Citadel Diana Ending Explained: What Do The Images at the End of the First Season Mean?
Citadel Diana Ending Explained: With a “dense” TV series like Citadel Diana, which in six episodes concentrates on the story of the spy Diana Cavalieri played by Matilda De Angelis, it is easy to miss some details. So, if you have seen the season finale and want to be sure that you have not missed anything, we invite you to revive with us the sixth and final episode, entitled Jupiter, with this summary explanation of the finale. This, of course, means that production is full of technological gadgets, spies who look like superheroes because of their resistance to bullets, and incredible action scenes to give away. After the first season has finished, the following lines will analyze the explosive finale of the production starring Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and the post-credits scenes. Spoilers ahead.
Citadel Diana Ending Explained: What Do The Images at the End of the First Season Mean?
Mason and Nadia are two agents of Citadel, an international spy agency that acts independently, without ties to any specific country. With its neutrality, it tries to do everything possible to ensure peace in the world, within the parameters of violence that exist between borders. Its counterpart is Mantiocre, another spy agency financed by the richest families in the world. Mason and Nadia are apparently the only spies left alive after a planned Manticore attack on Citadel. However, the lives of the two of them do not occur linearly, as Citadel‘s head of technology, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), has wiped their memories for eight years. This leads to confusing narratives and time jumps. Also, as it is reported, the organization has the technology to restore their memories. In this context, Manticore’s attack on Citadel happens thanks to a spy giving crucial information. Thus, the game of doubts begins. It is soon revealed that Nadia, after recovering her memories, was hiding something from the organization and Mason.
That is why she was suspected. In the penultimate chapter, it is discovered that this “something” is a daughter conceived with Mason. Due to the distrust of her “partner” and the organization, she leaves the girl in the hands of her father, an international terrorist (here nobody has normal parents). While the couple falls in love, other things happen in parallel. For example, Celeste (Ashleigh Cummings) is trained to seduce Anders Silje (Roland Møller) and steal ” The Key to Oz”, a device that can hack anything electronic. Celeste manages to infiltrate it but stops communicating with Citadel for three months. For this reason, Mason orders its extraction. During this intervention, “The Key to Oz” is lost and Celeste is blamed, so Mason orders her memory to be erased. What is discovered next is even more disturbing. Nadia was actually behind the disappearance of the powerful device. She doesn’t forgive Mason for erasing her friend’s memory and at one point she doesn’t trust Citadel to be able to keep “The Key to Oz.” So she breaks up with her spy boyfriend and disappears after discovering that she is pregnant. The obvious question is, if Celeste and Nadia are innocent, who sold the Citadel data to have it destroyed and the spies killed?
In The Final Chapter, Everything is Decided!
In the final chapter, we find out that it was Mason who sold out Citadel. Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville), the villain so far, is the mother of the spy protagonist (yes, all like a Venezuelan soap opera from the 80s). She tells a story: Mason’s father was killed by Citadel, after getting the coordinates of an airstrike wrong, killing 157 innocent civilians and blaming a terrorist organization. So she asks her son to help her do “justice,” handing over all the information he has accumulated as an undercover agent. Dahlia also helps Mason find Nadia, who, as we noted above, had disappeared to give birth. It is then that she discovers that she has a daughter and for this reason, and because of the story she heard about her father, she decides to share with her mother all of Citadel‘s files. And here comes the plot twist: Dahlia is not seeking justice but rather to obtain funds from powerful families to take down all of Citadel‘s agents, including Mason and Nadia, as well as the facilities of this group.
Diana sells her Parents’ House, or Rather Not!
In 2030, Diana (who has received 20 million euros from Edo and permission to leave Manticore) and her sister Sara go to their parent’s house for the last time, which is about to be sold. Sara thanked Diana for seeking the truth behind their parents’ accident, and the two sisters reconciled. Sara and her family leave, and we see Diana tearing down the “for sale” sign right after it is evidently no longer necessary to sell it.
The First Meeting Between Diana and Edo Zani
Back in 2022, a new report from Diana informed that Ettore Zani has the goal of destabilizing Italy and for this reason, he is supplying weapons (produced by the Zani factory) to criminal organizations while winning contracts from the State. And Manticore agents have become simple executors of orders of violence and crime. Diana is rightly scared because she is left alone. At that moment, someone rings her doorbell. Diana takes care to grab a gun before going to open it, but it is “only” Edo Zani, who wants to talk to her to find out how his brother Enrico died: Diana is not telling the truth. Edo explains that he did not want that attack because he believed that Manticore had nobler goals.
Zani Informed Partners About the New Weapon!
And again in 2030, with Zani father and son approaching a new European summit of Manticore. The tension is palpable, since Edo has recently deceived his partners, and above all locked Cecile in her own palace to get Diana out of the clutches of the French. In the meeting, Edo presents Giove, the weapon developed by Manticore Italia with Citadel technology recovered from the hands of the French and Germans. They prepare for a test to understand the dispersion of the weapon through the water network, to then move on to action. Wolfgang asks what will happen to them now that Manticore Italia has the weapon exclusively, and Edo answers that they will share access to Giove’s data with their partners, but first, the Italians will analyze it and decide what to give to the others. Not only that: Ettore reveals that Italy will have exclusive control over a new third element of the weapon, developed in the Zani laboratories. A revelation that surprises Edo, who discusses it separately with his father, making him aware of the technical difficulties still present in the creation of the third element, intended to kill with total precision.
Diana Returns to Edo and They Tell Each Other the Truth (almost all of it)
While we see Diana in 2022 destroying the Citadel device, in 2030 she is still thinking about Gabriele’s words about her name not being anywhere in the Citadel archives. Diana then goes to Edoardo, replacing his driver to surprise him. Edo is not happy to see her again, because Diana has been missing for a month with his 20 million. “I came back because I want something more, I want to be with you,” says Diana, and in the next scene she and Edoardo make love, with Matilda De Angelis who is shown in all her dazzling splendor.
Afterward, Diana explains to him why she had left quietly the previous time. “I got up and I saw the plate with the data of the weapon, I’m sure it will be dangerous and I wanted to destroy it, but I knew that I would have made a mess for both of us and it would have been useless so I left”. “I tell you this so you know that I can’t stop fighting for the world to be a safer place” Diana explains again. Struck by these revelations, Edo also has something to confess, so he tells Diana that it was Manticore who blew up the plane that Diana and Sara’s parents were on, to kill a Citadel agent. “You’re among those who decided to attack?” she asks him. “You don’t even have to think about it,” he replies.
Edo Explains to Diana How Jupiter Works?
Eight years earlier, Diana secretly watches the Zanis perform Enrico’s funeral. In the present, Ettore is unable to contact his son, who in the meantime is explaining to Diana how the new weapon will allow them to control people for their entire existence, through a microscopic interception system (the French part of the weapon) combined with the biotechnological component (the German part) that nests in the human body. Edo assures Diana that the enormous power derived from this weapon will be used by him for good, but then he talks about the third element wanted by his father, a remote elimination system. While they talk, Edo notices something coming out of Diana’s bag: it’s that sort of star-shaped key that is used to open the secret office in Citadel where she went with Gabriel, and honestly, it seems hard to believe that Diana would keep it so absentmindedly in her bag. She says it’s a lucky charm, he replies “There are still many things I have to discover about you”.
Ettore Zani Doesn’t Trust Diana
Ettore is surprised that Diana wants to return to the agency, but Edo tells his father that he should get used to her presence. Ettore is understandably irritated that his son does everything without telling him, but he postpones the discussion because he still has to “push” the government to pass the law to liberalize the use of weapons. At her house, Diana is about to drink a glass of tap water but then she thinks of Jupiter and throws the water away, to head to the appointment with Edo who gives her a briefcase with ten million particles of the weapon to release into the water supply, activating the weapon after entering a code known only to the two of them. At the Zani house, mother Julia tries to convince Ettore to give her son and his partner a chance. But Ettore doesn’t trust Diana.
Edo Shares the Secret Code with His Father, Who Traps Diana
In the Zani laboratories, Edo has finally perfected the third element and immediately informs his father, who is very satisfied and says he is willing to welcome Diana. Edo is moved, and shares Jupiter’s secret code with his father, on the condition that Ettore appoints Diana as the new manager of Manticore Italia in place of Matteo. Ettore gives his word, but there is little to be trusted, and shortly after he calls Matteo to order him to block the communication signal of Agent 308 (Diana) now that he has the code. Julia tries to intervene in defense of the girl her son loves, but Ettore won’t listen to reason.
Edo Zani Kills His Father Ettore
So Matteo and Diana go to the aqueduct for the Jupiter test. Edo talks to his mother about the deal he made with his father, and Julia informs him of Ettore’s plan to kill Diana. Edo tries to call Matteo, but of course, no one answers. Diana does everything she can to activate the gun and throws it into the water. At the Zani house, Edo watches the news that talks about the government close to crisis after the law on weapons, and Ettore who says that now they will need a new government to help them with Jupiter. Edo pretends indifference.
Diana enters the code and the weapon is ready. At this point, she notices that Matteo wants to shoot her, and engages in a physical fight with him. Ettore in the meantime drinks a glass of water in a sort of hyperbaric chamber inside his house. Edo arrives and informs him that he has created the prototype with the third deadly element. “Easy as drinking a glass of water,” says Edo, and Ettore immediately understands. The son takes out the remote control that activates the gun, warning his father that a relatively painless death awaits him. The father defends himself, saying that he acted to protect his only remaining son. Edo, however, does not want to listen to him and orders him to call Matteo to stop Diana’s murder. Ettore refuses, and the son turns on the remote control and kills his father, who collapses to the ground.
The Epilogue: Diana Sees Gabriele After 8 Years
Meanwhile, at the aqueduct, Matteo is getting the better of Diana. Or maybe not: in reality, agent 308 pretends to be dead to surprise the man who was her boss for 8 years and kills him with a gunshot (why didn’t he pull out his gun before? No one knows). Diana comes out of the aqueduct and sees that the other Manticore agents who had accompanied her and Matteo there have also been killed. Footsteps are heard and who comes out of the shadows? Gabriele himself, who is as if nothing had happened greets Diana, who doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Closing credits, and the end of the season for Citadel: Diana.
So… Mason is the Villain?
No. The Citadel series actually tries to delve into a topic that is not often explored in spy series: ethics, morality, and responsibility. In the end, they are human beings who have to decide between what they feel and what they should do for the organization. Furthermore, we are in a world where nothing is black or white. For example, Mason makes a questionable decision: to erase Celeste’s memory, knowing that the person who took “The Key to OZ” was Nadia. Why? Mason is very much in love with Nadia and does not want to leave evidence of the theft. Then, when it comes to giving the Citadel details, he is manipulated. His mother convinces him at a moment of great vulnerability, as he has lost track of his beloved. And to that, we must add the amount of stress that this type of work generates. So the reasons why he has acted in this way are understandable. We can see that when Mason regains his memory in the final episode, he feels guilty about everything that has happened. He lies about whether the injection worked because he finds it difficult to accept the decisions his “other” self has made. Therefore, he must decide whether to continue with the family he formed while he was without memory (remember, he has been with Celeste for 8 years) or to resume what he experienced with Nadia.
What’s Up With Dahlia Archer?
Dahlia represents Manticore, but she only wants her gains. She is a politician after all. That’s why she kidnaps Nadia and Mason’s daughter. She uses her to blackmail the couple and get her hands on the five energy cores that are in a Russian submarine. Davik, the twin brother of the deceased Anders, joins the mission. As expected, with the help of Cater Spence (Osy Ikhile), the Citadel spies manage to get through the test, recovering the cores and eliminating Davik, who at the last minute had rebelled against Dahlia for the death of his brother. Faced with this defeat, Dahlia fakes her death, blowing up her residence (what Davik wanted to do), and leaves for an unknown location. Thus ends the series.
What Do the Images at the End of the First Season Mean?
Citadel, as we know it, with Nadia and Mason, is going to have a second season entirely directed by Joe Russo. However, the images we see at the end correspond to a spin-off series: “Citadel: Diana.” It is set in Italy and will star Matilda De Angelis (“The Undoing”). The Russo brothers will produce the so-called “Citadel Spyverse,” but Gina Gardini (“Gomorrah”) will be the showrunner for “Citadel: Diana.” It will be the first in a global franchise. There will be other spin-offs, in Mexico and India. They will all be interconnected.
