Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has finally arrived, ushering in a new chapter in the ongoing MonsterVerse. However, instead of looking to the future and bridging the gap between 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong and next year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the new series instead chooses to head back to the past and explore previously uncharted eras in the story, specifically several decades before 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and the immediate aftermath of 2014’s Godzilla.
**This review may contain minor spoilers from the first eight episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters**
The series bounces between the 1950s and 2014/2015 plots relatively seamlessly, concurrently telling two stories - one following Bill Randa (Anders Holm), Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), and Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) and the other following an older Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell), Cate (Anna Sawai), Kentaro (Ren Watabe), and May (Kiersey Clemons) - and while the two plotlines may seem slightly disconnected at first glance, they do ultimately serve the same purpose: to reveal the inception of Monarch and their connection to the resurgence of the Titans post-Godzilla.
Due to its setting, it’s hard for the series not to retread through some familiar ground, but the premise of the show manages to remain compelling, for the most part, thanks in no small part to arguably the MonsterVerse’s most interesting batch of characters, led by the incomparable Kurt Russell, who is absolutely the right kind of crazy to star in this kind of show, because as good as the cast is, he’s the only one that seems to truly understand the ridiculousness of the situation and is fully committed to the absolute insanity that awaits us.
However, while Russell may be the biggest draw on the cast list, the show is primarily centered around an original character named Cate, portrayed by an excellent Anna Sawai, who sets out to honor her father’s last wishes before uncovering an unexpected family secret that inadvertently thrusts her into the center of a conspiracy that spans generations, all the way back to her grandmother. As she learns more about Monarch, we’re also taken through a variety of encounters that inform much of what’s come since and, in some way, may tease what’s to come next.
Considering that Godzilla is on the poster, it should come as no surprise that he’s in the show too. Yes, you heard it here first. Godzilla is in the show!… and he’s actually in it a lot more than the trailer would have you believe. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Big G doesn’t make a full-fledged appearance or anything, nothing that would get him top billing, but he is in it enough to keep you coming back for more. The production value on the show is really incredible and each scene looks on par with the big-screen adventures, and honestly, there are moments in the show that are even more impressive than what we’ve seen in the movies.
As for other Titans, well, I’m not at liberty to divulge too much information on that front, but fans won’t be disappointed with any of them. There is at least one Titan appearance per episode, with a lot of variety, so be prepared to meet a lot of gruesome new faces. They are impeccably designed and all look phenomenal, so Apple TV+ and Legendary are really going all out for the show and we reckon there’s a lot more to come over the next few years if/when this show is a roaring success.
Having seen eight out of ten episodes, there’s a lot of spoiler-y stuff to unpack as the season progresses, but one thing that remains on the top of mind is whether or not the central mystery will actually have a satisfactory payoff by the finale. While there is plenty of fresh material to mine from, specifically what Cate’s father was up to before his demise, there are also several unsolved threads that seem to have already been answered by the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. If you’re an ardent fan, there’s a chance you might even be able to decipher some of where this show is ultimately going, although we’re holding out hope that the final two episodes can manage to surprise.
The show also does a good job putting Godzilla’s 2014 debut to the world in perspective and keeps a fairly serious tone for most of its run, but there are a few tonal inconsistencies later on as it seems to lean a little more into the goofy when the sheer insanity of their predicament begins to weigh on the characters, although the scripts do always seem to balance it out by the end of the hour. One thing that might’ve helped is reducing the number of characters since you’re basically asked to follow interconnected plot threads for ten or twelve different characters at any given point, and the least interesting always seem to be the ones that work for Monarch. Go figure.
WandaVision and soon-to-be Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman helmed the first two episodes and does an exceptional job setting the stage for what’s to come. Regardless of its highs and lows, this is one show that is just too hard to stop watching. It’s exceptional television and expands a mythology that has been somewhat glossed over in the big-budget films (for obvious monster-related reasons), and should make fans out of even the most difficult of non-believers because at its core, the show is just fun. What more can you ask for?
Plus, be on the lookout for plenty of Easter Eggs…
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is wildly entertaining with a compelling human core that keeps you coming back for more. Godzilla and the Titans remain the stars of the MonsterVerse, but, thanks to the outstanding father-son duo of Kurt and Wyatt Russell as well as a star-making turn from Anna Sawai, the universe is finally able to expand in a satisfying way that will hopefully set the stage for a variety of new adventures, including the sure-to-be epic Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in March.