Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 1.Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 is finally here, and the new release in the Monsterverse wastes no time, with its first episode’s ending bringing along quite a few twists and new questions. The Apple TV sci-fi series‘ first season ended with Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw seemingly sacrificing himself, while the rest of the group managed to return to Earth.
In 2017, viewers saw an Apex Cybernetics outpost on Skull Island, with the characters quickly making way as Kong arrived to check out what had just happened. That serves as the perfect starting point for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, with Kong wreaking havoc. Throughout the hour, Monsterverse fans are treated to a new Titan, an intriguing backstory, and a couple of major twists.
Titan X’s Escape And What It Means For Season 2
Titan X is the main kaiju in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, with its backstory being told in the sci-fi series’ past timeline with young Lee Shaw, Keiko, and Billy, and its arrival on Earth explored in the present. In Santa Soledad, Southern Chile, in 1957, Monarch’s founding trio searches for clues to prove a sea serpent myth that goes back 200 years is real.
There are romantic moments between Lee and Keiko, arguments with locals, and the setup for Titan X’s arrival, as one character says, “They worship him and the sea provides.” By the end of the episode, Cate’s attempt to rescue Lee from the Axis Mundi enormously backfires, as Titan X makes its way across the portal, kills Natalia Verdugo, Monarch’s deputy director, and runs away from Kong.
The Monsterverse gets an exciting new chapter as Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 builds upon the first season’s storylines in a heartfelt way.
With Titan X headed into the ocean, Kong can’t follow it, and episode 1’s main question becomes where the beast could be headed next. At this time, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Titan X will show up next, though Santa Soledad emerges as a possible location based on the flashbacks.
Titan X traveling through the ocean could also be how Godzilla enters the fold, and a new G-Day event is not out of the question. The kaiju’s debut and subsequent escape from Kong’s grasp set up an intense storyline for season 2, as Monarch now has a Titan on the wind to deal with.
Lee Shaw Returns In Episode 1’s Ending
Old Lee Shaw seemingly sacrificing himself so that Keiko and the others could go back home was a major part of season 1’s ending. However, by the end of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 1, that is undone. Kurt Russell’s Monsterverse character looms large over the Apple TV sci-fi series’ return, as Cate trying to get Shaw back is what unleashes Titan X.
While having Shaw, one of the Monsterverse’s best tacticians, back is important, letting a Titan loose at the same time is something that even he should be against. That said, season 2 can now dive deeper into Lee and Keiko’s connection, as she has to come to terms with the new world she is a part of and how one of the men she loved has changed over the years.
During his flight back through the portal, Lee has to fight one of the scarab-like creatures that are connected to Titan X in the past timeline. He struggles to kill it, showing how the creatures are not simple foes. As such, the fact that one of the scarabs made its way back with Lee’s rescue team is reason to worry.
Monarch’s Future After That Major Death Explained
At the end of the episode, Titan X’s arrival leads to the death of Natalia Verdugo, who is swatted away by one of the kaiju’s tentacles. That leaves a major role in Monarch’s power structure, and a few characters could benefit from that going forward. Verdugo’s death is the perfect opportunity for Tim to be taken more seriously, assuming a position of power at Monarch.
Alternatively, Keiko could be on her way to being a driving force at Monarch again. After all, Tim directly tells her that she could return Monarch to what it was always supposed to be. Now that she is living in a completely new time period, the season 2 premiere’s ending could be setting up a new purpose for Keiko. Now back, Lee could also rise inside Monarch.
What’s Up With Keiko And Hiroshi’s Unique Connection
Finally, the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 premiere once again touched on one of the most sensitive topics from season 1: Hiroshi’s double life. Still hurt by her father’s lies, Cate asks Hiroshi what he was thinking by having two families. His answer is that Emiko, Kentaro’s mother, also worked at Monarch, being able to understand Hiroshi’s life.
As for Cate’s mother, Caroline, he could not tell her about Monarch and its secrets. Still, he loved both of them, telling Cate that it is not something one just decides to do. After that, the sci-fi series instantly cuts to a shot in the past storyline with Wyatt Russell’s version of Lee Shaw, Mari Yamamoto’s Keiko, and Anders Holm’s Bill Randa, the show’s main romantic triangle.
Monarch has clearly set up a unique connection between mother and son, as Keiko also fell for two men, Billy and Lee, in the past, while her son, Hiroshi, repeated that with Kentaro and Cate’s mothers. It is an unusual parallel, but with Keiko now back in the present and Hiroshi’s double life remaining a key plot point, episode 1’s ending opens the door for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 to see how those characters relate.
- Release Date
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November 16, 2023
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Chris Black, Matt Fraction
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Kiersey Clemons
May Hewitt