Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ climax continues with the eighth episode, “Birthright.” Will our heroes be able to track down Shaw before his plan is complete? Does Shaw have a method to his madness? And will the prequel storyline become relevant again?
All these questions and more are about to be answered. Please bear in mind that there will be full spoilers for “Birthright,” so tread lightly if you haven’t seen it yet. Without further ado, let’s begin.
Also Read: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7 SPOILER Recap/Review – Will The Real May Please Stand Up?
Monarch Episode 8 Plot
Tim takes Cate, May, and Kentaro to Monarch headquarters and shows them a map of radiation spikes corresponding with both Hiroshi’s map and pre-G Day radiation levels. They use this map to pinpoint Shaw’s location in Kazakhstan; specifically the Titan nest where Keiko died back in the first episode.
Against Natalia’s better judgement, she allows Tim and the trio to find Shaw on their own, as Cate believes she can reason with him. Entering the nest, our heroes find the radiation levels surprisingly hospitable despite a reactor meltdown decades earlier supposedly rendering the site uninhabitable for the next several thousand years; surmising that something nearby must be absorbing the radiation.
The team then runs into both Shaw and a portal to the Hollow Earth; which Shaw has surrounded with bomb charges seemingly in an effort to seal it off. Shaw takes Cate aside and confirms this; his reasoning being both a personal responsibility to atone for his role in Keiko’s death and an understanding of Godzilla as a protective gatekeeper between the monster world and the human world.
Cate tries to convince Shaw that this is not what Keiko would’ve wanted, but her words fall on deaf ears as the charges activate. The rest of the team rushes to escape, but Keiko is grabbed by a Beetle Titan and pulled down through the portal as it is sealed off; the rest of the characters crying out in anguish as it happens.
Meanwhile, back in the 1950s, Bill and Keiko work to connect years of Monarch data into a workable Titan map in order to save the organization from shutdown. While working late at night, Bill sees an ant crawl through a hole in the map, giving him the idea of the Hollow Earth theory. He rushes to Keiko’s house to tell her the good news, only to discover that Keiko is secretly a widow and has a son named Hiroshi.
To Keiko’s surprise, Bill is not angered by this revelation whatsoever. Instead, he sympathizes with Keiko’s ordeal and wants to help raise Hiroshi with her, setting up their eventual marriage. Afterwards, Shaw takes the map to the general and, not wanting to take any chances, reveals that Godzilla was not killed in the Bikini Atoll as previously reported.
Monarch Episode 8 Critique
Structurally speaking, “Birthright” is about as good of an episode as you could possibly ask for from this series. The past and present storylines are equally engaging, have a fairly balanced amount of screen time, and tie into each other in surprisingly meaningful ways. Shaw’s fall from grace in the past and antagonistic turn in the present parallel each other rather well and both Wyatt and Kurt Russell respectively sell the turn.
The character dynamics are still very strong, there’s a solid tonal balance between comedy and drama, and the cliffhanger ending is appropriately tense and makes me that much more excited for the final two episodes. But for as good as it is, it still felt like it was missing something. Maybe one or two more character moments? Maybe a longer monster set piece? Maybe some kind of pay-off to Cate and May’s romantic storyline that keeps being teased in the background?
Whatever it may be, I feel like “Birthright” needed just a little something extra to carry it into “Best Episode” territory. For now, “The Way Out” still holds that crown. But regardless, it’s still a great episode and a compelling lead-in to the two-part finale.
9/10
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