Citadel (Season 1), Episode 5 Recap & Ending Explained: In the fourth episode of Citadel’s first season, titled “Time Renders Us Enemies,” the narrative takes a drastic turn. Nadia, Kyle, and Carter find themselves unexpectedly forced into a difficult situation, compelling them to develop an unlikely alliance in their desperate bid to escape the clutches of the formidable Manticore organization. However, tensions rise, and suspicions mount among our protagonists, topping in a climactic confrontation that promises to ignite explosive revelations.
*spoilers ahead*
Citadel (Season 1), Episode 5 Recap:
“Time Renders Us Enemies”
The episode begins with Nadia and Mason in Athens (nine years ago), prepping for their next mission to bring in yakuza boss Tadashi Sako. Nadia inquires about the Oz Key, Davik, and Celeste (Brille), but Mason avoids her questions leading him to propose to her with a shiny diamond ring.
Meanwhile, back at Dahlia’s place, Bernard is able to convince Anders to uncuff him by luring him with the information of Brille being alive. However, before the two of them can escape, Dahlia shoots Andres in the head, killing him. This is where we also learn that Dahlia’s reasons for going against Citadel and joining Manticore’s ideology have to do with something personal. The name “Thomas” is also tossed up in the conversation by Bernard hitting Dahlia at a vulnerable spot.
Going back in time, Nadia receives a secured message which says that Celeste is not in Farmington and that Bernard had sanctioned to backstop her. Nadia then confronts Bernard asking her if Mason was aware of Celeste being backstopped. It leads to a lunch that Nadia and Mason were supposed to have, where Nadia directly asks Mason if he knew about Celeste being considered the mole and about her being backstopped. Mason initially disagrees, but Nadia, who can read through his conscience, knows Mason is lying to her.
Mason then comes clean and tells her he did it to save her because he knew she had the Oz key. He even confesses that despite knowing this, he is not keen on what she did with the Oz key or if she sold it to someone – going behind Citadel’s back, just because he loves her. Nadia is disappointed that someone who claims to know and love her would think like this. She tells him that she did take the Oz key, but instead of selling it or using it, she destroyed it – with the good intention of not allowing the Oz key to create any chaos.
If Mason had just asked her instead of going behind her back and backstopping an innocent person, things would have been different between them. This morally corrupt decision taken by Mason has clearly hurt Nadia, and we can see obvious signs of things between the lovers going southways. Since Nadia can no more trust him, she requests him to bring back Celeste’s memories. However, Mason, who has wiped off the memories permanently, cannot do that. The interaction ends with Nadia handing over Mason’s ring, breaking things off between them.
In the following scene, we see Nadia preparing for her exit with the help of her friend/confidante, Rahi. We learn that Nadia plans to leave Citadel for good and move to Valencia but needs to be very discreet about it. Rahi hands her a passport with a new identity but warns her about Mason Kane, who could possibly be a roadblock in this transition.
Back at the Manticore black op site, Carter tells Mason that Nadia cannot be trusted because she is a part of the Manticore team. However, his assumption is based on Nadia being seen with Rahi Gambhir (a known terrorist) days before Citadel’s downfall.
At Dahlia’s place, she threatens to kill Bernard’s family – which she has now traced in Wyoming if he doesn’t disclose the nuclear codes. A scared Bernard gives her the codes, but a ruthless Dahlia instructs them to kill his family anyway, planning to leave for Brazil to execute her big plans.
According to Dahlia’s instructions, missiles are targeted at the hideout in Wyoming. Getting an alert about being targeted, the women – which include Bernard’s ex-wife, her current partner, and their daughter, along with Kyle’s (Mason) wife, Andy (Brielle/Celeste), and their daughter flee the scene.
Dahlia receives a call from Davik, who tells her that the Manticore site was breached by Mason and Nadia, who have freed Carter. Dahlia instructs him to get her Mason and Nadia, also asking him to go to Valencia because they have intercepted a message between Nadia and Rahi Gambhir. Before she hangs up, she informs him about his brother being dead and Bernard being the reason for it.
Citadel (Season 1), Episode 5 Ending, Explained:
Why did Nadia leave Citadel eight years ago?
Fifty miles from the Manticore site at Fez, Nadia, Carter, and Mason get into a verbal altercation where Carter blames Nadia for being a double agent. Nadia, who is not ready to confess yet, tells them that each one of them has a gray part to them.
This is where she also finally admits that she left Citadel before its downfall because she was pregnant with Mason’s child and had to secretly move to Valencia in order to make sure her daughter was safe. Rahi helped her with the delivery and made sure that her daughter remained safe, even if it meant Nadia needed to stay away.
What is Dahlia’s plan?
Carter still isn’t convinced by Nadia’s involvement with a known terrorist, which is when we get to know that Rahi Gambhir is, in fact, Nadia’s father. Just then, Dahlia’s men approach the three of them, setting up a secured line of communication between Dahlia and Mason (Kyle).
Dahlia plans to use the Russian missiles that she has captured in a submarine somewhere in the Pacific with the help of the family members that form Manticore. In order to override the missiles, she needs Mason to recalibrate them. As bait, she has now captured Nadia and Mason’s daughter, Asha, threatening them to kill her if they don’t oblige to her demands.
