This article contains spoilers for Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2, Episode 2
While the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 premiere was fast-paced, monster-centric, and an interesting episode, two was really about family, humans, and monsters alike, specifically Titan X and the humans regrouping, licking their wounds, and fighting with each other. However, it did make for some interesting TV, and while the pacing slowed down some, there was enough here to push the story forward and keep the viewer interested as well…for the most part.
With Titan X leaving Skull Island via the ocean and a frustrated King Kong unable to follow, the human survivors from the rescue of Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) are transported off the island via Monarch helicopters and to Outpost 18, Monarch’s large research vessel on the water. Shaw isn’t happy to be here, and Tim (Joe Tippett), now in charge after the death of Natalie Verdugo on the island, is even less happy that he’s there. However, they share a similar goal: chasing down Titan X before it reaches a populated area, so they form a fragile alliance and begin the pursuit.
Meanwhile, while the family drama continues between Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira), Cate (Anna Sawai), and Kentaro (Ren Watabe), and Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) give the Monarch family a dressing down as to their action mission statement these days, there is an even more immediate problem that will soon make itself known.
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It seems a baby Titan X hitched a ride on one of the rescue helicopters and is now running wild on the ship, killing one crew member and with no plans of stopping there. Monster on board, monster in front of them, a task that seems all too familiar to the Monarch organization.
Meanwhile, back at Santa Soledad in 1957, we watch Bill Randa (Anders Holm) discover what he thinks is a map to find the mysterious creature in this village in Southern Chile. So he does what he usually does, jumps without really thinking it through, and heads out in search of it while Keiko and Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) stay behind, Keiko continuing her experiments and Lee keeping guard. The unfriendly villagers, though, seem to have a change of heart and invite them to a celebration, but all the side glances and conversations are a blatant tell that this is not what it seems.
It’s an intriguing spot for the viewer to be in, and something they have enjoyed through the first season and now the first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2. We can see what’s coming long before the characters do, from both time periods, and most of the time, it’s fascinating to watch them work through the problems.
It can be a bit tedious at times when the pace slows down, and that happened a few times in this episode. However, the powers that be seem to be mindful of that issue so far and aren’t dwelling nearly as long on big speeches between characters, sometimes a whole group of them, and move things along.
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Back in 2017, after a few futile attempts to slow Titan X down failed, the young Titan was discovered, and it let out a cry for help, prompting the parental Titan X to turn around and charge at the Monarch ship. Shaw loads the creature on a small craft aboard this Monarch mothership and takes off, luring the creature away and then dumping the young Titan X into the water. This reunites the two, causing them to swim away, leaving Shaw and Monarch’s Outpost 18 ship safe.
A quick shift to 1957 has the village celebration go wrong for the young Shaw and Keiko. The small Titan X creatures swarm the village, sending them on the run, only to encounter Titan X coming out of the water to greet them.
It was curious to watch this Titan X scenario unfold in this episode, both in 1957 and 2017. On one hand, what was happening seemed so blatantly obvious at times, yet it still had its compelling moments. There are still a lot of moving parts in this show, and some things have yet to reveal themselves ( the Apex Cybernetics and Monarch relationship, for one), but “Resonance” did what it needed to do without too much drama, while still being able to slip in some quality family dynamics on both the human and monster side of things.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2, Episode 2, is now streaming on Apple TV.
