The first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 featured a lot of Kaiju action and heroics from the main characters. Episode 3 had a few sightings of Titan X, but it focused heavily on the humans. Shocking to no one who's followed the show, the lack of destruction didn't take away from the experience.
Viewers saw a great story of the love between Lee Shaw and Dr. Keiko Miura when they were younger, Hiroshi’s anger towards his father, and Cate dealing with her trauma from G-day, causing Titan X to resurface. While some people may tune into the MonsterVerse spinoff for the giant monsters, the previous three examples are just a glimpse of why the series is as good as it is - and it's thanks to both the story and the humans telling it.
When it comes to projects with a lot of action, audiences understandably anticipate the fighting, but that doesn't negate the importance of a story. Let’s use WWE as an example: Roman Reigns and CM Punk are the headliners for WrestleMania 42. The name recognition is enough to get some fans in, but they need a storyline to properly sell over the weeks leading to the main event. It's how the company brings in more than the regular subscribers.
Look, this writer loves seeing giant monsters destroy things as much as the next person. And yes, Godzilla suplexing Kong was a hilarious sight. However, if we’re being honest, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was severely lacking in substance. That isn’t to say that the cast didn’t act their butts off, but it was missing the oomph that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters gives. That’s because there’s more time to fully develop characters on television than there ever is in the movies. This is something that has caused big-budget movies like Marvel Studios' Eternals to underwhelm. It’s also why this writer believes the MCU’s X-Men project should be a Disney Plus show instead of a movie.
When it comes to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, people come for the kaiju on kaiju action, but the drama is why people keep tuning in. The same goes for the X-Men. For example, we want to see Wolverine cut villains up, but that’s not all that he is. He’s a character with a lot of depth to be explored. If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t be as popular as he is.
Now, think about all of that, and add a plethora of characters with different backgrounds, traumas, and stories. It would be difficult to make a movie and hit all of the emotional beats, but it can be done in a TV series. You can get into the Cyclops / Jean Grey / Emma Frost mental love affair, Rogue dealing with not being able to touch people, and Morph’s hidden love for Logan, and it would never feel like too much at once. That's the beauty of TV: There is more time to tell these compelling character-driven stories.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the perfect example of this. It's delivering on the visuals, the larger-than-life storylines, and the kaiju action, while also providing us with the character work that the MonsterVerse has been lacking in since its inception.
Honestly, Monarch Legacy of Monsters has no business being as good as it is. And yes, you can have a monster movie with a lot of depth - Godzilla Minus One proved that. Nevertheless, it’s great to know that the creative team understands that the people are the most important part of this series. Then again, when it’s a project involving the great Matt Fraction, no one should be shocked that the series pays attention to the important details.
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