Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 2/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny Season 1 starts off as a lacklustre, average story about an ordinary woman who becomes a spy. The first two episodes haphazardly build a web of various characters in multiple cities and across two different timelines — one in 1992 and the other in 2000.
It’s a chaotic dive into the life of Honey, an aspiring actress who takes up a shady job with Bunny (a stuntman) in 1992 and is a mother to a young girl named Nadia in 2000. There is a lot going on and not enough intrigue built up in these two episodes.
But there’s one moment towards the end of Episode 1 that hints at a better TV show waiting ahead. The scene in question has Honey, played by Samantha Ruth Prabhu, trapped in the trunk of a car. After getting her hands free, she cuts through the backseat and launches herself at the two men who captured her. And all of this to the soundtrack of the Hindi song ‘Raat Baaqi Baat Baaqi’ from the 1982 film Namak Halaal.
This scene encompasses a lot of what makes Amazon Prime’s Citadel: Honey Bunny a good show. For one, the slick action. While the quality isn’t consistent across the season’s six episodes, most action scenes are executed with style. You can see that the fights have been choreographed for the screen and not for the sake of it. The camera often complements this, using smooth shots to highlight movement and momentum. None of that shaky camera chaos here.
Then there’s the filmy touch. Having ‘Raat Baaqi’ playing in the background as Honey takes down two men and leaps out of a moving car as it careens off a cliffside — an inspired choice. It’s this kind of twist that takes a scene from watchable to delightful.
While this is a one-off, the show does keep bringing back Bollywood references in code names, jokes and background music. A key piece of tech is, in fact, stored inside a cassette cover of an old Bollywood film. So, you get a little bit of a throwback in nearly every episode.
And then there’s the crowning jewel of the series — Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s incredible performance as Honey. Prabhu serves up a heartfelt portrayal of Honey in all her different phases, from aspiring actress to secret agent to protective mother.
She leads the dynamic between her and Nadia that comprises most of the 2000 section, offering a unique mother-daughter relationship that is built on an existence under threat. She gives Honey a rock-solid fierceness that is a joy to watch on screen and Prabhu doesn’t fail Honey even when the script does.
And the script has a few glaring flaws. After those shaky first two episodes, both timelines of Citadel: Honey Bunny Season 1 find a solid direction. In the past, Honey joins Bunny’s mysterious agency that is fighting for peace while in 2000, she and her daughter run from the same organization. The story settles into a generic spy thriller.
There is a training montage, a mission in Europe, safe houses, and a lot of oversimplified technology. But the oversimplification pervades the whole plot. Honey makes life-changing decisions without much thought and later plants a bug on someone’s jacket that lasts multiple days.
Good and bad are black-and-white concepts and you can see plot twists coming from a mile away. You can’t really bring up any ‘whys’ or ‘hows’ over here because those questions won’t be answered. The series is best enjoyed if you don’t look too closely.
The characters mostly fit stereotypes like the tech guy or the muscle, although the actors do a good job of infusing them with some personality.
Kay Kay Menon in particular makes the most of the antagonist, Vishwa, who is a standard villain but is given a fascinating manipulative streak. Kashvi Majmundar is stellar as little Nadia, the younger version of Priyanka Chopra’s character in the original Citadel. Varun Dhawan nails the action scenes but otherwise blends into the story rather than standing out from it.
Ultimately, Citadel: Honey Bunny Season 1 is a mixed bag of shallow writing, predictable thrills, stellar acting and engaging action sequences. Depending on how much you value each of these things in a series, you could either find this a decent action thriller or an underwhelming spy series. No matter why you’re watching it though, Citadel: Honey Bunny remains Prabhu’s show through and through.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10