Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 6 focuses on hidden truths with big revelations about Lt. Shaw, the Monsterverse, and Godzilla in two different timelines.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is getting more exciting and expansive as it heats up with some spectacular Titan appearances and continues to jump between the present (2015) and the past (1950s) to uncover buried truths. Whereas last week we focused on Cate (Anna Sawai) and her backstory, Episode 6, “Terrifying Miracles”, focuses on hidden truths and Lt. Shaw (Wyatt Russell, Kurt Russell), while also dropping some pretty big Monsterverse reveals, Godzilla activity in two different timelines, and an interesting plot twist. In case you missed it, here’s your recap of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 6.
We open in 1954 with the Castle Bravo nuclear test, wherein the military attempted destroy Godzilla with a nuke. We watch as Godzilla appears, gets nuked, and the audience of military and research personnel celebrate, believing their effort to destroy the beast has worked. But did it really?
Then we jump to 1955, where we find Lt. Shaw and Dr. Keiko Muira (Mari Yamamoto) at the Defense Industry Federation Ball. While this scene serves as a build-up to Shaw, Keiko, and Bill Randa’s (Anders Holms) effort to secure funding for Monarch, it mostly reveals to us two things: racism against the Japanese, and the undeniable spark between Shaw and Keiko. We all knew it was there but until now, we’d received no confirmation. Episode 6 lays that out for us in a captivating moment of romantic connection between the two as they shared a dance together, despite the white whispers and wandering eyes. Their chemistry is palpable and their handling of a room of people who say they shouldn’t be together is handled beautifully.
As Shaw and Keiko are en route to his hotel room, he gets a message from Bill (Anders Holms), who has made a huge discovery regarding the next possible Titan appearance. As a result, Keiko and Bill head off to Hateruma Island (aka “Monster Island”) in Japan, and Shaw stays to make their case for federal funding. But, he can’t stand the thought of Keiko being in a Titan’s path unprotected, so he jumps ship before the funding presentation and heads to Monster Island, where we also meet new character Dr. Suzuki (Leo Ashizawa, of Citadel).
Suzuki is responsible for creating the Titan phone, which comes in the form of a ball-shaped metal device. With it, Suzuki can simulate gamma radiation signals to get a reply from a Titan. Similar to the Orca device used to send out fake signals in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the Titan phone is operationally quite different, as Shaw, Keiko, Bill, and Dr. Suzuki find out when they uncover a major reveal: Godzilla is indeed not dead; he’s just pissed off, roaring, and terrifying.
Since Godzilla remained in the ocean after the 1954 attack, it makes sense he was presumed dead. His re-emergence in Japan established the timeline on the moment when Monarch realized they were wrong. The Titan phone drew the kaiju to the surface and made the Japanese island his next known attack location after Bikini Atoll in 1954.
Armed with this evidence, Shaw, Keiko, and Bill return to the States to present their funding case. However, when they walk into Monarch headquarters, they find they’ve been intercepted. General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl, of Hell on Wheels), in retaliation against Shaw for disobeying his orders, handed off control of Monarch to the Navy, stripping Shaw, Keiko, and Bill of their research and access to Titan existence.
In the present-day timeline (2015) in Alaska, the elder Lt. Shaw (Kurt Russell) escapes Monarch custody with the help of the organization’s Agent Duvall (Elisa Lasowski). Duvall claims she only works for Monarch because she’s determined an attack will never happen again, and others at the organization feel the same, but they’re having doubts. She now believes—knows—another Titan emergence is on the horizon, and Shaw is the only one who can track it. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a coo, ladies and gents.
Meanwhile, Tim and Asst. Director Natalia Verdugo (Mirelly Taylor, of Power Book IV: Force) tracked Cate, Kentaro (Ren Watabe), and May’s phones to Hiroshi’s office in San Francisco, where Tim notices a missing map on the wall and traces the path of pin holes to reveal a familiar pattern. Verdugo reveals Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira) was booted from Monarch for misuse of government assets. He was repositioning deep space satellites to study gamma ray spikes on Earth in places they shouldn’t be.
Just as Cate, Kentaro, and May (Kiersey Clemons) prepare to leave in search for Hiroshi after finding his map, Lt. Shaw and Agent Duvall appear, leaving the three wondering how they were found. Once Lee explains what’s going on, the group, together, heads to the Algerian Desert in Africa, where they find Hiroshi alive and well. Except, he has with him a smaller version of the Titan phone and has just activated the device, waving off them off. Just as Tim and the rest of the Monarch team show up in a helicopter, the ground starts shaking, then cracks open, and as rocks start tumbling, everyone runs for their lives. Then they come face-to-face with Godzilla. Only this time, a miracle happens … a terrifying one.
In a momentous, gargantuan emergence of spectacular special effects, Godzilla slowly rises. And then he does something miraculous: Instead of attacking, he notices Cate and eyes her, almost in recognition of her from his 2014 San Francisco attack. The creature rises to its full height and roars, causing the helicopter to hit its back and crash to the ground. He then turns away from Cate and the group and leaves in another direction. While Cate and Kentaro did manage to find their father alive, they were only able to get a brief glimpse of him before Godzilla appeared and Hiroshi disappeared.
Now we’re at a crossroads. Shaw wants to go after Godzilla. Cate, Kentaro, and May choose Hiroshi. But just as everyone is about to part ways, May reveals her truth to Cate and Kentaro. Monarch found them in San Francisco because of her and she is, in fact, on the run. She “made the wrong people mad” in America and fled to Japan under a new identity, then she tells them she made a deal with Monarch in exchange for their help in clearing up her past. She apologizes and offers Cate and Kentaro “a lot of money”, wanting to help them out however she can. But Cate, furious, tells her to go to hell and she and Kentaro walk away, heading toward the nearest city.
What happens next? Will Godzilla attack? Will another Titan emerge? Will we see a kaiju fight? And will Cate and Kentaro find Hiroshi? Tune in next week for another episode recap!
Episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now available to watch on Apple TV+.
