REVIEW: ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Episode 4 — “Parallels and Interiors”

AppleTV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has been able to capture the past and present through flashbacks that all feel connected to where we are in the main story of the Randa siblings Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro (Ren Watabe). Last episode, we saw an increase in militarization around the fledgling Monarch program and the fear in Keiko’s (Mari Yamamoto) eyes as she watched the aggression of the US military and their joy in the violence. The past took the center of the story in Episode 3, but now, in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4, “Parallels and Interiors,” it’s all about the present. More specifically, it’s all about Kentaro.

The end of “Secrets & Lies” left Cate and Kentaro with the elder Shaw (Kurt Russell) in the middle of Alaska looking for Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira) or any sign of him alive or otherwise. While both kids are hoping for a miracle, the new kaiju has disrupted their adventure with its deadly ice breath as it stalks them across the frozen landscape. Now, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 is all about survival as Kentaro takes off on his own, alone in the pounding snowstorm, clinging to hope that his father is still alive. Back with the group May (Kiersey Clemons) struggles to survive hypothermia.

Kentaro and May anchor Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4’s narrative. Instead of flashing back to the 1950s, the episode instead looks back on Kentaro’s life, his complicated relationship with his father, and ultimately his romance with May. While not much happens in this episode in terms of larger kaiju lore, save some cuts to the larger Monarch organization, it does do a lot of heavy lifting to finally make you care for May as a character that has more importance than just sitting in the background and pulling data.

Her relationship with Kentaro is one of respect and intelligence and is mapped out in a way that looks at both characters’ vulnerabilities. They care about each other deeply, but the complexities of their lives and, ultimately, Kentaro’s insecurities keep a wall between them. Kentaro’s art is reflective of his inability to craft his identity. He is unsure of who he is and, as such, unsure of the art he is creating. While the series does care about May and Kentaro, it’s clear through this episode that Kentaro’s connection with his mother, in spite of his father’s absence, is vital to understanding him.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 is able to capture adventure and action as the characters try to survive. The monster is intimidating and epic in scale, and the danger is tantamount to the rousing tension. But in that, it’s how the episode uses Kentaro’s near-death moment alone in the snow as a way to guide the viewer and him through his thorny connection to his father. The episode’s ability to capture the scale of the wilderness, the monster, and the past is what makes the series hit.

The Titans in the series, the monsters, are important, but similarly, how the people react to them is also the guiding force. In this instance, Kentaro’s assuredness that he saw something that may hold the answers to his father and help out of the wilderness is pushed by the Titan that is chasing them, but the emotion guides him.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 is another good episode, honed in more on the personal than the spectacle. Finally, though, Kentaro gets the time to become a more dynamic lead.

Monarch Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 is streaming now, exclusively on AppleTV+.