Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 6!
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Wyatt Russell has revealed why a major character death was shown in episode 1’s past storyline before rewinding to 1952. In the show’s premiere, the past storyline featuring a young Lee Shaw sees him working alongside Keiko and Bill Randa in 1959. The end of the episode shows Keiko falling to her death, while the past story in future episodes presents the years-long buildup to that moment.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Russell revealed why Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ Monsterverse expansion led with revealing Keiko was going to die. The actor explained how the show would be building back to that moment thematically while connecting it with the events of the 2015 storyline. Check out what Russell had to say below:
That’s a very good question. Yes, we did [ask], because you risk confusing people. There’s no doubt about it. But you needed to start at the end of that [1950s] storyline and then work up to what happened in that moment, so that you were informing the [2015] storyline. The end of episode one leaves the question and the quest of the series. I don’t want to give it away because that is literally what the series ends up being about, but all of the themes that are set in 1959 needed the history of that trio, Bill, Kieko and Lee. It needed the history to be behind them so that we could go back and learn what the history was. So that sets up what the future actually is, and that was a challenge. That was a challenge for Matt and Chris, and that was a very difficult thing to try and engineer. They did a really good job of building a moving train — because that’s what it felt like sometimes.
How Monarch Is Building Back To Keiko’s Death
Despite her death in episode 1, the following episodes of the show have helped to develop Keiko as a character, allowing audiences to see how she grew closer to the team. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 6 featured major character reveals, including that Lee and Keiko were interested in each other romantically. It remains to be seen how she ended up with Bill instead, and what that will mean for a revisit to her death.
In addition to building back up to her demise, the latest episode in particular adds a layer of subtext to the team’s mission. This is especially resonant because of how openly affectionate Bill and Keiko are by 1959, despite the latter’s past with Russell’s character. Since the pair are still on good terms by the time of her death, it seems future episodes will be exploring why this is the case, and how they reconciled after Monarch came under new management.
Although it’s clear how Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ love triangle will end, the buildup is likely to alter the perception of events upon a revisit. It’s also possible rewatching the series will end up having a new perspective to it once Lee and Keiko’s past is fully revealed. With four episodes left, it seems the Monsterverse series still has plenty to expand upon before revisiting its episode 1 death.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
The Legendary MonsterVerse continues with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a sci-fi action series created for Apple TV+. Set after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, the series follows two siblings retracing their father’s footsteps to uncover the truth behind their family legacy. What they find sets up a story over three decades and explores the foundations of the mysterious company.
- Cast
- Kurt Russell , Wyatt Russell , Anna Sawai , Kiersey Clemons , Ren Watabe , Mari Yamamoto , Anders Holm , Joe Tippett , Elisa Lasowski
- Genres
- Action , Sci-Fi
- Rating
- Not Yet Rated
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Chris Black , Matt Fraction
- Streaming Service(s)
- Apple TV+
- Franchise(s)
- Monsterverse , Godzilla , King Kong
- Directors
- Matt Shakman
- Showrunner
- Chris Black , Matt Fraction
