Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.10: Beyond Logic

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Beyond Logic

“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” finally fulfils some of its promises in the final episode. “Beyond Logic” has Lee and May finding Cate, in the company of her grandmother, within the Hollow Earth. Shaw has a tearful reunion with Keiko, who is dismayed to learn that sixty years have passed while she's stayed the same age. She refers to this realm as Axis Mundi, calling it a half-way point between the surface world and the deeper inner Earth. Keiko fashioned a distress signal out of the device that came down with her. With Lee's help, they are able to increase the strength. This catches the attention of Kentaro and Hiroshi on the surface. The quartet find the Project Hourglass shuttle, still in working condition because of the time dilation. Just as they are about to use it to blast out of there, the Ion Dragon attacks. The cavalry comes in the form of the King of the Monsters.

All throughout “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” I've characterized the show as an extended tease for giant monster fans. Every time a Titan appeared on-screen, it rarely did anything truly noteworthy. You know something is amiss when an ice-spewing giant rat-thing has more screen time than Godzilla himself. “Monarch” has continuously done nothing to dissuade this notion. Whenever the Big G did bother to show up, he didn't do a damn thing beside glare at the human characters. In the final episode of the season, “Legacy of Monster” finally gives kaiju fans something to chew on. This is exactly by design, of course. The show gave us just enough monster action to get us to stick around, never actually satisfying us until Apple TV+ producers could be certain we're going to watch all of it. 

I'm extremely reluctant to say it was all worth the wait. However, the kaiju battle in “Beyond Logic” is pretty damn cool. Godzilla's arrival is given the proper amount of respect, the King of the Monsters stomping into Axis Mundi like a pissed-off stepfather. The camera swirl around the massive beasts as the Ion Dragon takes flight. As far as CGI kaiju duels go, this is a good one. We find out that the Ion Dragon even has a projectile weapon, spraying noxious slime into Godzilla's face. The MonsterVerse version of Godzilla is all but unstoppable, as far as strength and superpowers go. It's not a long battle. Yet, as a life long fan of this particular radioactive dinosaur, watching him beat the shit out of an opponent is always a good time.

As entertaining as this monster brawl is, I can't help but feel like it is too little, too late. Even in its final hour, “Monarch” still drags its feet at times. Whenever “Beyond Logic” cuts away from Shaw, Cate, and Keiko in the underground realm, I felt exhausted again. Kentaro and Hiroshi have the heart-to-heart you'd expect from a son confronting a cheating father. It's resolved when Kentaro's mom forgives him. This meeting is, ostensibly, something we've been waiting to see all season. Ideally, this family reunion should be just as hotly anticipated as Godzilla fighting another monster. That is undeniably not true though. Ten hours into this show and Hiroshi is still a character we're more informed about than we actually know. It robs this meeting of any emotional impact. 

Still, at the very least, “Monarch” does live up to its subtitle in this final episode. The multigenerational element comes full circle. Three generation of Randas are reunited. Even if the characters have never been as resonant as the showrunners clearly hoped, Hiroshi finding a mother he assumed was gone forever is still a good moment. John Goodman is even given a little cameo. “Legacy of Monsters” never truly succeeded in making us care about every generation of this family. Yet it's still a cool idea, to show the history of a monster-hunting organization through the clan that molded it. 

“Beyond Logic” ends with another predictable time leap, seemingly bringing the TV show up to date with the events of the MonsterVerse. The final moments include a cameo from another A-list monster, continuing the formula of insuring viewers stay hooked by dangling the possibility of future kaiju appearances in front of us. Simply because it actually delivers on Godzilla dueling it out with another enormous beastie, “Beyond Logic” almost has to rank higher than every other episode of “Monarch.” Any other issue I have with this particular program, I can't give an all-together negative review to any hour that features Godzilla ripping a dragon's wings off. [7/10]

Ultimately though, I came away from “Monarch: Legacy of Monster” extremely frustrated. The show follows every trademark of modern, serialized television that I absolutely despise. Over the course of ten hours, there's maybe sixty or so minutes of shit I actually cared about. Legendary's MosnterVerse films have struggled to make viewers care about its human cast members. Devoting an entire TV show to this only made those weaknesses more apparent. After watching all ten episodes, I still don't entirely know why the show wasted as much time as it did with May's entire subplot. Most frustratingly of all, when “Monarch” was good, it proved that the show didn't need to be as much of a waste of time as it was. It's unknown if Legendary plans on producing more of “Monarch.” I suspect that depends on how many eyeballs it attracted to Apple TV+ and how well “Godzilla x Kong” does at the box office. Truthfully, I sincerely hope another season isn't produced, so I don't have to suffer through so much nonsense just to get a few minutes of Godzilla being cool. At least it was less annoying than “Singular Point,” so that's something, I guess. [Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: 6/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.09: Axis Mundi

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Axis Mundi

In its penultimate episode, “Monarch” finally begins to provide some answers. In 2015, Kentaro is pulled out of the remains of the Kazakhstani power plant. He is told that Lee Shaw, Cate, and May all died in the collapse. This is not true. Instead, the trio have been transported to the Hollow Earth, the biosphere within our planet where the Titans dwell. Lee and May navigate the perilous world. He explains that he's been here before. In 1962, after Keiko's disappearance, Shaw was part of a team that attempted to enter the Hollow Earth. The mission would fail and most of the team was killed by a kaiju. Only Shaw survived, making it back to the surface... Twenty years later. It turns out time works differently within the Hollow Earth, which also explains when Cate is rescued by a very unexpected figure.

I suppose this shouldn't be surprising but “Monarch” was obviously saving most of its budget for the back half of the season. “Axis Mundi” features probably the most exciting sequence in the entire show, up to this point. That would be Project Hourglass, the shuttle exploration into the inner Earth led by Shaw. When the portal goes wild and the ship explodes in a blur of color, that's pretty cool. Even better is when Shaw recalls the crew being attacked by the same dragon-like Titan that was spotted in the Philippines. It's a frenziedly edited sequence but an exciting one, that reflects the scrambled mind of the man recollecting it. 

This episode also fills in gaps in the backstory and explains a few inconsistency. The idea that time flows different in the Hollow Earth explains why a ninety year old Lee Shaw is played by a still rather spry 73 year old Kurt Russell. That he was dragged, disoriented, into a version of Monarch he no longer recognized also explains a lot about his distrust of the organization and his desire to change it. These flashbacks also show how Hiroshi, having grown up without his Uncle Lee around, met the woman who would become the mother to his son.

“Axis Mundi” is probably among the better directed episodes of “Monarch” thus far. Andy Goddard, who has a lot of experience directing big budget streaming shows like this, nicely captures the fractured memories and mindset of Lee Shaw after he gets back to the surface. The moment where he takes a nurse hostage, in hopes of finally getting some answers, is very well done. The sense of confusion May and Lee feel upon arriving in the inner Earth is also nicely conveyed. This is a good looking hour of TV, with the shadowy but colorful Hollow Earth being an especially striking sight. 

Granted, the season is almost over and show is still extremely stingy with its giant monsters. The Ion Dragon has what amounts to a cameo in Lee's flashback. A giant boar with some tree branches growing out of its back shows up at the end. However, “Axis Mundi” is actually a solid hour of television. It answers some important questions and fills in a lot of gaps. Unlike the previous episodes, which simply seemed to be filling time, this one actually moves the story forward and keeps us fascinated. Only a single scene, of Kentaro being despondent around his mom, feels unnecessary. If only the rest of the series had been as good as this episode! One more left to go... [7/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.08: Birthright

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Birthright

After the events of the previous episode, Cate, Kentaro, and May have been officially recruited into Monarch, at Tom's insistence. They got right to work trying to figure out where Lee Shaw and his splinter group might be headed next. Monarch is fearful that Shaw's plan – of setting off explosions at emergence points – might lead to another G-Day. It's quickly deduced that he is heading towards the abandoned nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, where Keiko disappeared sixty years ago. That is exactly right, those faithful to Monarch as it exist now confronting Shaw and his loyalists. Just as Shaw and Cate have a heart-to-heart, the Endopede re-emerge and the entire building collapses. In 1955, the young Shaw attempts to protect Monarch from a government eager to defund it, Keiko's past comes to light, and Billy begins to formulate a theory that the Titans come from within the Earth.

After seven goddamn episodes, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” reaches the point a decently paced television series would have approached in its second or third installment. Our heroes are finally working for the titular organization. The grandchildren of the founders of Monarch are now part of the same group, hunting Titans around the globe. Instead of getting right to the pursuit and study of kaiju, “Legacy of Monsters” has wasted nearly the entire first season on arranging its various subplots and cast members. This is a great example of what can be called “Surf Dracula” pacing, when a show dedicates so much time to merely setting up the things that we, the viewer, are actually interested in. 

General gripes about the structure of this show – and how TV is written in this day and age – aside, there's another evident flaw with “Monarch.” I feel like this show would have been a lot more exciting if it had come out before “Godzilla Vs. Kong.” This episode is the first time Lee Shaw, or anyone on this show really, have mentioned the Hollow Earth. From the theatrical MonsterVerse films, we already know that this underground alternate universe is where the Titans originate. Moreover, as depicted in “Godzilla Vs. Kong,” we know the competing gravitational fields create portal-like entrances between the surface world and this inner realm. Yet “Monarch” really feels like it's built around this information being a big surprise. I have no idea if the show was intended to debut before that movie, and COVID delays reshuffled the schedule, but it definitely feels that way. 

Then again, that's far from the only testament to how wrong-headed this show's structure is. Much of “Birthright” seems based around the idea that Lee Shaw might be unhinged. That his plans will doom the world, instead of saving it. That's what Verdugo believes. By returning to the power plant where Keiko was swallowed up by a hole in the ground, and the flashbacks further emphasizing his romantic connection to her, the conclusion we are meant to draw is obvious: The loss of Keiko drove Shaw mad and now he's pursuing his goal without concerns for the world's safety. 

However, it's hard to buy this for a number of reason. Namely, because we already know the Hollow Earth is real in this universe. Secondly, because Kurt Russell is awesome and we, the viewer, are just always going to be on his side. Mostly, however, it's because “Monarch” hasn't done a very good job of building up the connection between Shaw and Keiko in the flashbacks. Honestly, it's only been in the last two episodes that this idea has been floated at all. Before that point, their relationship seemed entirely platonic. Especially since we already know she ends up marrying and raising a child with Bill Randa. A reveal in this episode, concerning Hiroshi's origins, suggest that Keiko and Bill's relationship may have been more practical in nature than this implies... Yet the fact of the matter is we're not invested enough in whatever romantic bond between these two existed to believe that her loss would be enough to push Lee Shaw to this point.

Again, if all of this was happening in the early part of “Monarch's” season, instead of two installments away from the end, there would be a lot more potential here. “Birthright” continues “Legacy of Monsters'” habit of ending episodes with some kaiju action, sticking all the special effects mayhem into the final seconds to insure we come back for the next part. After Cate and Shaw have their heart-to-heart in Kazakhstan, an enormous Hercules Beetle-like monster called an Endopede appears. And then the credits roll. It's a cool sequence. If “Monarch” was pulling this shit early on, it would probably be an acceptable teaser. Knowing this is just what the show is like kind of sullies the entire enterprise. Still, at least “Birthright” signals the show reaching a point where it might actually have some forward momentum now. [6/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.07: Will the Real May Please Stand Up?

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Will the Real May Please Stand Up? 

After having Godzilla march on-screen at the climax of the previous episode, "Monarch" gets right back to spinning its wheels in service of a tedious plot. Tim – the Monarch agent who has been chasing Cate, Kentaro, and May – survives his encounter with Godzilla. He confronts the Randa siblings at the Algerian airport and makes a truce with them. May, meanwhile, is abducted by AET, the cybernetics corporation she's been on the run from the whole time. She's given a deal by her former boss, just as her friends arrive to rescue her. Meanwhile, Lee Shaw performs a coup at Monarch, grabbing the resources necessary to take the fight right to the Titans. 

At this point in the narrative, "Monarch" has become a show about a three-way battle between two factions within a secret government organization and a nefarious tech company. Because that's what I want to see when I'm watching a series about giant monsters. I know I keep belaboring this point but I really can't get over what an obnoxious bait-and-switch "Legacy of Monsters" has become. Shaw and his allies are trying to take back control from what he sees as Monarch's ineffectual leadership. Tim is trying to get Director Verdugo to push the organization into a more public role. Meanwhile, AET wants to sneak into Monarch and undermine its plans. Who are AET, a third organization that hasn't been introduced until this episode? The final seconds reveal what any viewer already would've guessed: They are Apex Cybernetics, the evil company that built MechaGodzilla in "Godzilla Vs. Kong." 

At least this reveal connects back in a loose way to the MonsterVerse movies I'm ostensibly invested in. However, I still can't get over how ass-backwards "Monarch's" story construction has been. In service of a mystery box style structure, constantly teasing out a past or backstory to keep people glued to Apple+, this series has done something as asinine as introducing its primary antagonists seven episodes into a ten episode season. Perhaps letting us know this information right from the beginning might have allowed a viewer to actually be more invested in this winding, convoluted narrative. At this point, I can't say I even care that much about Lee Shaw and his attempts to wrestle back control of the organization he created. Sincerely, who gives a shit about this? Why am I watching this fucking thing? 

If I actually cared about the characters, maybe "Monarch's" discombobulated web of double-crosses and corporate espionage might be involving. Unfortunately, this is not the case. After telling May to go fuck herself at the end of the last episode, Cate is now searching tirelessly for her. By the end of the episode, the show is even teasing a potential romantic attraction between them. Some consistency about who these people are and what they want sure would be nice! This tangled dynamic is so boring that even Kentaro, a character in this program, seems fed-up with it. You know something has gone wrong with a TV show when the reveal that one of the characters actually isn't dead – Tim in this case – actually disappoints you. 

None of this is even the main point of this episode. As you probably guessed from the title, "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?" is focused on the subplot I've been most vocal about hating. We finally find out who Kiercy Clemmons' May is running from and what her double identity backstory is all about. At the very least, this grounds the character some what. Seeing her interact with her family gives her some actual personality. So does the way she flees AET upon discovering they are doing bizarre, unethical experiments with animals. However, the continued suggestion that she may be screwing over her friends again, this time by becoming a double agent for Apex within Monarch, really makes me wonder if any of this backstory matters. Does May have ethics or not? Is she loyal to her friends or only out to save her own ass? We have contradicting evidence for either conclusion. 

Inconsistencies like this really beg the most important question of all: Wasn't this show supposed to be about Godzilla? Yes, after the Big G's re-emergence last episode, he doesn't even appear here. He's mentioned in dialogue repeatedly, as if the writers are desperately trying to reassure viewers to keep watching, but is a no show. What a way to deflate any forward-momentum or tension this show might've had! There's a giant, city wrecking monster wandering around Algeria and this show pauses for an hour to do a bunch of other bullshit. Even Lee Shaw seems unconcerned about Godzilla. The obligatory, single kaiju related scene in this episode has him going after the Frost Vark in Alaska. And, sure, that's a decent sequence that ends with a big explosion, an elaborate light show, and a cheering Kurt Russell. 

Yet I can't help but feel like this is just another pitstop on the way towards whatever greater destination "Monarch's" creative staff is envisioning. In other words: By following the demands of modern serialized storytelling in television, "Monarch" has become yet another show designed to continuously frustrate and tease the viewer, always promising more but never actually delivering while filling time with a bunch of bullshit nobody cares about. [4/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.06: Terrifying Miracles

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Terrifying Miracles

In “Terrifying Miracles,” “Monarch” spreads its subplots all over the place before focusing back on the important stuff. In 1955, Keiko and Bill Manda head to Japan, where a scientist has invite a gamma ray simulator that can communicate – or attract – Titans. Lee Shaw follows them, only to discover that Godzilla is very much still alive. In 2015, Rogue Monarch agent Michelle – apparently the sister of Juliette Binoche's character from 2014's “Godzilla” – frees Lee Shaw. They track down Cate, Kentaro, and May in San Francisco before getting back on the trail of Hiroshi Manda. They find him in Algeria, where he's working with a gamma ray simulator. Monarch is close on the group's tails though, after May began informing to them last episode. They arrive in Africa just as the King of the Monsters reawakens. 

The previous “Godzilla” TV show, the anime “Godzilla Singular Point,” was one of the most dispiriting watches in my recent memory. That program frequently sidelined the giant monsters everyone watching wanted to see in favor of some of the most impenetrable technobabble I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through. “Monarch,” in spite of all its flaws, hasn't sunk quite that low... However, there's a moment in “Terrifying Miracles” that started to give me “Singular Point” flashbacks. The Monarch agents find Hiroshi's apartment and start to reason out the map Kentaro and Cate discovered last episode. This leads to a lengthy conversation about satellites and gamma rays. Thankfully, the episode stopped just before my eyes completely glazed over. Yet the fact that the writers felt any of this shit was relevant to explain really exposes the weaknesses of this show.

Even if “Monarch” doesn't get quite that ponderous about justifying its sci-fi bullshit, the show still has far too many subplots. The first half of “Terrifying Miracles” is about getting everyone in place so that, ya know, the story can actually begin progressing. After five episodes of chasing shadows, Hiroshi and his kids actually get a good look at each other. This occurs at the same time Godzilla pulls himself from the Earth, just in time to clip through the antagonistic Monarch agents chasing the good guys. The fact that Cate and Kentaro are immediately separated from their dad minutes after finding him again is incredibly annoying... Yet “Monarch” is still actually moving forward in a meaningful way, instead of yanking on all of our metaphorical dicks.

Unavoidably, the facts of the matter remain that the fifties set scenes about Monarch's origins are way more interesting than the 2015 plot. This episode shows that there's some romantic tension between Keiko and Lee. I'm not all that invested in that, though Wyatt Russell and Mari Yamamoto's chemistry did sort of suggest it already. Either way, the storyline actively devoted to pursuing monsters is what the entire show should've been about. Most importantly, the MonsterVerse series continue to show the right mixture of awe and terror whenever Godzilla is on-screen. Even if he, once again, doesn't actually do much in this episode, just his appearance is made into an event. There's also a cute shout-out to the Showa era “Godzilla” films during this flashback. 

Being the kind of show it is, the minute “Legacy of Monsters” starts to get good, it immediately goes right back to focusing on the shit nobody cares about. The final minutes of the episode is devoted to petty squabbling among the heroes. May's dishonesty is brought up, that character continuing to be a festering tumor on this show. Hopefully, now that Godzilla is awake and active again, and the Randa kids have located their dad, “Monarch” can finally turn into a worthwhile show. Instead of devoting itself to one tease after another. [6/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.05: The Way Out

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: The Way Out

After being rescued from the Alaskan tundra, Cate, Kentaro, May, and Lee are delivered right to Monarch. While Shaw is held captive by the agency, Cate, Kentaro and May are freed. The trio is given a flight back to San Francisco. There, Cate meets up again with her mother, Caroline. Still determined to locate their missing father, Cate and Kentaro sneak into the area of the city still left in ruins by Godzilla and the M.U.T.O.'s battle the year before. This brings back painful memories of what Cate lived through during Godzilla's march through the city, how she lost the woman she loved and the students entrusted to her care. 

“Legacy of Monsters” favoring a hit-the-ground-running style of pacing means we are five episodes into the series and just know learning anything about Cate's actual backstory. We discover that she was a school teacher and was about to move in with a woman named Dani before G-Day. And, apparently, she was not faithful to her during the relationship either. This suggest why Cate carries so much guilt around. She blames herself for the kids who died under her watch, the latest in a long line of personal failures she can't forgive herself for. As much as she blames her father for abandoning her and her mom, Cate feels like she is no better. Boy, I bet we would've been a little more invested in everything this character had done up to this point had we actually known some of this information beforehand!

By the way, Cate's flashbacks to the events of 2014's “Godzilla” are the only giant monster action in this whole episode. Instead, the focus turns towards some decent world-building. While at the airport, May comments on an advertisement for luxury, kaiju-proof bunkers. The military has quarantined off the destroyed parts of the city, supposedly to discourage looting. (Though one assumes there's a deeper reason for this.) All of this shows the consequences of humans sharing the world with giant monsters now. While the Legendary films have focused mostly on the Titan-on-Titan combat, one of the benefits of a TV show is the chance to give us a more ground-level perspective on these events. Of course entire cities would be ruined in the wake of a kaiju grudge match. Obviously, capitalism would have purely mercenary response to these events. 

While “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is clearly trying to build up its world and cast, I'm still having trouble caring all that much. Revealing that Cate cheated on her girlfriend does not make her the most likable person. Meanwhile, the show is especially struggling to make May an interesting character. We discover here that she has some sort of double identity and secrets of her own. This kind of writing – that teases viewers along with the promise of eventually revealing something relevant – is exactly what I hate about most modern genre television. It doesn't help that Kiersey Clemons is so clearly checked out by this point. She seems practically asleep in more than a few scenes. Which is really problem when the episode's emotional center revolves around her calming Cate during a PTSD flashback.

Ultimately, “The Way Out” is not one of those episodes that prove all that satisfying on their own. Instead, this is an hour devoted largely to setting up future plot points. Shaw hints at further secrets unknown even to the top officials at Monarch. There's more foreshadowing that some sort of catastrophic event, presumably another Titan emerging, is forthcoming. The heroes are still on the trail of their missing dad. Episodes like this, in-between points on the way to more exciting events, are a big problem when you plot your TV show like a ten hour long movie, instead of engineering each episode to stand on its own. Thus are the perils of modern, serialized television. [5/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.04: Parallels and Interiors

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Parallels and Interiors

"Monarch" reaches its lowest point yet with "Parallels and Interiors." Out on the Alaskan ice, Cate, Kentaro, May, and Shaw flee from the Frost Vark. They evade the monster but not before May injures herself. Kentaro exits the quartet in search of a structure he spotted earlier during the plane ride. The other three continue on towards a light on the horizon but only end up back at the crash site where they started. That's when the ice-spewing Titan attacks again. Kentaro, meanwhile, stumbles around in the cold. He's haunted by memories of his father and his first meeting with May, a year prior on the night his art show opened.

The episode takes its title from Kentaro's in-universe gallery debut. (Which features fractured images of people's faces projected onto three dimensional structures of some kind.) He refers to the name as "pretentious" but that doesn't stop "Monarch" from attempting to grab some headier ideas for itself. Director Julian Holmes literalizes the title, by shifting the episode largely between the vast Alaskan tundra and the interiors of various rooms in Kentaro's flashback. The story goes even more interior in its last third as Kentaro, lost on the ice, begins to hallucinate visions of his father, present events and his memories blending into each other. Considering the show has struggled thus far to make Kentaro a compelling lead, making such a big leap into his inner mind comes off as hopelessly ambitious. "Monarch" has not displayed the depth necessary to pull something like this off. 

If Kentaro strikes the viewer as bland, at least he's not actively unlikable the way May is. We learn these two met when she stepped in front of a poster for his art show, just as he was taking a photo of it. She then asked him to delete the picture, taking him for a possible creep or something. Not exactly a charming meet-cute! The episode struggles to make their first night out compelling after that, suggesting that the air of mystery (or, more accurately, vagueness) around May is obscuring not much at all. In the present day scene, she falls through some ice into freezing water, slowly beginning to catch hypothermia. Which sucks, sure, but "Monarch" does the character no favors by having her constantly complain to everyone before and after this moment. Kiercy Clemmons, given nothing else to work with, plays the character as bitchy and moody. 

Somehow the show's least promising subplot involves a Monarch scientist, stationed at "Outpost 47," picking up some distressing radiation signals. This is a more obvious nod towards "The Thing," that was probably inevitable in a show that features Kurt Russell wandering around a frozen landscape. While Carpenter's classic really made you feel the freezing isolation of such an event, "Monarch" can't capture the same atmosphere. In fact, you never feel like the characters are that inconvenienced by the blowing wind, plummeting temperatures, and rough terrain they are stranded in. They hike freely over the rocky hills and ice-covered ground without a single bead of moisture on their faces. Even after May's injury or Kentaro collapsing in the snow, "Parallels and Interiors" completely fails to illustrate how challenging and life-threatening this setting is. This does a lot to deflate any tension the episode could've had. 

With little else going for it, "Parallels and Interiors" at least has the good sense to throw in some giant monster action. The Frost Vark continues to hassle the heroes, tunneling under the ice, absorbing heat sources, and spewing freezing breath. Russell's rock steady charisma makes Shaw's fight against the beastie the highlight of this episode. (Even if it's completely impossible to believe that this guy is in his 90s, as the previous episode implied.) Still, Russell attempting to blow up a sci-fi monstrosity only makes up a few minutes of an otherwise tedious hour. [5/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.03: Secrets and Lies

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Secrets and Lies

In case you missed that the third episode of “Monarch” is about “Secrets and Lies,” that exact thematic concern is named in dialogue several time. In 2015, Cate, Kentaro, and May give Lee Shaw the motivation he needs to escape the Monarch facility he's being held in. The quartet afterwards head to South Korea, where they meet Du-Ho, an old friend and contact of Shaw's. After searching through their dad's documents, it is determined that Cate and Kentaro's father is probably hiding in the Alaskan mountains. Upon arriving, they are attacked by an ice-spewing beast. In 1954, the nascent Monarch run by Lee, Keiko, and Billy convinces the military to give them the uranium they need to lure out a Titan... Which the government uses as a chance to build a massive bomb with the intention of killing the monster. They test the device at Bikini Atoll, coming face-to-face with a very familiar saurian creature.

Obviously, one of the main gimmicks attracting people to “Monarch” is a chance to see Kurt Russell be bad-ass again. “Secrets and Lies” does indeed deliver on this, if briefly. The opening sequence of Shaw spinning a rental car around the Monarch compound is a compelling car chase. Even after that action beat ends, Russell's affable charm and cocksure smirk remains undeniable. He manages to elevate exposition heavy scenes and more dull hand-wringing about the family melodrama at the series' center. He adds a lot of energy to the show. As does Bruce Baek as Du-Ho, a goofy character that operates as disposable comic relief that Baek manages to make somewhat convincing.

If “Monarch” was a show just about hanging out with cool, action hero grandpa Kurt Russell and his wacky Korean buddy, it would probably be a lot more entertaining. But, no, of course, these are only supporting roles. Instead, “Monarch” is all about Cate and Kentaro grappling with the legacy of their deadbeat dad. There's one amusing moment, where the two half-siblings bound over their dad's habit of leaving pencil shavings all over the house. Otherwise, it's fairly turgid stuff. As uninvolving as this plot point is, I still care about it more than whatever melodrama is going on between May and Kentaro. Kiersey Clemons is a decent actress but she is so totally wasted in this crabby, pointless role. Meanwhile, an attempt to get us involved in the deeper leadership struggles within Monarch is even duller.

Three episodes in and the flashback sequences still remain the main reason to watch “Legacy of Monsters.” This episode even provides us with a closer look at the Bikini Atoll bombing scene, glimpsed briefly in Legendary's first “Godzilla” movie. Yes, the Big G actually appears on-screen in this episode... But don't get too excited. There's a lot of dramatic build-up, as Keiko hates the government's decision to destroy what she sees as a rare, magnificent species. The camera careens along Godzilla's scutes and tail as he surfaces. It's all building to... Godzilla standing there and looking at the nuke before it goes off. I'm reminded of Patton Oswalt's bit about the “Star Wars” prequels, which examine a big problem programs like this have. Prequels take place before all the interesting stuff happens. And so, “Monarch” trots out one of cinema's greatest monsters just to have him stand around on-screen for a few minutes. 

Perhaps the show runners were aware of what massive teases they were being with this scene. Maybe that's why they throw in more monster action during the episode's final moments. After landing in Alaska, our 2015 gang of heroes are attached by a monster that resemble a star-nosed mole. (And reminds me a bit of the hot-headed naked ice borers.) This is an exciting scene, that gets right into the monster's bizarre jaws, as it attacks an airplane. The creature – which Wikizilla informs me is called a “Frost Vark” – has freezing superpowers, showing the MonsterVerse's full commitment to comic book logic at this point. It's a solid ending to an otherwise mediocre episode, making sure I'll be coming back to watch the next installment. [6/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.02: Departure

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Departure

In its second episode, half of "Monarch's" two-pronged story line moves forward while the other goes backwards. In 2015, Cate is pursued through Tokyo by Monarch agents determined to reclaim her late father's secret documents. Teaming again with her half-brother Kentaro and his hacker friend May, they hunt down a retired government agent named Lee Shaw. Shaw assures them that there is more to their father's story than they are being told. Meanwhile, in 1952, we see how the young Shaw first met Monarch scientist Dr. Keiko and cryptozoologist Bill Randa. While escorting Keiko through the Philippines, on the trail of a mysterious radioactive signature, the trio will come face-to-face with an enormous monster out of local legend.

With “Departure,” it becomes apparent what the motivating plot point of the 2015 storyline will be. Cate and Kentaro believe their father to be dead, all the secrets he took with him never being resolved. Instead, upon meeting Lee, the possibility that dad is still alive and just in hiding rears its head. It seems the sins of their father – in the form of aggressive Monarch agents pursuing them – will be revisited upon the children. Hunting Hiroshi down and confronting him allows his kids a chance that people rarely get in real life: An opportunity to make an absentee father reap what he sowed. And anybody with a shitty dad, and years of unresolved issues along with one, can relate to that.

Yet the simple fact of the matter is I don't really care about Cate, Kentaro, and their daddy drama that much. Hiroshi (seemingly) exited the story before the show even began, making it difficult for the viewer to be invested in him. The show leaped right into Cate going on this journey, uncovering all her father's secrets, without establishing anything about her first. This also makes it hard to care about how all this stuff effects her. Meanwhile, Kentaro is characterized as a belligerent jerk. What ever the lingering tension between him and May is interests me not at all. You can see the show desperately trying to make this storyline compelling. There's a chase through a train station and a car crash afterwards. Kurt Russell appears in the final scene as the modern day Shaw, as an obvious plea to viewers to keep watching. But, as of this moment, I'm really having trouble caring.

This is a snag seemingly all “Godzilla” adjacent media must grapple with: The viewer is always going to be more interested in the monsters than the people. There's a simple solution to this and it's one “Monarch” is already doing. In the 1952 scenes, our human heroes are actively pursuing the kaiju. See, that piques our interest. That's a dynamic scenario, casting the protagonists as cryptozoologists one step behind these mysterious beasts. It also doesn't hurt that Wyatt Russell's take on Lee Shaw is by far the closest thing this show has to a likable protagonist at this moment. I also like the chemistry he has with Mari Yamamoto as Keiko and Anders Holm as Bill Randa. (Even if it seems improbable to me that the latter ages into John Goodman only twenty years after the events portrayed here.)

There is another problem facing even this half of “Monarch” however. Ya know, I don't know what it is about modern kaiju shows but they simply cannot feature more than a little bit of monster action every episode. The most recent “Godzilla” anime really had this problem, constantly teasing the viewer with a proper appearance from the titular monster without ever really delivering on it. At least “Monarch's” premise of a government organization tracking Titans – not all that dissimilar to the concept of the 1998 “Godzilla” Saturday morning cartoon, somehow still the best “Godzilla” TV show – is more compelling than the unending avalanche of pseudo-scientific technobabble bullshit that occupied most of “Singular Point.” At least “Monarch” has the excuse of being a live action show, which presumably has to balance its budget and be more discerning with its monster action than an animated series should have to be. This is probably why Godzilla himself only has a cameo in a flashback here, while another monster – a dragon-like entity – doesn't appear until the final sequence of the episode.

As disappointing – if understandable – that “Monarch” is so stingy with its giant monsters, it must be said that “Monarch” is doing the kaiju action extremely well so far. The final set piece of “Departure” sees the show embracing a horror atmosphere. Bill and Keiko crawl through a battleship abandoned in the middle of the Filipino jungle. It's caked with slime, making us wonder what the hell kind of monster is responsible for this mess. When the ship starts shaking and massive claws start breaking through the wall, our curiosity is even more piqued. There's a certain claustrophobia to people trying to escape a very tight setting as a monster rips it apart. Cool shit! If “Monarch” can summon that kind of intensity every episode, this might turn into a decent show after all. [6/10]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1.01: Aftermath

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Aftermath

When Max Borenstein wrote 2014's “Godzilla,” he insists that Legendary Pictures had no plans for an interconnected series of films built around Toho's menagerie of giant monsters and Warner Brothers' film rights to King Kong. Even though the movie came out during the hay-day of post-”Avengers” lust for cinematic universes among movie studios. However, it must've been on someone's mind, since Toho did something kind of similar back in the sixties. By the time “Kong: Skull Island” was in production, Legendary's producers were full-steam ahead with the idea. Not only where Godzilla and Kong going to fight in a future film, it would be part of a whole network of movies and shows. 

Most attempts to copy Marvel's massive success have died on the vine. While the so-called Monster-verse has not become the cultural juggernaut Disney's cape movies did, the franchise has done pretty well for itself. Nearly a decade after Legendry's first “Godzilla” the series only numbers four films. However, as a fifth installment looms, the MonsterVerse has finally begun to move into TV. Or, at the very least, prestige, big budget streaming service programs. Following the release of a mostly ignored “Kong” animated series on Netflx in June, a live action program launched on Apple TV+ last November. “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” sought to expand the background of Legendary's Godzilla/Kong adjacent world, with the same level of star power and special effects fans have come to expect from the movies.

The first episode, “Aftermath,” establishes the structure of the series, leaping between the early days of Monarch and the wake of Godzilla's first battle with the M.U.T.O. threat. In 2015, Cate Randa – a survivor of the chaos in San Francisco – travels to Japan. She's there to close out an apartment owned by her recently deceased father. She's startled to discover an older woman and younger man living there. Turns out her dad had a whole other family on the other side of the world. Soon, Cate is working with Kentaro, the half-brother she didn't know existed, to uncover the mysterious documents their dad left behind. Meanwhile, in 1959, Bill Randa and Keiko Miura – Cate and Kentaro's grandmother – track down Titan eggs in a partially radioactive city in Kazakhstan. They are accompanied by Monarch officer Leland Shaw, soon inadvertently waking a whole nest of monsters. 

Judging from the first episode alone, “Monarch” already feels like two different shows. The scenes set in 2015 attempt to ground this universe of giant monsters in more human concerns. Cate's discovery that her father wasn't just unfaithful to her mother, but actually have a second life in a different city, is the kind of fallout dad's all too often leave behind. It's a reveal that's decently handled. Anna Sawai seems to be a decent enough lead and I like the somewhat antagonistic energy she shares with Ren Watabe, as Kentaro. Yet the sequences devoted to bringing in May, some sort of hacker played by Kiersey Clemons, to decode the Monarch documents come off as perfunctory. It's all set-up for more important events down the road and that's exactly what it feels like. 

In other words, “Monarch” is already struggling with something nearly every “Godzilla” movie has to deal with: The unavoidable fact that the audience is here to see the monsters and that the human storylines, all too often, feel like an obstacle to that. With that in mind, it's unsurprising that the 1959 sequences are more compelling. Wyatt Russell as Lee Shaw has a little bit of his dad's charisma, making Lee already an action hero we can follow. The scene devoted to the monster eggs hatching, unleashing a horde of beasties that recall both Toho's Shockirus and Meganulon, generates some tension. If nothing else, the image of a nest of glowing, orange eggs with little, insectoid monsters inside, nestled within a dilapidated silo, is a worthwhile one.

This is not the only monster action in the episode. The opening scene takes place during the events of “Kong: Skull Island,” showing John Goodman running from an enormous spider just to encounter some kind of rock-like crab beasts. Godzilla also makes a brief appearance as Cate recalls the events in San Francisco. And these scenes are pretty well done, carrying the trademark MonsterVerse balance of showing awe and respect to the kaiju while piling on pulpy action. Yet my favorite detail from “Aftermath” are the little bits of world-building. That Tokyo has instated regular drills for kaiju attacks, people filing into underground, monster-proof bunker. Or that there are even conspiracy theories surrounding the monsters, some people believing the events of “Godzilla” to be an elaborate hoax. If giant monsters were real, there would definitely be Godzilla truthers.

“Aftermath” isn't a bad hour of television. Matt Shakman – previously of “WandaVision” – knows how to direct spectacle like this. The enormous bugs of the final scene are properly skin-crawling and the episode ends on the kind of hook that keeps you coming back. Whether “Monarch” will build to a satisfying whole remains to be seen. “Aftermath” has its moments while also feeling a little tedious at times. Hopefully a stronger balance will take root soon. [6/10]