Chris Connor reviews the eighth episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters…
As we head towards the endpoint of Monarch’s first season we get some answers to questions that have been permeating throughout. We get more of a focus on younger Lee Shaw, Keiko and Bill Randa in the 1950s. We find out that Bill is not Hiroshi’s real father and where Lee and Bill ultimately lost Keiko and the lengths they went to in the years following to find a way to find her. This also introduces the concept of the Hollow Earth as seen in Godzilla vs Kong and explains the shifts in behaviour between the Bill we’ve been following and the man he would become in Kong Skull Island.
Again this episode shows the series is at its strongest when it focuses on the dual narratives and how they interweave. Episodes that have led with the modern timeline have struggled to keep the narrative flowing, especially with a lack in titan action. Greater emphasis on Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw in this episode and his true motives helps expand on some of the threads to date as he looks to find a way to prevent further titan incursions.
Perhaps one of the show’s weakest points is the number of twists and turns and who are the actual protagonists and antagonists. There have been numerous pivots, it has become hard for audiences to truly care if the characters will suddenly switch allegiance, having Monarch playing the villain for so much of this season makes it hard for us to suddenly root for them in the last 3-4 episodes.
Bar a brief sequence at the tail end of the episode there is a lack of Kaiju action with the show seemingly saving some sequences for the final two episodes which promise to be full of action with a cliffhanger ending to this episode, will we see more of the Hollow Earth perhaps setting up the next Godzilla & Kong film, due in 2024.
As with previous episodes, ‘Birthright’ is not without its merits but the show is struggling to fill its ten episodes with the structure not quite working as it had in its earlier episodes. It does feel like it has gone round in circles as our heroes have searched for Hiroshi Randa since episode one with little payoff so far. There remain some questions to be answered in the final two episodes that look set to be some of the most action packed to date and can hopefully end the series on a winning note.
Chris Connor
