When Apple TV+ announced Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, fans were curious about how many Titans would be involved in the show. Given that the CGI budget is usually an issue for most studios and streaming services, many assumed the series would be light on the giant beasts. That turns out not to be the case as indicated by the first two episodes by director Matt Shakman. In fact, they have quite a few kaiju in play.

Matt Fraction, Chris Black and the rest of the creative team find a key arc for the fan-favorite Godzilla. It's not a long sequence, but Godzilla drives the lead protagonist, Cate, down a rabbit hole that exposes a Monarch conspiracy. While it's short but sweet, Godzilla's cameo also reignites another aspect of the character the last couple movies ignored. This is the fact he's a killer, which is sure to stoke debates as the rest of the episodes play out.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Paints Godzilla as the Author of Pain

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Legacy of Monsters shows Godzilla in a dark light in the first episode, "Aftermath." Cate is trying to find out her late father Hiroshi's link to Monarch and what investigations he made, which brings her to Tokyo, Japan. An emergency drill unfolds, and while underground, Cate experiences an anxiety attack and claustrophobia. Through flashbacks. Monarch reveals this anxiety is tied to Gareth Edwards' Godzilla from 2014. Cate was on the Golden Gate Bridge when Godzilla fought the US military and tried to get to the MUTOs in an event called "G-Day."

The iconic sequence is told from a different perspective by VFX Supervisor, Sean Konrad and his team. Here, Cate's students are stuck on a bus as debris falls and the cables burst. The movie glossed over all this, but Cate's perspective is harrowing as it tells the harsh reality of the situation. She gets some of the children out but eventually, the bridge collapses and the bus falls in, along with many other innocents in different vehicles. Godzilla, however, doesn't care. He lets out his signature roar, stares her dead in the eye, and lets her know the sanctity of human life doesn't concern him.

All Godzilla wants is to get to the other Titans and rip them apart. It reminds audiences that Godzilla is just trying to be atop the food chain. He does protect mankind along the way, but humanity isn't his first priority. The MonsterVerse comics illustrated as much, with these fights with his ancestor Dagon and other beasts taking place to show who's predator and who's prey. At the bridge, Godzilla lives up to that dynasty. He just wants to be the alpha, which leaves a terrifying impression on Cate, who had no clue she was going to be caught in the middle of this apex war.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Doubles Down on Godzilla's True Nature

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While Godzilla is the author of all Cate's pain, this is his true nature. It's why he had to emerge to fight Rodan and King Ghidorah in King of the Monsters. It was all about establishing that equilibrium across the entire planet. This is also the reason he fought Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong, and why he tries to kill any opposition from the Hollow Earth. It also shows why he'll have to work with Kong when new threats arise in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It's not that altruistic a mission, but it is what Godzilla has to do to retain the throne.

If Godzilla doesn't keep being this destructive force to be reckoned with, he'll be rendered extinct, whether it's at the hands of other kaiju, Mechagodzilla, or the world's armies. In San Francisco, he didn't know he had Mothra out there who could heal him, so it's understandable why he'd be so primal and brutal. It's still tough to digest the mass casualties and collateral damage along the way. Across the Monsterverse trilogy and Kong: Skull Island, fans forget how many people died when all these Titans collided. The environment crumbled as well, explaining why these monsters ought to be feared. In Cate's case, she's seeing things firsthand and left with more cynical impressions of life.

The children Cate cared for died and she is struggling with PTSD and depression. Yet, she's seeing a world trying to prop Godzilla up as a hero. However, showing things from her perspectiec is nuanced, not to mention more realistic and practical than idealistic. This Godzilla trait cannot be ignored, especially as the last couple of movies painted him as a savior. While he does good at times, he's still a terrifying weapon that could lose control. He's already causing a lot of carnage and chaos inadvertently, so one has to imagine how it would be if he turned on the world. Cate is in this mode, realizing he'll always be a killer. This cerebral angle adds more gravity and nuance to the entire protector of humanity arc which, while it makes for fun viewing, really looks past what the giant lizard is: a villain squashing anything in his path.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Punctuates Titans Cannot Be Trusted

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It goes without saying, humanity cowers at the feet of Godzilla. Cate's story is way before the Kong fight, so she won't know what the story evolves into. But MonsterVerse audiences can reconcile and see the discrepancy. These Titans just cannot be trusted, which is why humanity has worked to communicate and tame Kong. Either that or find weapons such as the oxygen bomb to crush Godzilla. The MonsterVerse will keep pushing Godzilla and Kong as superheroes of sorts, especially with new beasts to come. But these anomalies where they connect with people, act docile and become friends all have a temporary energy to them.

Cate is proof of how things go awry when there's no human bond or relationship being used as a gambling mechanism. As a result, she's suffered in a big way by witnessing an unforgiving Godzilla who saw fear in her and ignored it. This further shapes Monarch's story, and why the likes of Lee Shaw (played by Wyatt and Kurt Russell), and Bill Randa (played by John Goodman and Anders Holm), try to expose the truth. They needed people to see there were weapons of mass destruction around that Monarch wanted to appropriate, at the expense of lives. Monarch didn't care if these creatures couldn't be trusted, as long as they delivered results. Now that legacy has passed to Cate, all to show humanity and the Titans are monsters.

Luckily, Cate finds a team herself alongside her half-brought Kentaro and his ex-girlfriend May. When they dig deeper in Episode 2, "Departure" Cate attains her father's evidence of wild beasts fighting for dominion decades before the bridge and can tell they'll always be threats to the surface. This is a welcome duality to the entire MonsterVerse, reinforcing the idea that Kong and Godzilla are better off in the Hollow Earth. They've done tremendous damage up top and it's not that humanity can do anything in any case.

As it stands, this journalistic approach Legacy of Monsters is taking also resonates in the real world. In an era where the digital realm and social media seed out fake news and conspiracies, Cate is fighting to show what's right in front of everyone's eyes. It doesn't matter how the media tries to spin it, or how the Japanese or American governments manipulate things to keep working with Monarch, the Titans aren't pets. They're destroyers, enemies and have no qualms about what they do.

The first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are now available on Apple TV+, with additional episodes debuting on Wednesdays.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Sci-Fi

Adventure

Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.

Release Date

November 17, 2023

Cast

Anna Sawai , Kiersey Clemons , Ren Watabe , Wyatt Russell , Kurt Russell

Main Genre

Action

Seasons

1 Season