Citadel: Diana review: A compelling spy drama carried by Matilda De Angelis

Citadel: Diana is the second entry in Prime Video's spy universe that's set to span the globe with series that give viewers pieces of a bigger puzzle bit by bit. But don't expect this Italian drama to be similar in any fashion to its predecessor. Citadel, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, leaned so hard into the tropes of the genre that it nearly parodied them. Its first season is blockbuster fun with humor, a romance that's got teeth, and an amnesia arc that's the basis of its story outside of a nonsensical plot involving one case that holds the world's secrets. Diana's story takes a more serious approach.

While the show doesn't have popcorn-worthy flash, it is compelling and nuanced. The series asks us to weigh the stakes of Diana's situation both in her present, which is 2030, and in the past after the mysterious deaths of her parents. The latter is the catalyst for her recruitment into Citadel and it's what leads her to become a mole for the organization. When we meet Diana, she has been behind enemy lines for eight years without an ally and is looking for a way out of Manticore, Citadel's rival spy network that was responsible for their downfall.

She manages to find an opening when something fortuitous falls into her lap and she's able to use it to leverage an alliance with Edo Zani, the heir apparent to the Zani family who head Manticore Italy. Citadel: Diana is most concerned with the lying aspect of spycraft--the ability to hide behind words and gestures, manipulating a situation to one's favor. It's hard to know who to trust and that's entirely the point. Though that's not to say this is more of a cold war than an action-packed series.

There's plenty of combat to enjoy with Diana making use of her gun and throwing herself into danger for the sake of her mission. Car chases also make more than one appearance. But it's not the end all and be all of what's happening nor the hook for why viewers should tune in. No, that falls squarely on the mystery behind why Diana's parents were killed and what action the Zanis took eight years ago that shifted their position in Manticore, along with whether or not Diana can truly break free of the organization.

Because Citadel: Diana is so decidedly about its titular character, much of the story's weight rests on Matilda De Angelis' shoulders. She carries it well. There's a distinct difference between who Diana has to be in 2030 and who she is in the flashback sequences. De Angelis portrays both a happy young woman whose rage seeps from her body when her life is upended and a staid, sophisticated operative who seems to only let her temper flare around her sister, Sara. She's captivating in the role.

Diana is calculative, intelligent, and suffering more than she'll let on which increases the danger she is in. And all around her Milan continues to suffocate its citizens as the military takes more and more control and the topic of gun liberation runs through the background of the story. There a many moving parts in this series and all of them are intriguing whether this is a viewer's first encounter with Citadel and Manticore or not.

If you prefer your spy dramas to be more cerebral in nature and for its twists and turns to have a less soapy quality to them then this is the series for you.

Citadel: Diana premieres Thursday, Oct. 10 on Prime Video with all six episodes. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X and Facebook for more content!