Monarch Sidesteps The Kaiju-Sized Issue That Fans Were Worried About
This post contains spoilers for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" just dropped on Apple TV+, and while the show still seems to be finding its footing in its first two episodes, the premiere has already assuaged some of fans' basic fears about how the show would work. Sure, this is a kaiju series and a continuation of the story that started with Legendary's MonsterVerse a decade ago, but it's also a 10-hour-long season on a streamer known more for its brainy literary adaptations than all things monstrous. Plus, the title is "Legacy of Monsters" and the show's first trailer sets it up to be more of a cross-generational mystery than an action series. In short, we worried ahead of release that "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" might be a bit short on the actual monsters. Nope!
The first two episodes of the show set up the multi-timeline plot and introduce a whole bunch of new characters while also making room for three different big monster attack scenes (plus a Godzilla attack flashback). Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) might be on the hunt for clues about her dad's life, but everyone around her seems to be stumbling into big old monster nests instead. By the end of episode two, we get to see some MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms, duh) that have never been seen before in Legendary's 21st-century spin on Godzilla, including some creepy kaiju babies.
Here there be monsters
In fact, the pilot episode of the show kicks off immediately with a scary, oversized creature scene, as a scene set in 1973 shows John Goodman's Randa on the run from a big-ass spider. This is actually a kaiju Godzilla fans have seen before: Mother Longlegs, the spindly, stabby-legged spider that first appeared in "Kong: Skull Island." She's deeply freaky, and she's not even the worst baddie on the island who gets too close to Randa for comfort. The scene ends not with the character being spun into a web, but with a huge crab-like creature — Mantleclaw from "Godzilla vs. Kong" – emerging from the ground to fight the spider, a match that ends with both monsters tumbling into the sea.
Personally, I think this spider was one of the creepier kaiju I've seen on screen, especially because the show makes sure to keep it in constant motion so it always looks poised to rush straight at its prey — the way a spider you spot on your wall might sprint towards your head before you can run and scream. Non-arachnophobes will likely be more traumatized by the premiere's final scene instead. In that one, a bunch of glowing insect eggs in a cave explode open when the ground begins to crumble, resulting in a gnarly-looking horde of cockroach-like baby kaiju called Endoswarmers.
An abundance of creepy kaiju
The quickly building swarm soon overwhelms scientist Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), and in a last-minute shocker, she seems to fall to her death. This scene is pretty great, not just because it's a fresh setup for a MonsterVerse kill scene, but also because it subverts our expectations; these geeks don't mistake the eggs for weird cave growths, but know what they are and knowingly go towards danger anyway. These kaiju also clearly aren't lone wolf types, but pack hunters.
In a separate mission Keiko undertakes with Randa (Anders Holm) in episode 2, the pair also stumble upon a "dragon," a horned, winged lizard with a three-pronged tail that bears some resemblance to Rodan. The giant creature bashes its claws through the walls of the abandoned ship it, or something else, seems to have covered with people-digesting goo, then makes itself known in the show's first proper monster money shot — a cool creature reveal moment that ends episode 2. All in all, any fears fans may have had about the show getting into the weeds or saving monsters until later in the season are unfounded, because this show is clearly chock full of massive creepy crawlies and awe-inspiring beasts.
Of course, monsters aren't the only thing a "Godzilla" property needs to be good, and so far the show has suffered from some wooden acting and is establishing one timeline as way cooler and more interesting than the other. With eight episodes still to go, the series has plenty of time to establish itself and work out its kinks. In the meantime, it's left the more phobic among us with a whole lot of nightmare fuel already.
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" streams new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.