After a stonking first episode that kicked the second season of Monarch off style, it’s time for the show to start falling into some recognizable rhythms. After throwing Monsterverse fans a titanic sized bone in the form of multiple Kong rampages, a very welcome return to Skull Island and brand new, tentacled Titan alpha, the show has to now lay the proper ground work that’ll keep us going over the next nine weeks and step one seems to be to focus chiefly on the creature known as Titan X.
With no Godzilla in sight and Kong briefly shown still pissing and moaning about how these stupid little humans have released the gargantuan creature from Axis Mundi, it’s down to the same humans (and the new Titan) to carry the show once more – it is called Monarch, after all…
OK squishy humans, Kong was the opening act, but once more it’s over to you.
With the massive, aquatic form of Titan X booking it away from Skull Island, Monarch gives chase in Outpost 18 while a frustrated Kong complains noisily from land. However, while Monarch has this new monster in sight, those on board soon reveal that they have conflicting ideas about how to proceed. With director Verdugo killed and communications down, suddenly top of the chain of command is Tim who looks as stunned at the news as anyone – but his cautious style of leadership is immediately challenged by the famously headstrong Lee Shaw, whose escape from Axis Mundi gave Titan X it’s chance to hotfoot it back up to our world.
But while debate rages about how to stop the monster before it encroaches into major shipping lanes, Cate is having guilt issues about bring the one directly responsible for unleashing the creature into our oceans. However, while a spot of self loathing isn’t exactly new for her, she’s snapped out of putting the world on her shoulders when one of the small, crustacean-like offspring of Titan X reveals that’s it’s snuck on board and attacks her. But when Kentaro arrives to save his half-sister, the signal the little critter puts out is enough to turn Titan X around.
Realising that they are now the target, the crew of Outpost 18 have to figure out how to change the monster’s direction once more before they feel the wrath of the big momma, but once again, Shaw’s brash actions both scupper and save any attempts made. But while he opts to take the baby out in a speedboat and lure Titan X away himself, back in 1957, in the creepy village of Santa Soledad in Chile, we find out how Shaw, Keiko and Bill crossed paths with Titan X once before. After Bill leaves to follow up some more findings, Shaw and Keiko find that their natural attraction disturbed when those unnerving locals invite them to their annual festival. But when they find themselves drugged, the pair realise that the chants and dances signify something rather worrying – the summoning of Titan X and its Scarab children.
Obviously, when you kick off a new season, it’s a good idea to break out the big guns early on order to give the public what they want; and while godzilla fans may have been dismayed at the lack of a certain Big G on screen, his absence was more than made up by how much screen time Kong managed to score in his stead. But now that the show has left the starting blocks, it’s time once more for the denizens of Monarch to carry matters once more, and for the most part, they prove to have what it takes. Of course, it helps that a major addition to the cast list is a humongous sea monster, who’s rampages will undoubtedly form the focal point for this sophomore season. Yes, all it does is swim very fast in one direction and then swim very fast in an opposite direction, but having the path of a Titan be the main focus point of the show initially feels way more dynamic than just the cast stumbling on new ones every week and it gives everything a more epic, disaster movie feel. Plus, with it’s spines, tentacles and sheer bulk dwarfing whales like bath toys, Titan X seems to be a worthy challenger considering that it undoubtedly will be going toe to tendril with both Kong and Godzilla throughout the season.
But how does the show fare when it isn’t focused on rampaging sea monsters? Well, it depends on who you focus on really, because while the first season of Monarch managed to space everyone out, now that the majority of the cast are now cooped up together within the walls of Outpost 18, there’s a bit of jostling for space. Taking point is Kurt Russell’s Shaw, stepping on the toes of his superiors and discovering that his gung-ho attitude doesn’t always help and his clashes with Joe Tippett’s nerdy Tim show promise. Plus Russell gets a badass scene where he lures Monster X away with a Scarab and a speedboat that manages to evoke the scale of the franchise’s big screen outings, which is vital when you’re dealing with hefty-sized monsters.
Another major character arc is the emotions of Anna Sawai’s Cate, who now adds overwhelming guilt to her existing PTSD – however, if she came across a bit self absorbed before, it’s starting to feel a bit overwhelming now and matters aren’t helped by the fact that she instantly forgets how phones or fire extinguishers work when she’s attacked by a wayward Scarab. Yes, I get that she’s the main character, but that doesn’t mean she should have main character syndrome, and hopefully her arc will level out a bit as we go. Weirdly, Keiko’s Captain America style time displacement issues are handled with a far more subtle hand as the fact that she’s lost decades to Axis Mundi hasn’t slowed her doen much, but possibly the biggest human issue that exists thus far is that with two thirds of the main cast on one boat, Kentaro, May and Hiroshi literally have almost nothing to do but stand around, tinker with tech, or offer advice and last minutes saves from marauding crab-monsters.
However, while the modern day stuff fascinates and frustrates in unequal measure, once again, the more simplified stuff set in the past manages to cut through the bullshit by cutting right to the show’s core. While young Shaw and “young” Keiko struggle with their feelings after Bill leaves Santa Soledad chasing more clues, those Lovecraftian cult vibes come back in full force when those unnerving villagers go full Wicker Man and lure the couple into a Ritual which summons their sea God, Titan X. With Scarabs scuttling all over the place and the monster itself rearing up over the town as it lashes out with its tentacles, it’s the perfect counterpoint to the modern day stuff, adding smaller, more intimate, human tension while the sections set in 2019 get appropriately huge.
While episode 2 reveals that there’s still a bit of work to be done when it comes to properly utilising some of the cast (May in particular is dangerously extraneous at this early point), Monarch has certainly nailed down the epic stuff nicely. In fact, having a main Titan be a constant threat (for now) is an exceedingly savvy move, especially if they’re planning to keep Kong and Godzilla in the wings for the next couple of episodes. Yes, some of the old problems still remain, but Monarch definitely knows when to go big and when to go bigger.
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