The Cost of Knowing Too Much

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MOVIE REVIEWS
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Season 2
TV-14 –

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Action
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 10 x 55m episodes
Cast: Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Mari Yamamoto, Ren Watabe, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett
Where to Watch: premieres globally on February 27, 2026, on Apple TV+ with the first episode, followed by one episode every Friday until May 1, 2026

RAVING REVIEW: How big does a monster story have to become before it overcomes the individuals in their immediate vicinity? The second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters arrives with a very definite goal: to be bigger, to go further, and to at last prove its right to be within the Monsterverse, not just adjacent to it. The first season was often a fairly down-to-earth drama about people who happened to be near these major events; the second season aims for direct impact. The result is more self-assured, more ambitious in its visuals, and sometimes a little bit awkward, yet also more satisfying when it remembers what made the show good in the first place.

The most obvious change is the scope. The new season quickly moves beyond containment areas and complicated family backgrounds, sending the main plotlines to Kong’s Skull Island and presenting a completely new Titan, the appropriately named Titan X. The world feels bigger, more perilous, and not so abstract. Monsters are no longer something people only hear about at a distance; they’re active forces that shape choices, partnerships, and people's emotions. That clarity makes the series seem less like something linking other things together and more like a story of its own.

What makes the show good is its generational structure. The two-timeline approach is still one of the smartest things the series does, and this season makes its purpose clearer. Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell still don’t act as mirrors of one another, but as emotional beginnings and ends. The younger Lee Shaw’s confidence and strength are very different from the older version’s sorrow and restraint. This season lets both of them exist at the same time without being repetitive, underscoring that Monarch’s ethical failings weren’t one-off errors but patterns that were repeated and passed down.

Anna Sawai’s Cate is still the show’s emotional push and pull, although the second season puts her in a more reactive position. The writing relies heavily on consequences, making Cate face the fact that finding the truth doesn’t necessarily bring understanding or peace. Kiersey Clemons’ May gets more of a chance to act on things this time, growing from an outsider into someone who is actively deciding the moral course of the story. Their relationship feels more real now, less driven by the need to give information and more by a shared tiredness.

Mari Yamamoto’s Keiko remains one of the best characters in the series. The second season gives her a larger role without overexplaining it, letting the acting carry the emotion. Ren Watabe also becomes more important in the story, particularly when it examines how difficult it is to remain loyal to Monarch when keeping secrets leads to unintended harm.

The introduction of Titan X is done with restraint, which is good for a series built on excess. Instead of showing the creature as just a bigger or more destructive version of what’s already there, the season shows it as something you can’t possibly just explain away. The bioluminescent design and its appearance out of the ocean are striking, but what stays with you is how the characters react to it. Fear isn’t present in the way you expect here; it’s unsettling. The danger isn’t just being destroyed, but any hope that Monarch can control what’s happening.

The second season sometimes feels like it needs to carry too much of the series’ history. The Skull Island material is solid, but some episodes depend too much on building up the history of the Monsterverse, at the cost of keeping the story moving. At times, there’s a feeling that the series is preparing for future spin-offs rather than letting this story develop. When the writing slows down to explain, the tension is reduced.

The effects are cleaner, the staging is more confident, and the monsters are part of the surroundings rather than just tacked on. The spectacle supports the story more often than not. When Godzilla or Kong appear, it’s not to get applause, but to have consequences. Their presence immediately changes the balance of power, reminding viewers that human control is, at best, limited.

The second season succeeds in the end because it accepts what it is. It isn’t trying to replace the films, nor is it apologizing for being on a smaller scale. Instead, it leans into the human cost of living in a world where monsters exist, and organizations lie about it. When the series trusts its characters and the themes it explores, it works very well. When it goes after expansion for its own sake, it struggles. This is absolutely a step forward, messier, heavier, and more certain.

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[photo courtesy of APPLE TV+]

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