Some of the best Godzilla lately has come in comic book form. Where else could
you see the King face off against the Power Rangers, the Marvel Universe
superheroes, and literary figures like Jay Gatsby and Sherlock Holmes (in Godzilla:
Monsterpiece Theatre). Arguably, the recent Japanese films, Shin Godzilla
and Godzilla Minus One are as good or better, but they have come
less frequently. Regardless, the Apple TV+ “Monsterverse” series has far
outclassed Legendary Pictures’ films. With the release of second season,
episodes are also arriving more frequently. Plus, Kurt Russell and his son
Wyatt return as shoot-from-the-hip Col. Leland Shaw (or Captain in scenes from
the past) in season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which is still
releasing new episodes on Apple TV+.
Season one ended with a massive cliffhanger, trapping crusty “old” Shaw in Axis Mundi,
the monster dimension. However, it is quickly resolved in season two when Cate
and Kentaro Randa, the Randa step-siblings, and their ambiguous friend May
Olowe-Hewitt (who are sort of like Mystery Incorporated) devise a Doctor Who-worthy
plan to save him.
Unfortunately,
their operation rouses a new titan from hibernation. That would Titan X, who
apparently grew up in the 1980s. This kaiju also has a cooperative symbiotic relationship
with a horde of armored crabs known as Scarabs. It turns out Shaw and Mari and
Bill Randa have seen these creatures before—and it wasn’t much fun for them the
first time, either.
Ironically,
when his boss’s presumed death elevates the nebbish Tim, who still has no last
name, to command of Outpost 18, the new role surprisingly suits him.
Unfortunately, he will have to navigate Apex, a politically connected tech
company, who temporarily wrangles control of Titan policy away from Monarch.
Frankly,
just about everyone goes rogue at some point in the second season, including
both Randa step-siblings, Olowe-Hewitt, and, of course, Shaw, who was born a
maverick. Understandably, the destructiveness of Titan rampages brings out
strong feelings in the characters and inspires very different strategies to
prevent them.
Much
of season two feels like one step forward followed by one step back, or vice
versa. However, a late season episode, “String Theory” written by Joe Pokaski
and directed by Gandja Monteiro, understands what fans have been hoping for. It
doesn’t quite happen, but Kurt and Wyatt Russell, who both play the younger and
older Shaw, sort of, kind of participate in a sequence of scene. Thy obviously
can’t be on-screen together, but the workaround solution is satisfyingly clever.
When it launched in November, Apple’s Monsterverse series could feel
confident it compared favorably with Legendary’s most recent, underwhelming
film, Godzilla vs. Kong. However, the stakes suddenly started rising
when Godzilla Minus One became a surprise breakout hit, largely redefining
the entire kaiju genre for millions of Americans. Today, loyal viewers learn
whether their investment on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters concludes its
first season when “Beyond Logic” premieres today on Apple TV+.
During
the mayhem of episode six, Cate Randa was sucked into an in-between
Monsterverse dimension along with Lee Shaw. That would be the older, Kurt
Russell Lee Shaw, not the younger Lee Shaw played by Wyatt Russell in
flashbacks. It turns out there is a reason why Shaw looks so spry for a
nonagenarian. Time runs much slower in the realm of monsters, so several
decades passed in our world while Shaw was lost in the monster-realm.
Shaw
wants to limit the time Randa and her friend May will lose in the in-between
dimension. However, they need to attract a titan to open the portal. That they
do—a little too successfully.
Episode
nine is probably the slowest installment of the season, because it is built
around the series’ angstiest and least action-oriented flashbacks. However, the
conclusion obviously was deliberately intended to deliver everything fans were hoping
for. There is a big climatic battle of the “titans,” featuring the granddaddy
of them all and what looks like a name-brand kaiju who also co-starred in Legendary’s
Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It also features a truly massive monster
cameo.
The agents of Monarch, the super-secret kaiju-response agency, are the
world’s worst Men in Black. In their defense, it is hard to keep a Godzilla
rampage under wraps. Now that the kaiju is out of the bag, the agency is internally
debating its role post-G-Day (as seen in the 2014 American-produced Godzilla).
Two step-siblings stumble across the agency right when the kaiju are stirring
in co-creators Chris Black & Matt Fraction’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,
which premieres tomorrow on Apple TV+.
Technically,
Godzilla levelled greater destruction on San Francisco than the current mayor
and governor have so far, but give them time. Cate Randa barely survived G-Day,
but her elementary school kids were not so fortunate. Although still
traumatized, she agrees to visit Japan to attend to her recently deceased
father’s affairs. However, instead of an empty commuter flat, she finds a
second family, including the adult-aged (but not necessarily adult-behaving)
Kentaro Randa.
Obviously,
it is a super awkward first meeting. Nevertheless, she and her step-brother
agree to clear out his office together, where they find a cache of secret
Monarch files, which they decrypt with the help of Rentaro’s resentful
not-quite ex, May. That trove of documents leads them to retired Col. Leland
Shaw, who was there when Monarch was founded, along with their grandparents, Keiko
and Bill Randa.
In
flashbacks, we see young Shaw and the Randas (who aren’t the Randas yet) chasing
after radioactive anomalies that turns out to be kaiju trails. Their research prompts
the miliary to create what becomes Monarch. Even back then, Shaw was not always
on the same page as his superiors. That is particularly true when the Randa
step-siblings break him out of his maximum-security retirement home.
According
to the timeline, post-G-Day Shaw would have to be in his 90’s, but Kurt Russell
certainly does not look that old. Somewhat cleverly, Black, Fraction, and their
co-writers make a regular bit out of characters telling him, dude, you can’t
really be that old. Regardless, the paring of Russell and his son Wyatt as the
2010’s and 1950’s is not just a stunt. It is a genius stroke of casting.
Obviously, the older Russell can grin and growl his way through any action
scene, but the real news is how good Wyatt Russell is as the young Lieutenant
Shaw.
Legacy
of Monsters shifts
so frequently between timelines, some viewers might experience whiplash. Based
on the first eight (out of ten) episodes provided for review, it is always easy
to distinguish the respective eras, but they are not equally compelling. In
addition to Russell the younger, Mari Yamamoto and Anders Holm are convincingly
smart and conscientious as the Randa grandparents, thereby giving the 1950’s
the clear advantage.
In
contrast, the Randa grandkids and the mysterious May are abrasively whiny and
annoying. It would be more pleasant to weather a kaiju attack than sit next to
any of the three on a transcontinental flight. Aside from old man Russell and
old man Godzilla, the most interesting character in the post-G-Day timeline is Tim,
a geeky Monarch analyst seeking redemption in the field. Joe Tippett’s performance
initially delivers laughs, but evolves in interesting ways.
