Helmed by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes place in 2015, one year after the re-emergence of Godzilla, where half-siblings Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro Randa (Ren Watabe) investigate their missing father Hiroshi’s connection to Monarch, the covert organization monitoring giant monsters known as Titans. Two generations earlier, Bill Randa (Anders Holm) and Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto) are scientists involved with the early development of Monarch. Former Army officer Lee Shaw (Wyatt and Kurt Russell) becomes a close ally to the Randa family across both time periods.
This marks the second spin-off series of ongoing Monsterverse but this is the first one to be in live action. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this series but as a fan of the Monsterverse as well as all things Godzilla, I was willing to give this series a shot especially given the amount of talent and visual effort that was being put into it. After getting the chance to finally watch all 10 episodes I can say that this series is a fantastic and unique addition to the Monsterverse that not only improves the universe as a whole but also feels like it is a league of its own.
Following the recent footsteps of Toho’s Godzilla Minus One, the showmakers of this series deliver a story with a more grounded perspective that is led by compelling characters and equally compelling writing that makes this installment hugely stand out from the films in many ways. This series had my attention from start to end and it didn’t need that many monsters to have me invested in it. In a way, I’d like to look at this series as the Monsterverse equivalent of Agents of SHIELD where it doesn’t necessarily follow the iconic titans but instead follows the organization that has been chasing after them for years through a unique narrative approach.
This series tells two different stories, one set in the 1950s and one in 2015. The 1950s storyline focuses on the founders, origins, and history of the Monarch organization while the 2015 storyline follows the legacy of Monarch in the form of two siblings whose familial connection to the organization puts them on a globe-trotting adventure, largely impacting the world of the Monsterverse forever. Juggling these two stories and connecting them seamlessly is no easy task yet the creators of this show pulled it off wonderfully; they not only made us care about the events that occurred in both stories but also about the characters involved.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Monsterverse over the years has always been the lack of compelling human characters to care for apart from a few exceptions. This series changes that by giving some of the best acted, written, and developed human characters in the Monsterverse so far.
Connecting the two timelines is the character of Lee Shaw, a former soldier and founder of Monarch played in a fantastic double performance by Kurt and Wyatt Russell. While he may not be the lead character of this series he is an awesome one that steals the spotlight with his story and the excellent work given to him by the Russells. Both of their performances truly felt like the same character in different eras, delivering a compelling character that has a fully developed arc, great charm, and emotional weight while also sharing excellent chemistry with those around him in both timelines. The Russels truly were the strongest stars of this series when playing this one character and Lee Shaw may easily be my favorite human character we have had in the Monstersverse so far.
As for the rest of the main cast in both eras, they do excellent jobs with the parts they are given with each character having their arcs that are well developed and emotionally invested for different reasons.
In the 1950s, we have Anders Holm playing a young Bill Randa who was previously played by John Goodman in Kong: Skull Island. Holm was able to give this character massive amounts of depth that he wasn’t given in the film and we get the chance to learn a lot more about him as well as just how crucial his role to Monarch was before the Skull Island expedition that would ultimately lead to his unfortunate demise. He was instantly likable from the moment he came on screen and I was not expecting to like his character as much but it goes to show the potential that spin-offs like this can do to improve upon previous characters and ideas in this universe and change your perspective on them.
We also have Mari Yamamoto as Keiko, who is the third founder of Monarch serves as the heart of the 1950s storyline and one whose journey in the story takes a lot of surprising routes that are both emotionally impactful and narratively crucial to the overall story of the Monsterverse. Yamamoto gives this character so many layers through her performance that had me emotionally attached to her character every time she came on screen and next to the Russells she delivers some of the best scenes in the series as a whole.
I can say that I was inclined to love the 1950s storyline and characters the most in this series but I found the 2015 storyline to be equally as compelling with its characters. Anna Sawai as Cate Randa seemingly starts as a character you wouldn’t think you would come to like but when we get a deeper look at what she has been through as a PTSD-stricken survivor of the events of Godzilla 2014 and see her change along a thrilling journey I found myself invested in her over time.
The same can be said for her half-brother, Kentaro Randa, played by Ren Watabe, who is also a character whose struggles become more apparent as the series progresses. Ren does a spectacular job of delivering excellent emotional moments as he is trying to make sense of his father’s secret life attached to Monarch.
The biggest surprise amongst the 2015 crew though was Kiersey Clemons as May, a tech geek with a fun personality but also a mysterious background that slowly begins to surface, impacting the course of the 2015 storyline and expanding upon a certain corner of Monsterverse lore that was recently introduced in one of the films (can’t say which one due to spoilers). Initially, I thought this character was going to be a small part of the story but she ends up being a large part of it and truly shines in this series thanks later to Clemons’s performance. She truly makes for a memorable character with a lot of baggage that you can’t help but feel intrigued by as the series goes on. It felt like a blessing to finally get an installment in this universe where a majority of the human characters felt layered and engaging instead of being mostly two-dimensional chess pieces with basic personalities to drive the plot forward.
As for the monsters that appear in this series they are all phenomenal, not only in looks but also in how they are utilized appropriately in this series, with several new beasts making their first-time debut in this series alongside a few familiar ones. They all add great amounts of tension and thrills in their respective appearances as they are portrayed as mostly animals that are simply acting out upon their instincts rather than having any sort of malice towards humanity. For instance, Godzilla is trying to preserve balance on Earth as the King of Monsters, though is also a powerful force of nature that can bring about great destruction both intentionally and unintentionally. Even in his brief appearances in this series, he is truly treated as a majestic presence that impacts the world and its characters hugely, which I enjoyed as I felt that was something we should have had a lot more of in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
However, even when the monsters shown aren’t acting out with any evil intent that doesn’t make them pose less of a threat to the human world, as this series showcases how titans are beginning to surface all over the place as a result of the events of Godzilla 2014 and are altering the course of the world in many ways.
I love the un-intrusive, subtle, and natural ways that this series does its world-building and the little ways that show how normal everyday life has changed and adapted around the existence of monsters. We also begin to see how certain events in the films would come to pass by bridging various gaps between the films all of which are done seamlessly and never feel forced. Everything feels like a natural part of the story they are telling while at the same time improving upon the established ideas of this universe, including the overall history of Monarch as an organization as well as the rise of other significant groups that would impact later events like Apex Cybernetics.
But this series isn’t just about world-building since at its core it is telling a mostly grounded human story that takes its time to explore the characters and introduce various themes that all feel very engaging. On occasion, the pacing can be a tad bit slow for certain scenes and it takes time for things to get to a point, but all of it ultimately pays off by the end of the series for those who follow through. This is not a mindless monster mash series that treats the audience as if it was unintelligent; it doesn’t try to coddle you or hold your hand. The pieces of the puzzle this story provides to get to the answers are all there in this series, shown rather than told, making you pay attention or be patient, which I do like. It feels like a proper mystery thriller series that you can feel engaged with, even with how complex it can get at times, and delivers satisfying payoffs for everything it sets up.
Now there are several fun twists and turns this series takes but easily the biggest ones come in around the final two episodes. The series is mostly grounded for the majority of this season but it takes a very bold turn in the final two episodes when we get to explore a new realm that ties in with the world of the Hollow Earth, which we got to see firsthand in Godzilla vs Kong and we will be seeing more of in the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. These last two episodes deliver some crazy stuff but also deliver some strong emotional moments that hit hard, making a lot of the long build-up in this series worth it.
Things conclude on a great note while also opening the doors for a potential second season that can explore even more through the eyes of these characters after what they have just uncovered, changing things forever going forward.
As far as action goes this series doesn’t have as much as you would think so don’t expect to have monster fights every episode. This series does feature some extremely suspenseful sequences involving new Titans but no major battles, apart from one awesome fight that happens much later in the series. For those who are perhaps going in expecting intense non-stop Kaiju action this is not that kind of series, but I don’t feel it needed any to be as engaging as it is.
Another strong aspect of this series is easily the technical elements. It’s clear that Apple TV wanted to make this the best-looking Kaiju series possible as every episode looked and felt like a large-scale film with beautiful sets, incredible visual effects (especially for the monsters), stellar cinematography, and strong music work by Leopold Ross, who goes full sci-fi with his themes for this series.
It’s clear that so much effort was poured into not only the writing of this show but also every other element of this series to make it look and sound amazing in every possible way. None of it ever felt cheap, except for maybe one or two scenes where the backgrounds would be very noticeably fake, but aside from that this series looks stunning in every frame. It is a truly surprising and impressive installment that showcases what can be done with the Monsterverse to make it more than just about entertaining monster fights and action-packed adventures.
There’s a lot this series has improved upon from the films and I would be completely open to seeing what more they can do with a second season or perhaps another spin-off taking place in the same universe. As long as it is given the same amount of dedicated effort as this series I say bring on more tales like this for the Monsterverse. I’m going to give Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 an A = 95.
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