implanted in their brains. This is a failsafe designed to wipe the memories of agents in case they get captured or compromised, and the story catches up with Nadia and Kane eight years later after they've developed new lives with no memory of being spies.
Citadel Flips Amnesia Cliches Into A Gripping Storyline
Of course, this is a story beat that both the spy genre and stories, in general, have been using for decades. In terms of thrillers, the Bourne movies would be the leading examples of the secret agent who lost their memory but not their skillset, but there's also Total Recall, Blindspot and many more. Just about every genre has covered it too, from horror (Resident Evil) to wacky comedy (50 First Dates). Had Citadel involved its main characters conveniently developing amnesia as a way to tease out a mystery, that would be a huge cliche, but making it of Citadel's method to keep its secrets safe adds a new element.
The "Backstop" might delete the memories of Citadel agents, but it also backs up those memories into a server so they can be restored later. This might be a sci-fi conceit, it makes sense that a super secretive spy group would go to extreme lengths to protect itself. This sets the main story into motion, as Kane and Nadia only have parts of the puzzle to work with. Nadia's memory is later restored while Kane's isn't, which also creates a unique dynamic between them.
Citadel's Cliche Flips Hint At A Promising Franchise Future
When viewers are introduced to Madden's Kane, he's the definition of the slick, suave spy that has been seen a million times already. The amnesia storyline immediately flips that on its head and proves the creatives behind Citadel are aware of all the cliches and are working to subvert them in interesting ways. Citadel is off to a strong start, and if manages to keep subverting old tropes in ways that make the story feel fresh, maybe it can become the franchise Amazon is hoping it will.