Admixing professional and personal life might result in disastrous consequences, and in the sixth episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, it is most apparent from the mistakes of the titular organization’s former chief, Lieutenant Lee Shaw. After steering clear of the past timeline for two consecutive episodes, “Monarch” turns back the clock to pinpoint the one event that changed the course of the human-titan correlation.
In the previous episode, after getting released from Monarch’s Alaska outpost, Cate suggests May and Kentaro head to her home, San Francisco, which was nearly destroyed during the battle between Godzilla and M.U.T.O., to possibly learn about Hiroshi’s whereabouts. After revisiting her traumatic past by venturing inside the dilapidated area of the city, Cate learns about her father’s presumed waypoint towards Africa with the help of May and Kentaro and reconciles with her mother, Caroline. May, on the other hand, makes a deal with Monarch agent Duvall to rat on her friends in exchange for a safe return to her family. Monarch chief Verdugo gets into an altercation with captive Lieutenant Shaw regarding management, and Shaw’s knowledge about Randa’s findings intrigues Tim and Duvall. The sixth episode, titled Terrifying Miracles, brings characters of the past and present to a spectacular confrontation with the king of the monsters, and the timeless essence of the legendary creature gets perfectly captured in the process.
Spoilers Ahead
What Brought Bill And Keiko To Japan?
The third episode highlighted how Shaw had managed to convince General Puckett into letting Monarch get financial support from the United States government, and as the sixth episode begins, the problematic sides of the deal start surfacing. The scene opens in Washington, at the Defense Industry Federation’s Summer Ball, where we meet Shaw and Keiko, who need to sway the minds of top-ranking defense secretariats to grow Monarch’s influence on a global scale. During the course of the discussion, viewers are reminded of the recency of the Second World War, as Keiko’s identity as a Japanese scientist causes Puckett to utter a barely-guised racist assumption. Later, Keiko expresses her grievances to Shaw, who has by now found himself in a precarious situation of being stuck between life as a Monarch explorer and allegiance to the army. Shaw expresses his trust and appreciation for Keiko’s strength of character, and the duo gets close while dancing at the ball.
Bill Randa, who preferred not to attend the ball to spend time researching Titans, finds substantial proof of the existence of a living Titan near Japan through isotropic radiation patterns, which Keiko identifies as nearly identical to the patterns that they followed in the Philippines when they came face-to-face with the Ion Dragon. Bill and Keiko plan to visit the exact location, but the duo finds Shaw unwilling to let Keiko go on a potentially dangerous mission like facing a primeval radioactive monstrosity. However, at the same time, Monarch’s budget proposal presentation to the Defense Committee is another ordeal that needs immediate attention, and upon Bill and Keiko’s request, Shaw disgruntledly agrees to stay behind to handle the meeting.
How Did The Randa Siblings Meet Shaw Once Again?
In Alaska, Duvall intercepts a Monarch transit carrying a captive Shaw and breaks him free. Turns out, being kept in the dark under Verdugo’s command has tested her patience for just long enough, and seeing how Shaw’s knowledge and Bill Randa’s findings have proven to be much more accurate in assessing Titan shenanigans than Monarch’s usual modus operandi, Duvall has decided to turn her back on the established leadership. Additionally, Duvall’s personal stake is disclosed, as it is revealed she is the sister of Sandra Brody, the nuclear physicist who lost her life during the Janjira nuclear plant collapse caused by M.U.T.O. in Godzilla (2014). Duvall is one of those hapless souls who lost their loved ones during the emergence of the Titans, in her case even before the G-Day, and joined Monarch to never let the tragedy repeat itself. No wonder she grew restless due to Monarch’s inability to handle the Titan situation and has started to act on her own.
Thanks to May’s tips, Duvall learns about the location of the Randa kids and, taking Shaw with her, arrives right at Caroline’s doorstep, as she assumes their search for their father, Hiroshi Randa, might inadvertently help in untangling the Titan situation as well. The kids are surprised to see Shaw with Duvall, as their past experiences with the Monarch agent were not really pleasant, to say the least. However, Shaw vouches for Duvall, explaining how she has defected from Monarch, and requests that the Randa siblings show the waypoint to Hiroshi’s next possible destination, which they have learned after finding the specialized map at Hiroshi’s office. After initial disagreement, the Randa kids agree to take them to the location, which turns out to be the remote outskirts of the Algerian desert in Africa.
On the other hand, following Shaw and Duvall’s trail, Verdugo arrives in San Francisco along with Tim, and the duo starts looking for clues in Hiroshi’s abandoned office. It is revealed that Hiroshi’s effort of using a deep space satellite to track Titans by tracking their gamma radiation got him fired from Monarch, despite the fact that, as it is revealed now, he was totally on the right track about Titan’s emergence. Tim connects the proverbial and literal dots by charting out the barely visible wall impression of Hiroshi’s map, and Verdugo orders her subordinates in Monarch to track any sudden spike in gamma radiation across the globe, which might help them to find not only Shaw and the Randa kids but also Hiroshi and Bill Randa’s findings as well.
How Did Monarch’s Leadership Undergo Change All Those Years Ago?
In the past timeline, as Bill and Keiko reach the Hateruma island in Japan, the supposed location where radiation levels are indicating the presence of a Titan, they come across an eccentric Dr. Suzuki, who has managed to create a gamma-radiation mimicking device, which he uses to communicate with the mysterious Titan whose radiation signal has been recorded around the area. Meanwhile, Shaw, who by now has started growing feelings for Keiko, gets gradually restless, fearing the risks their mission might entail, and despite knowing how much his presence is needed during the budget appeal meeting with the Defense Committee, he approaches General Puckett to let him join his team in Japan. Puckett warns him about the possibility of his decision affecting the future of Monarch’s operation, but ignoring that, an impulsive Shaw goes to Hateruma to reunite with his team. Keiko is visibly disappointed to see Shaw ignore his duties in favor of his feelings. However, the duo reconcile after having a heart-to-heart and come closer as they kiss.
Keiko notices the gamma-ray-mimicking device stopping on its own, and moments later, the device gets hurled in their direction at unbelievable speed. Even before they get over the shocking occurrence, the mighty Godzilla turns out to be the Titan in question, who briefly surfaces in a crocodilian-style dive before disappearing into the bay. The emergence of Big G puts everyone present through an emotional experience of their own. Bill and Suzuki are overjoyed and humbled to see the creature in front of them. Keiko is relieved to consider that the Castle Bravo incident didn’t kill Godzilla, while Shaw is in utter shock and disbelief considering the same, but from a different perspective. As they return to Monarch HQ, Shaw argues that they need to inform Puckett about their encounter with Godzilla, as the fact that the world’s strongest weapon turned out to be ineffectual in harming the Titan can turn out to be a worrisome ordeal. Keiko rightly voices her concerns that it might prompt Puckett and other trigger-happy knobheads to try even more severe weapons on Godzilla or the other Titans, but eventually agrees to inform them of at least something to cover up for their absence during the meeting. However, as they enter the HQ, they find out a complete overhaul of Monarch’s leadership has taken place in their absence. Puckett had warned Shaw previously about such a possibility, and it’s no wonder that the new military-minded leadership cares little to nothing about exploration or Titan tracking as they instead are found busy turning the organization into a subdivision of the Defense Department of the States. One lousy mistake by Shaw cost the team dearly and changed Monarch’s chain of command in such a way that it explains the organization’s subverted modus operandi in the present timeline. Perhaps if Shaw and his team were in charge of the situation, events like G-Day could have been avoided.
Why Did Shaw And Randa Siblings Part Their Ways?
On their way to Hiroshi’s supposed location, Shaw and Cate share a brief moment, as it turns out her stance regarding him has gradually become less hostile and more trusting. May asks Duvall about her end of the bargain, and the former Monarch agent assures her of upholding that at the end of their mission. As Shaw and Duvall bring the team to a campsite near the Algerian desert, Cate shares her unwillingness to assist, seeing Monarch henchmen working with them, but it turns out that a faction of Monarch’s renegade members have decided to turn their back on the organization and, under Duvall’s guidance, are considering Shaw to be their new leader. Strange how history almost always finds a way to repeat itself. Shaw lost the leadership due to his foolishness and now has the chance to turn things around. Anyway, Cate is hesitant to continue the mission despite Shaw’s earnest requests, noticing which Duvall signs May to convince Cate, which works like a charm as the team continues their journey.
After reaching the location highlighted on Hiroshi’s map, the team indeed sees Hiroshi from afar, and the Randa siblings are overjoyed to see their father alive. After searching halfway across the world, the team has finally found Hiroshi Randa, and it seems it’s time for a bittersweet reunion. However, their happiness turns out to be temporary, as Shaw notices Hiroshi’s pickup van carrying a similar gamma radiation mimic—or, in this case, tracking device—and sees Hiroshi frantically waving towards them to flee from something. Shaw pleads with them to do so, but at the same time, Tim and a team of Monarch’s mercenaries show up on the horizon in a chopper. However, even before the chopper could land, a vicious earthquake-like phenomenon occurs that completely destroys nearby areas, and Shaw and Co. barely survive the ruckus that ensues. The massive collapse turns out to be caused by the emergence of Godzilla, who was resting in the location for some time, and while waking from his slumber, he shares a glance with Cate, completely overwhelming her. Godzilla leaves and heads towards the ocean rather peacefully, and the Monarch chopper gets damaged by getting in the way of Godzilla’s emergence.
In the aftermath, Shaw and Duvall plan to follow Godzilla’s trail using the map and come into a disagreement with the rest of the team. Cate is not willing to partake in Titan tracking adventures as all she wants to do is find her father, Hiroshi Randa, and Shaw’s plan of tracking Godzilla doesn’t make sense to her as the Titan appears unstoppable. Shaw’s reply that he is not willing to stop but rather wants to ‘help’ Godzilla baffles the team, with May further considering him to be insane. Shaw offers the team to join his cause for one final time, which May and Cate promptly refuse, followed by Kentaro, who hesitantly agrees to side with them in this context. Along with Duvall, Shaw leaves the team with food and necessary supplies and directs them towards the nearest establishment. However, soon the team seemingly loses their way; without money and a phone, it becomes a concerning situation, and May decides to confess her betrayal—that it was her information that led Duvall to their doorstep. Needless to say, the revelation strikes a discord between the team, and as the episode ends, viewers are left to wonder about the fates of everyone involved. The question the ending of the episode raises is what Shaw meant by helping Godzilla, which seems to be in conjunction with his previous claim that an incident even more severe than the G-Day is likely to occur sometime soon. The extent to which Godzilla’s trajectory points towards another Titan threat like M.U.T.O. remains unknown, but one thing is certain: Hiroshi’s waypoint and Shaw’s Godzilla trail will inevitably converge again, which means the Randa siblings will eventually have to work together with Shaw irrespective of how they feel about Monarch.
