(This article has been written after the debut of Episode 6 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has debuted, titled ‘The Way Out’. This article contains minor spoilers for all the episodes up until this point)
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters is a show which I have been feverishly excited for since it was first announced as an upcoming project set to debut on Apple TV. As a young boy, I had always enjoyed shows which brought secret organisations to the forefront in fantastic worlds – loving both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the presence of U.N.I.T throughout Doctor Who.
The announcement of this show had me excited for a deep dive into the shady entity known as MONARCH from the films. Would this series expand our understanding of the secret organisation? Would we see more of the Outposts and facilities hinted at in 2014’s Godzilla, and the subsequent Godzilla: King of The Monsters?
Whilst this show has done a fantastic job of exploring who MONARCH are within this universe, it has done something better in my opinion. It has presented us with a grounded, character-driven story within this universe – something I want to reflect on in this piece.
Devastating world events are nothing new. Unfortunately, the world we live in is often shook by devastating events. In films and other creative media, we often see large, grandiose set-pieces which portray this destruction and devastation – but we scarcely ever see the fallout of that havoc. This is where Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters shines.
This series has done a fantastic job of showing us how this world has changed – with small details like posters, graphics and advertisements tying directly into the proliferation of Titans across the Earth, to larger-scale additions like the missile launchers found in Tokyo in Episode 1, or the FEMA resettlement camp and subsequent quarantine area we see in Episode 5.
Not only do these visuals have striking resemblances with our understanding of the real world – the latter particularly provoking images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – but they help to give us, as the audience, a tangible sense of how Titans have changed what the everyday looks like within this world. This lays the foundations for the growth of both MONARCH activity and international collaboration to counter the Titans seen in KOTM.
Alongside this enriching and immersive worldbuilding, we also have deep, emotive stories which directly intertwine the characters who are the vessel for these stories with the events and incidents which have shaped the world in which they inhabit.
Seeing direct, first-person trauma which characters have experienced as a direct result of the events we see on the big screen in the Monsterverse cinematic universe really helps to add emotional weight to these films, and allows much greater insight into how substantial the events we see unfolding on the big screen are.
I have loved seeing how these events have informed so many people’s lives in different ways – leading to our characters making difficult and sometimes dangerous decisions based on their own experiences. This is emotive storytelling done well, and I love how it has become a vessel through which we can explore the real impact that battles of titanic proportions have.
All this is to say – Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is grounded storytelling done well. I love the emotional weight we feel across this story so far, and also have enjoyed seeing how the world has been changed by the G-Day forever. This makes the universe feel real and lived in, and adds so much more depth to the events we see unfolding in Gareth Edward’s film.
Don’t get me wrong – this show IS delivering more about MONARCH. We are beginning to peel back the layers of this mysterious organisation in an exciting narrative which still leaves me with more questions than answers, but for me, the true strength of this series comes in how it creates a world which feels irreversibly changed by Titans.
I hope you have enjoyed this article on a slightly different topic here on The Jurassic Park Podcast. Make sure to check out Brad and I breaking this series down each week on the YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more content in the future!
Written by:
Tom Jurassic