Abhiroop Das
Created by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, Apple TV+’s ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ returns with its second season to dive deeper into the world of mythical beasts and the civilizations built around them. By the end of the first season of this action-adventure series, we catch up to the timeline of ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters,’ except it appears that reality itself has changed for Cate. Her grandmother, Keiko, is revealed to be alive and still young, trapped in a realm known as the Axis Mundi. As Lee Shaw puts his mind to work and creates a temporary exit from this realm, a battle between monsters throws everything into chaos. Ultimately, Lee makes the brave decision of sacrificing himself to let the next generation go, and while everyone else makes it back to safety, Keiko isn’t ready to accept that her companion is dead. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Lee Shaw Survives the Fall Due to Axis Mundi’s Physics Breaking Reality
Season 2 of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ opens with the confirmation that Lee Shaw survives the fall in Axis Mundi. While the earlier season leads us to believe that Lee sacrifices himself to save Keiko and the others, this new reveal wholly subverts that notion. As the scene returns to the liminal realm, we see Lee Shaw almost gently falling to the floor and then getting up without any injuries. It is possible that the twisted physics of the Axis Mundi is what facilitates Lee Shaw’s survival, as, after all, time dilation is bound to be the direct result of a gravity-related phenomenon as well. Furthermore, we have already seen someone fall into the space and survive without a scratch, that being Keiko herself.
Fittingly, it is Keiko who has the strongest belief in Lee’s survival, despite seeing him fall from a height in front of her eyes. To begin with, much of the season 1 plot, especially towards the finale, is about characters putting blind trust in Keiko and Cate being alive inside Axis Mundi. Even beyond the region’s time and space warping, there are innumerable ferocious beasts constantly roaming the lands, which already makes survival improbable. However, just as we learn from Keiko’s arc, Lee, too, is able to hold his own for long enough that Cate creates yet another portal between the two worlds. Immediately, he grabs hold of the rescue spaceship and gets in, killing a strange new creature along the way to secure his exit. With his grand return, the story now has one more avenue into the past of the ‘Monsterverse.’
Kurt Russell Believes Monarch Season 2 is the Closest Thing to Godzilla Minus One
With Lee Shaw’s surprise return in the inaugural episode of season 2, actor Kurt Russell is set to reprise his fan-favorite role. In many ways, his performance is integral to maintaining the show’s three-generation structure, as Keiko’s character, unlike Lee’s, hasn’t aged at all. While Wyatt Russell’s return to the screen as the younger version of Lee isn’t a surprise, Kurt’s renewed take on the role makes for the perfect combination. Regarding season 2 itself, Kurt described it to Cinematoday as the closest thing to ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ both in feel and how it captures drama. He specifically expressed his interest in telling an unconventional story about monsters, which complements a human element as well, and through his character, he gets to become the perfect medium.
While the season 1 finale gives Lee a grand sendoff, the fact that he is sent to Axis Mundi means that the creators have a lot more flexibility about his trajectory. In effect, his character can be benched for as long as the story needs, as time is almost frozen in Axis Mundi. However, with Kurt donning the fictional garb once again with season 2, fans can expect many deep dives into the past, seamlessly connecting the Lee we know today to the Lee of the past, who was pushed down for saying the truth. It is likely that he has already learnt his lesson when it comes to experimenting with the Hollow Earth, and his next focus is most likely to be the new sea monster that has broken free of Axis Mundi and is on its way towards civilization.
Read More: Godzilla and Monarch Legacy of Monsters Timeline, Explained
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