Episode two slips into a time period that Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters didn’t visit in episode one and reveals how Lee, Keiko, and Bill met. The second episode also introduces Kurt Russell as the older version of Lee Shaw, played in the ‘50s by his son, Wyatt.
Episode two, “Departure,” begins with Lt. Lee Shaw in big trouble in Manila, circa 1952, after getting into a fistfight with his fellow soldiers. Lee claims the fight picked him, but it doesn’t matter. General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) informs him of a new assignment: observing and protecting a Japanese scientist.
It’s dangerous – a man has already been lost – and Puckett warns Lee that he needs to take his new assignment seriously.
The scene switches to the Mindanao docks in the Philippines where Lee seems unable to wrap his head around the fact the scientist he’s charged with protecting is a woman. Dr. Keiko Mura (Mari Yamamoto) puts Lee in his place, and off they go with Keiko driving like a bat out of hell. Lee’s concerned about her driving skills and admits he has no idea what this assignment is even about.
He’s shocked to hear that Keiko’s researching the mysterious appearance of radioactive isotopes that have been traced back to the Philippines. The trail leading to the source diminishes every day, and Keiko needs to hurry before it completely disappears.
Lee confesses he thinks this is all a wild goose chase that she was sent on because she’s a woman.
They’ve stopped to do some atmospheric readings when something rustles in the nearby woods. Bill Randa (Anders Holm) stumbles out of the bushes and is shocked to discover he’s not alone in the area. Lee places a gun to the back of his head, and Bill blurts out that he’s an American Navy veteran. Lee questions why Bill’s filming the area, and Bill explains he’s a cryptozoologist (studies animals that don’t exist).
Bill thinks they’re both hunting for the same thing: the truth.
Lee’s holstered his weapon, for now, and Bill reveals he doesn’t think following the radiation will lead anywhere. Instead, they need to pay attention to the local folklore about a dragon that traced a path of fire across the sky. That might have been a path of radiation.
Lee protests, but Keiko invites Bill – who Lee points out is very smelly – to join them. (Good thing they’re traveling in an open-air Jeep.) Since Lee doesn’t want Bill to hang around, Keiko relieves Lee of his duty.
Lee drives off, alone, taking the Jeep but promising to send someone to take over his assignment.
Bill describes the creatures he’s hunting as Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (MUTOs), taking credit for that name. He shows Keiko his journal with a chart that shows how the lights in the sky have made the same path for centuries, like migrating birds.
Keiko has her own chart to show off. The tracks of the surveillance aircraft match perfectly with Bill’s MUTOs movement. They follow the map and are stunned to find the USS Lawton in the middle of a meadow, which isn’t where a battleship should be.
Bill explains the ship went down 200 miles from Pearl Harbor in 1943 and is supposed to be 5,000 miles from Tokyo underwater. Bill films as they explore inside the wreckage but stops when he discovers his old trunk is still in good shape and still contains all the possessions he brought on board. Keiko finally realizes Bill was on this ship, and Bill confesses he’d been hoping he’d find this ship. It confirms they were, in fact, attacked by a MUTO; he was the only survivor.
(John Goodman’s Bill Randa mentions the ship in Kong: Skull Island, describing its destruction by a MUTO.)
Meanwhile, the Geiger counter reacts to a reading and Lee makes a U-turn, heading back to Bill and Keiko.
The ship’s walls – and his shipmates’ dead bodies – are covered with a slimy organic substance. They decide it’s time to beat a hasty retreat, but their passage is now full of fresh, dripping slime that wasn’t there before.
Bill leads the way toward a different exit as the ship shakes, parts come crashing down, and a creature launches an attack. Just then, Lee returns carrying a flare and is completely confused about what’s going on. (Can’t blame the guy one bit.) There’s no time to explain as he’s almost snatched up in a giant claw while trying to free Bill who’s trapped under a fallen piece of the ship.
They leap out of a hole in the side of the ship and run away just as the ship falls over on its side. A massive winged kaiju known as an Ion Dragon emerges from the wreckage and swoops toward our fleeing heroes who barely escape with their lives.
Lee looks up at the massive creature and says in awe, “Oh my god, it is a dragon!”
Tokyo 2015 – Kentaro, Cate and May Catch Monarch’s Attention
Kentaro (Ren Watabe) visits his dad’s office looking for more clues about his involvement in the mysterious Monarch organization. Frustrated over all his father’s secrets, he spends a minute trashing the place before deciding to open a locked file cabinet.
Inside is a folder with the Monarch logo and a file on Lee Shaw that indicates he moved into a retirement community. It’s also revealed Shaw’s birthdate is August 3, 1924, so in 2015 he should be 91.
The folder also contains a reel of film from the Philippines.
Later, Cate (Anna Sawai) is all packed up and heading to the train station, unaware she’s being followed. Her mom calls and Cate confesses that whatever her dad was working on has nothing to do with the family. The man following her catches up and makes small talk, and his joke about being buried alive in a coffin goes over like a lead balloon.
The stranger introduces himself as Tim (Joe Tippett), says he works for Monarch, and wants the files returned immediately. He doesn’t give her a chance to flee, grabbing her arm when she says she needs to make a call. They head out of the train station, and she calls her mom on speaker. Suddenly, she throws the phone at Tim’s face, leaves her luggage behind, and makes a run for it. Unfortunately, Tim’s got backup and she’s shoved into a car.
Tim places a hood over her face and swears they won’t hurt her. Cate panics and experiences a flashback of Godzilla and the Golden Gate Bridge. She kicks the driver, Duvall (Elisa Lasowski), in the head, causing her to lose control of the car and sending it crashing into a barricade.
Cate makes her way out and runs off before her abductors can follow. She manages to make it to a police station and gives a report of the assault. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any ID because it was in the bag that she left behind. Everything’s gone, including her passport and money.
The cop doesn’t believe her story and suggests she pay a visit to the American Embassy. He makes a call while she’s still at the desk and Cate takes off.
Kentaro heads over to May’s place, and after an uncomfortable moment of rehashing their relationship, he asks for the old computer files. She doesn’t turn them over and instead sends him away. After slamming the door in his face, she gets back to work making a backup of the Monarch files.
Kentaro returns home to find his mom going through old family photos. They relieve some stress and anger by ripping up all the photos of his dad, Hiroshi, giggling while they toss the pieces in the air.
While Emiko (Qyoko Kudo) heats up dinner, Kentaro picks up a photo. He instantly recognizes it as Lee Shaw. It’s revealed Hiroshi’s dad died in the Vietnam War and Lee was the only “family” he had left. It’s strange Hiroshi never mentioned him, and Emiko believes they had a falling out. She doesn’t know if Lee is still alive.
Cate finds her way back to May’s only to discover May (Kiersey Clemons) hiding outside while Tim and Duvall search her apartment.
Kentaro receives an urgent text from May, but Tim knocks on the door before he can call her back. Kentaro’s mom grabs a photo of Lee as Tim and Duvall force their way inside the apartment, demanding the stolen Monarch files. Kentaro refuses to turn them over, and Emiko secretly slips the photo of Lee into his hand before sending him out of the room to retrieve what he stole.
Emiko does a terrific job of protecting her son, preventing Tim from following Kentaro and keeping them distracted with an offer of tea. She keeps up a steady stream of conversation to distract them, but Tim spots photos of Hiroshi on the wall and finally realizes her connection to Monarch.
Emiko screams at Kentaro to run as Tim and Duvall give chase. Fortunately, he had a head start and gets away but leaves the empty Monarch bag behind.
Meanwhile, May and Cate retrieve May’s go-bag, which contains extra passports and cash. (She’s been prepared since the attack on San Francisco.) Kentaro catches up with them and fills them in on Tim, which leads to an argument over what to do next. Kentaro ends the debate by claiming he knows where they need to head.
Kentaro, May, and Cate show up at the retirement community and, thankfully, Lee Shaw is still alive. (Kurt Russell takes over the Lee role from his son, Wyatt, and at 72, looks nowhere near 91!) Lee’s happy to reunite with Hiroshi’s son, and shocked to learn Hiroshi also has a daughter. Lee suggests they step outside away from the surveillance cameras to talk.
The trio tell Lee they found “monster shit” and crazy files in Hiroshi’s safe. They want to know what happened to Hiroshi and because he was so secretive, they have no idea what he was up to when he disappeared.
May has been examining the garden as they talk and finds a hidden camera tucked into a tree. Lee reveals he’s wearing an ankle bracelet that tracks him, and the facility is referred to by Monarch as Secure Asset Management. He’s basically being kept prisoner, and now that Monarch’s onto them, they’ll be after the trio, too.
He suggests they make a break for it and cuts off his tracker, giving them a minute head start before security figures out what they’re up to.
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 1 “Aftermath” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 3 “Secrets and Lies” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 “Parallels and Interiors” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 5 “The Way Out” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 6 “Terrifying Miracles” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7 “Will the Real May Please Stand Up” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 8 “Birthright” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 9 “Axis Mundi” Recap
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 10 “Beyond Logic” Finale Recap
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New episodes of Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stream on Fridays.
