Crime
Citadel
Citadel is stylish, silly and salacious. But its amnesiac spies may well leave conscientious viewers wishing they could forget.
When Maggie Sullivan left her hometown of Timberlake, Nova Scotia, she never thought she’d return.
The promising neurosurgeon had once spent her youth helping out at her father’s Canadian campground, Sullivan’s Crossing. But after her parents’ messy divorce—largely due to her dad’s drinking problems—her mom took her away, and Maggie went on to become a neurosurgeon in Boston.
Unfortunately, just as Maggie was getting recognized by the Neurological Association of America at a banquet full of her peers, the FBI burst in to arrest her.
And pretty soon, Maggie found herself returning to Timberlake to lay low while the dust settled.
As it turned out, Maggie hadn’t done anything illegal. Her boss certainly had, but he quickly cleared Maggie’s name. Regrettably, before Maggie had a chance to start rebuilding her reputation, she got sued for negligence after a former patient died.
It’s been a long journey for Maggie, filled with career disappointments, awkward familial interactions and even more awkward love connections.
Luckily, Maggie’s been able to weather the storm at Sullivan’s Crossing. While the surrounding tight-knit community was a bit upset that she never kept in touch, they’ve welcomed Maggie back into their fold. She’s reconciled with her estranged father, Harry “Sully” Sullivan. She’s reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. And she’s even found a romantic partner in Cal Jones—a former New York defense attorney who sought his own solace in Timberlake after his wife died.
But Maggie’s past is still finding ways to creep up on her. And how she responds will certainly impact her future with Cal—and perhaps at Sullivan’s Crossing itself.
The CW’s Sullivan’s Crossing generally follows the plot of Robyn Carr’s Sullivan’s Crossing book series. And if the name Robyn Carr sounds familiar, that’s probably because she’s the same author behind Virgin River.
You’ll find some similarities between the two shows: a medical professional from the city forced by unfortunate circumstances to take up small-town life who slowly but inevitably finds love and community. Her love interest? A guy with a heart of gold, a body of muscles and a past full of tragedy that he’s still working through.
Viewers occasionally deal with some sensual, steamy scenes and some LGBT characters. Many paramours live together even when they aren’t married, including Maggie and Cal. Given Maggie’s medical background (and her desire to continue working as a doctor), we get a peek into the medical field too. For instance, one character suffers and recovers from a heart attack early on; in Season 3, Maggie helps diagnose and surgically remove a friend’s brain tumor. Sully’s ongoing struggle with alcohol abuse sometimes unfolds in unexpected ways. And viewers should also be aware that miscarriage plays a part in the plot.
Those content concerns are certainly worth considering before diving into this Hallmark-esque show.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Following a sudden life shock, Maggie returns to Sullivan’s Crossing camp in Nova Scotia and is thrust into relationships from her past.
Two people are brought into the Boston hospital, covered in blood, each with compound fractures and other bad injuries. We later hear that one passed away from his injuries.
We see two heterosexual couples kiss. People drink wine, tequila, beer and other types of alcohol at celebrations or parties.
We hear God’s name taken in vain once.
Despite a lucrative career opportunity in Chicago, Maggie decides to stay in Sullivan’s Crossing to open a private practice instead. She wants to be with Cal—and with Sully announcing an extended leave of absence to visit Ireland, Maggie wants to be around to keep their family’s campground open. Unfortunately, the sudden reappearance of her ex-husband, Liam, throws everything into flux.
We see Maggie and a shirtless Liam in bed together. They snuggle, kiss and begin to get more intimate before the camera cuts away, revealing that the interaction is only a dream. (Maggie later denies having such a dream to Cal.) In a flashback, we see further intimate moments as Maggie and Liam dance, kiss and fall into bed together.
Maggie acts snappish toward Cal throughout the episode. (She appears pretty frustrated with Liam, too.) Cal seems confused why Maggie didn’t tell him about Liam before, and her reaction suggests that she’s both embarrassed by her past and perhaps still harboring feelings for Liam. And while Cal is clearly jealous of Liam, he handles the situation admirably, showing nothing but hospitality toward Liam (though the two do get into a wood-chopping competition).
Couples kiss throughout the episode. We see a few female characters wearing silky nightgowns and cropped tops. Several unwed couples live together.
Maggie insists that her marriage to Liam didn’t count since she had it annulled. A woman who doesn’t want to get married tries to compromise with her boyfriend. He says that marriage isn’t something that should be compromised on, and they break up.
A guy’s leg gets caught in a bear trap. He’s quickly freed and bandaged up, but we see a decent amount of blood. Some teenagers shove each other around. Some kids accidentally break a window with a softball.
Liam tells stories about the dangers he faced as a war correspondent. Cal and Maggie tactfully handle a rude customer. Some teens are rude to their peer.
We hear one use of “p-ssed.”
A husband dutifully cares for his wife post-surgery. When Cal learns that a teen’s family has been struggling financially since the dad left, he offers the teen a job to help make ends meet. The same teen defends his sister when bullies target her. When some teens get into a scuffle, adults separate them and try to offer counsel to the different perpetrators.
[Spoiler warning] Maggie learns that her annulment papers weren’t filed correctly, so she’s actually still married to Liam.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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