Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Interview: Anna Sawai Breaks Down Cate’s Backstory & Episode 5

Warning: SPOILERS for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 5.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brings new depth to the MonsterVerse by focusing more than ever on the human side of the ever-expanding world. Even as the show explores the 1950s founding of its titular Monarch organization, it details the effect Monarch’s work has a half-century later. Five episodes in, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters still has plenty left to reveal and uncover about Monarch and the Titans it monitors.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 1 episode 5 details the life of one of the key members of the Randa family tree. Cate Randa’s 2015 struggles are illuminated in part by looks back to her life before G-Day, showcasing sides of her character previously unknown to viewers. Anna Sawai’s performance as Cate is emotionally charged through the episode’s multiple timelines and brings the good—and bad—sides of Cate to light more than ever before.

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Screen Rant interviewed Anna Sawai about Cate Randa’s journey in episode 5, the potential for her future with Monarch, and more. Note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Anna Sawai On Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Episode 5

Screen Rant: I loved getting to see Cate’s backstory [in episode 5]. What part of that was most exciting for you to play?

Anna Sawai: I think the exciting part was that we get to see a completely different side to her. Up until episode four, I think we only feel sorry for her, which can be a little bit one-dimensional for the character. In episode five, we get to see that she has made mistakes, and she feels very guilty about the things that she should have done.

I think, usually, when we’re watching something, we want the characters to feel real, and no one’s perfect; we all have our own mistakes. I was really excited to shoot [episode] five because that’s the moment that we get to know that Cate isn’t perfect. Cate isn’t perfect from the beginning, but she is at fault for a lot of the things that she’s done.

What do you think happened with her and the teacher?

Anna Sawai: With Dani?

Yes. Did you build a whole story with her, and did they tell you anything?

Anna Sawai: Oh, yeah. We talked about it so much. Some of the things didn’t make the final cut. But we played it [where] she and Dani had this relationship, but Cate has commitment issues. I drew that from her relationship with her dad and her mom; her dad not being there. She didn’t want to do the same thing, and she didn’t want anything that would possibly hurt her. She’s running away from Dani.

Then, we don’t really see it, but possibly, Dani died on G-Day, so Cate is dealing with this guilt that she is the reason why Dani wasn’t saved. So, that was a whole conversation. And I absolutely adored Courtney, who plays Dani. She was so much fun to work with, and she was my first proper girlfriend on screen. I’m so happy that I got to share the screen with Courtney.

I’m sorry it didn’t work out for them.

Anna Sawai: Yeah. But we don’t really know, actually. I guess they don’t really show it, so maybe they’re trying to see how it plays.

I don’t know if you can answer this, but did she for sure die, and then it just didn’t make it in the final?

Anna Sawai: Oh, no, no, no, she for sure doesn’t—we don’t see that. But we see Cate holding the key and then talking to her mom about it later on. But I also feel like that didn’t make the final cut. There’s room for any kind of possibility.

It’s not just Cate; I feel like, [for] everyone in the Randa family, none of their relationships are perfect with the people around them. Do you think there’s something about the family in general that’s causing them to have these issues in their relationships?

Anna Sawai: I mean, is there a perfect relationship? I don’t know. I think all my relationships are kind of flawed. There are things that I don’t understand, and maybe right now it might feel perfect, but nothing is forever; we don’t know for certain. So, I can’t really pinpoint one thing that is causing it, because I just feel like that is life.

One of the things that’s so cool about, where Cate came from with this is that it gives new context to the 2014 Godzilla movie. Did you watch that in preparation, and did you think about that as you were coming up with your performance?

Anna Sawai: I had watched it before, and then I rewatched it again. There was not much in the movie that shows… There’s a lot, but it’s such a short amount of time that we see the whole thing happen, so I was like, “Oh my God, that bus; that must be it.” But, for preparation, it was more about trying to reflect on my personal experiences and making it feel real. I connected it with my experience… [the] 2011 Tohoku earthquake was a big thing that came into play. Things like that; I think I approached Kate from a different angle, just because this was going to be a different endeavor, and I wanted it to feel fresh and original.

I like the scene where Cate is clearly not excited when James shows up at the airport to meet them. How do you see her dynamic with herself, James, and her mom?

Anna Sawai: I really think that Cate has trust issues with [everyone], really. She’s never like, “Oh, my God, this person’s a great person,” from the beginning. I think because she cares so much about her mother, hearing about him, she’s just like, “I don’t know about this guy. I don’t want to have to do so much with him, because if he’s not that important to my mom, then I cannot support it.”

Then, later on, we see that her mom is kind of seeing him as someone who can potentially be part of their lives, and I think that’s when she’s finally able to be happy for her mom. It was a funny scene to shoot because he’s so tall. It didn’t make the final cut, but he holds Cate up to give her a hug. It was hilarious, but I think that they wanted to keep it a little on the serious side, so they made it very subtle.

I also really love the moment where Cate, Kentaro, and May are exploring the ruins, because Kentaro and Cate start [feeling like siblings]. They have some banter that feels very sibling-y. How does that compare to your dynamic with Ren?

Anna Sawai: At that point, we were already very close. We had so much fun creating the show up until then, so it was nice to show that they could actually have fun—[that] the characters could have fun—but, like I said, we already were laughing our asses off. I was just happy that we didn’t have to hide that as characters, because most of the scenes that we did were very serious up until then. We were able to sing and laugh, and I think that is kind of one of the first scenes where we really see Cate show a smile.

Do you see Cate wanting to be a part of Monarch in the future, for real?

Anna Sawai: I don’t know how much I can share, but we definitely see the progression, and how she evolves as a human being. When we first meet her, she has no knowledge [of] the past, but after meeting Kentaro, May, and Shaw, she becomes aware of the legacy that her grandma Keiko has created. She sees that she is her grandmother’s granddaughter; she feels it in her blood. She’s channeling it. So, I hope that we see a little bit of desire to continue this legacy, but I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

Do you have either a favorite scene from the season so far, or a scene that was the most challenging for you?

Anna Sawai: My favorite… does it have to be a scene that I was in?

No.

Anna Sawai: Well, honestly, I enjoyed watching the ‘50s characters so much because it just feels like a completely different show, and the relationship that Keiko has with Shaw and Bill is so beautiful. I enjoyed watching my grandma. So much drama. So that’s my favorite; I guess I just watched it as an audience [member].

Then, the toughest one was probably the 2014 G-Day scene because I didn’t really know how to react to the tennis ball or to the cross yet. It was one of the first scenes that we shot, and we were in the rain, and I was actually pretty cold, nd there were a lot of kids. I can handle talking to one kid at a time, but when they’re all together, I’m like, “Oh my God, how do I react? They’re all talking to me right now.” Things like that. I think that, in the end, we were able to shoot a really nice scene, but it was a new challenge for me.

Do you feel like you had timeline envy? Would you have liked to do a scene set in the ‘50s?

Anna Sawai: Yeah. I mean, the tone is just so different. It’s so beautiful; it looks like a totally different universe. The present day is our daily lives—I’ve seen all this stuff—[and] then I’m wondering how it must have felt to step on set [where] everything is like the 1950s. That would be so amazing. So yes, a little bit, but I do love our characters too, so I’m not mad.

About Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch.

Check out our other Monarch: Legacy of Monsters interviews:

• Matt Shakman
• Sean Konrad
• Tory Tunnell
• Matt Fraction & Chris Black
• Mari Yamamoto & Anders Holm
• Ren Watabe, Anna Sawai & Kiersey Clemons
• Leopold Ross
• Joe Tippett & Elisa Lasoswki