This article contains spoilers for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” season 2, episode 5, “Furusato.”
For a show called “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” season 2 of the Apple TV show has been surprisingly light on the monster action through five episodes. We’ve seen Kong a couple of times, even though the “Monarch” season 1 finale set the stage for a Kong-centric season 2. We haven’t seen Godzilla in the flesh, either. The show has definitely been human-centric thus far. However, episode 5, entitled “Furusato,” finally gave us a full reveal for Titan X.
The end of the season 2 premiere of “Monarch,” which weirdly echoed the jarring ending of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” saw Cate (Anna Sawai) unleashing Titan X on the world in her foolhardy attempt to save Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell). We’ve seen the hulking, sea-dwelling beast pop up here and there in the subsequent episodes, but the beast finally had a proper coming out party in episode five’s grand finale, which saw Apex Cybernetics fail to control Titan X, leading to the monster attacking Santa Soledad.
It was the most kaiju-sized monster action we’ve had in several episodes. While “Trespass” introduced some smaller creatures, this was the first time in a few weeks viewers have had some “price of admission” giant Titan destruction. We also now have a better idea of how Titan X operates, what it looks like, and just how destructive this particular Titan is. In short, it appears to be a formidable foe. Hence, why Apex couldn’t control it.
Now the larger question: Was the full Titan X reveal worth the wait? Mileage is going to vary, but for my money, as cool as the monster-filled climax was, it’d be difficult to say that it made all of the (at times melodramatic) preamble worthwhile.
Monarch’s big Titan X reveal might have come too late
I have to imagine I’m not alone in thinking that this season of the show is too heavy on the human drama, with less to make the overall experience worthwhile when compared to the first season. Maybe things pick up in the back half, but through five episodes, the big Titan X climax to the first half of the sophomore season might have come a little too late.
“Monarch” season 2’s Titan X is designed to be more realistic than not, with the team modeling it after deep sea creatures in an attempt to produce something that could more plausibly exist. (You know, at least compared to a nuclear dinosaur or an ape the size of a skyscraper. That’s not a super high bar to clear.) It’s well designed and it’s nice to see a new monster introduced to the “Godzilla” franchise, rather than recycling something from that past.
Then again, there’s no guarantee that this monster isn’t actually a pre-existing creature in disguise, so to speak. Fans have theorized that Titan X might be a riff on Biollante. Another “Monarch” season 2 theory suggests that Titan X is actually Cthulhu. To whatever degree any of that makes the back half of this season more or less impactful remains to be seen. For now, though, we certainly need more of what this season was sold on: Kong, Godzilla, and a big new threat these kings of the Titans need to deal with. Here’s hoping we get more of what we were sold sooner rather than later.
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is streaming now on Apple TV.
