Monsters are real, at least in the world of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, but that doesn't stop the humans of the story from acting monstrously themselves; that's what we learn in episode 2 of this sci-fi show on Apple TV Plus.
Set in the Godzilla universe (or Monsterverse as it's called), this show follows characters in 2015 in the aftermath of a giant monster attack as they investigate a shadowy organization called Monarch that may be linked. Plus, we witness events in the 1950s that led to the set-up of the group and humanity's understanding of the huge creatures which share our world.
Part monster action flick, party mystery story and part family drama show, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters hits a lot of notes. The second part of its two-episode debut on Friday, November 17 tells us that monsters may not be the only threat though.
In this Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 2 recap, we'll walk you through the key events of the episode, so you can catch up after seeing it (or before, if you think it might be too scary!). If you missed it, our guide to Apple TV Plus free trials will help you catch up. And as a note, we've re-ordered some of the events in this episode, to present it in a cleaner way.
Spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 2 ensue.
A hunt for dragons
Lots of our episode takes place in the Phillippines in 1952, seven years prior to many of the events in episode 1. In Manila, young soldier Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) is told off by his officer for getting into a fight with some soldiers. He's given new orders: protect a Japanese scientist, as the last person to be given this task died.
At the docks, Shaw meets Dr. Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) whom he initially doesn't recognize as his charge as he didn't know women could get doctorates. Misunderstanding aside they drive into the jungle, where she explains that they're there to investigate radioactive trails which could hint towards the Filipino government testing bombs.
When they're setting up equipment, there's a rustle in the undergrowth... and it's not a monster but William Randa (Anders Holm), an ex-navy cryptozoologist who's hunting for what he calls a 'dragon', much to Shaw's bemusement. The soldier refuses to let the jungle man stay with them, so Keiko relieves him of duty, and Shaw drives back to civilization.
Randa and Keiko wander into the wild, and the former says that he's following a trail in the sky that's been carved many times over the last decades. Keiko realizes that this trail follows the path of the radiation readings. Bill thinks it's a migratory pattern. Then they stumble upon a clearing in the jungle where an old US Navy boat stands alone, miles from any water: the man recognizes it immediately as the Lawton.
Apparently, this boat went down during Pearl Harbour, 5,000 miles away. They pick their way through the interior and Bill finds a box with his name in it, from which he retrieves a baseball bat. At Keiko's request, he admits that he was the only survivor of the ship going down, and while they thought it was a Japanese sub that sunk it at the time, he was never convinced.
When driving away, Shaw notices that his Geiger counter has started to tick. He gets to an overlook over the jungle and sees, carved through the sky, streaks of radiation, almost like the Northern Lights.
Further into the ship, the two scientists find some radioactive 'goop' (our words, not theirs), and notice that lots of the crew of the ship were mummified in it. They wisely decide that it's time to go, but on the stairs out of the ship, find more of that goop... and it's fresh. They turn around to find another way out of the ship.
When traversing one corridor, there's a BANG as something big hits the side of the ship, and then more follow, before a giant claw tears into the side and grasps at the scientists. They avoid it but Randa gets trapped under a fallen shelf, and Keiko can't get him out — until Shaw shows back up to help them lift it.
The three people run away from the ship as the giant creature tosses it about, and they finally see what it is: a giant bat-like entity, or a 'dragon' as Shaw calls it. They hide and it flies away.
Monarch bares its fangs
In Tokyo in 2015, Kentaro (Ren Watabe) goes to work. Mid-way there, though, he turns around and instead decides to visit his dad's old office. In an upset rage he begins to trash it, but notices that one drawer of filing cabinet is locked. He tests keys until he finds the right one — and inside is a file with the Monarch logo on it. The boy looks through it, and finds a picture of Lee Shaw (with a document on the assisted living home he's now in) and footage from the Phillippines from '52. We wonder what happened there...
Cate (Anna Sawai) is preparing to leave Tokyo, but at the airport, Joe Tippett (Tim) shows up. He first pretends to be another US tourist but reveals that he's with Monarch, and wants the files back. Cate tries to escape but Joe retrieves her with the help of his fellow agent Elisa.
The two put Cate in a car and drive away but she kicks out, causing the car to crash, and she uses this opportunity to run away. She goes to the police who seem to think that the kidnapping was an accident or that she was drunk, so she runs away. She goes to the home of May (Kiersey Clemons) but Monarch are there — May finds her before she enters and whisks her away.
Kentaro goes home to his mother and they start to rip up pictures of their father, to deal with the upset of him having a secret second family. The boy notices a shred of picture that once again shows Lee Shaw, and his mother refers to the man as 'Uncle Lee', though she doesn't know his fate.
Joe and Elisa show up at the home as they know Kentaro has the files. His mother distracts the agents as Kentaro slips away, and it's during this that Joe finds out who Kentaro's father is — presumably he's a big deal at Monarch.
Kentaro meets up with Cate and May, and the latter is preparing to smuggle them out of the country to avoid Monarch's warpath. However Kentaro has a better idea.
The boy takes them to the assisted living home where the older Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) is living. He immediately recognizes Kentaro as the son of Hiroshi, and he ushers them all outside, asking them to keep their voice down and be quick. Very suspicious.
Outside, Shaw reveals that the assisted living home is actually more of a prison for him, with cameras everywhere and an ankle monitor attached to the man. He gives them a choice — give up to Monarch, or let him come with them so they can investigate further. He uses some gardening secateurs to remove his ankle tracker.
