Chris Connor reviews the seventh episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters…
After a double dose of Godzilla in the previous episode, episode seven of Monarch’s first season takes a more sedate pace with a more character-driven narrative. Initially seemingly unconnected to the larger series arc, it becomes clear it is all connected and it will be interesting to see how the series wraps up its loose ends in the final three episodes.
The bulk of this episode as the title suggests is focused on May’s background and how she ended up in Tokyo, meeting Kentaro. We find out she worked for a shady tech agency which meant she had to flee the US and her family. It also becomes clear that May isn’t her real name, it is Kora. Cate, Kentaro and Tim visit her family to work out what happened to Kora/May in the previous episode.
We cut between flashbacks to Kora’s initial recruitment to the mysterious AET. What initially seems like a separate story pushing us away from the main narrative quickly intersects as it is revealed that AET are experimenting on animals to unlock their potential and have an interest in the Titans as well, having monitored May’s interactions with Monarch in the previous episodes wanting to harness her understanding of the creatures to further their own goals.
While this episode again unpacks some of the backstory that has been missing until now, tonally it feels out of place with what we have seen to date with no real appearances from Titans. It also suffers from a lack of links to the 50s storyline and a relatively sparse appearance from Kurt Russell who bookends the episode, although we get a sense that Lee Shaw is up to something, returning to the scene of the Alaskan incident earlier in the season, what this means moving forward will be intriguing to unpack.
Monarch continues to deliver more character-driven storytelling which may frustrate audiences wanting more Kaiju action, but that is surely to come in its climactic episodes. This episode sets up a few shifts in direction and fills in the necessary blanks in May/Kora’s story which will likely come to a head in a few episode’s time.
SEE ALSO: Read our exclusive interview with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters composer Leopold Ross
Chris Connor
