In the first episode of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” titled “Aftermath”, we follow the journey of Cate, a survivor of Godzilla’s attack on San Francisco. Shaken by a shocking secret, she travels to Japan to seek answers about her father. Her quest uncovers a family secret that leads her to the mysterious organization known as Monarch.
Meanwhile, Keiko, Lee, and Billy pursue a theory about Titans. Amid monstrous threats, Cate embarks on a globetrotting adventure to learn the truth about her family. This episode sets the stage for a saga that spans three generations, revealing buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.
* * *
[helicopter whirring]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[people screaming]
[beeping]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[gunfire]
Hey, buddy.
I don’t know if this will get to you. I hope so.
Actually, I don’t, because it’ll probably mean I’m dead, which you may not feel too busted up about.
[gunfire]
Sorry, I gotta keep this short.
You may never forgive me for what I took from you, and I can’t go back in time and fix all the mistakes that I made.
But maybe I could leave something for the future.
A legacy.
And you’ll realize it was all worth it.
[gunfire continues]
[creature growling]
[grunts]
Whoa!
[creature droning]
[panting]
[growling, droning]
[panting]
[spider growls]
[grunts]
[roars]
[growls]
[screeching]
[grunting]
[panting]
[sighs]
[fishermen shouting, speaking indistinctly]
[fisherman, in Japanese] Pull it over.
Pull it over.
Release.
[ship horn blowing]
What are you doing? Get back to work!
Get back to work!
[PA system dings]
[flight attendant speaking Japanese]
[PA system dings]
[in English] We have to wait.
[flight attendant speaking Japanese]
Welcome to Tokyo.
Please be seated for decontamination. Thank you.
It’s all about giving us the illusion of safety.
Like spraying us for parasites would help prevent another monster attack.
[gasps]
[PA system dings]
[announcer speaking Japanese]
[glass shatters]
[children screaming]
[monster screeching]
[speaking Japanese]
[speaking Japanese]
What is the purpose of your visit to Japan?
Um… [chuckles] …my father died recently, and I’m settling his affairs.
So business, I guess. Family business.
Place your fingers on the glass plates, please.
[computer whirs]
[chimes]
[officer] Okay.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Take me to this address, please.
You certainly seem prepared here.
The government is spending lots of money. Missiles, drones.
Are you in the trade?
The trade?
Monster prep. Big business now.
People always find a way to profit off someone else’s tragedy.
[driver] More profit than tragedy.
What do you mean?
San Francisco was a hoax.
They did it with CGI.
Well, um, that’s quite a revelation.
[driver] There’s more. I have a podcast.
[cell phone ringing]
Hi, Mom.
[Mom] Hey. You said you’d call when you landed.
And I just landed.
[Mom] Yeah, two hours ago.
Cate, I’ve been wa…
I had to get through immigrations
and customs, get a cab.
[Mom sighs] Oh, God.
Okay. So, what, you’re there now?
I’m here.
[Mom] And?
And what, Mom?
You think he’ll just be sitting here, waiting for someone to bring him home?
[Mom sighs] So we should have gone with your plan?
Sit here, staring at the walls, never knowing what this means? [sighs]
Cate. Cate?
I’ll call you back.
[Mom] Cate, do not hang up on…
[tenant gasps]
[plate shatters]
[shudders]
[in Japanese] Who are you?
What are you doing here?
[in English] Who are you?
[in Japanese] What do you want?
Stop!
Put it down! Put it down!
[in English] Whose apartment is this?
[in Japanese] What is it?
She was just standing there!
I think she might be unstable.
What are you doing?
[in English] Why do you have these pictures?
[in Japanese] They’re family pictures.
[in English] What?
[tenant 2] How did you get in here?
I have the keys.
Where did you get those?
I found them in my father’s desk,
along with the lease for this apartment in his name.
I don’t know who your father is, but this is our apartment.
This is my father.
[tenant, in Japanese] Kentaro…
Who is she?
[tires screech]
Mother… [grunts]
Do you want me to drive?
You couldn’t have gotten us a vehicle that was at least somewhat vehicular?
You said, “Blend in.” Would you have preferred an oxcart?
Yeah, maybe.
Feed it some hay. It wouldn’t complain half as much.
[engine sputtering]
[groans]
Billy, it’s the pedal on the left.
Hey, what’s the rule on commentary from the back seats?
[sputtering]
Other left.
Back seat.
[chuckles]
You sure this is the right road?
Let me check.
[Geiger counter clicking]
[associate] 5,000 millirems.
6,000.
Well, we’re on the right road. [sighs]
Eh, the hell with it. Never planned on having kids anyway.
[associate] Really? Never?
There was a time when you were at least entertaining the idea.
Well, there was a time where that idea was very entertaining.
Please,
don’t make things awkward and tell us it’s ’cause you never met the right woman.
I gotta give it to you guys, you make it look easy.
Raising a great kid, being able to keep Monarch together. That’s no small feat.
What we’ve done, we’ve done together.
Yeah.
[Geiger counter clicking]
7,000 millirems and rising.
All right. Showtime.
End of the line.
[engine stops]
These should give us some level of protection.
I guess that depends on what we need protection from.
[chuckles] You afraid you’re gonna run into a titan?
Where’s your sense of adventure?
The army gave me one job, swab.
It’s keeping you eggheads alive.
All right? So just follow my lead for a change, please.
Sir, yes, sir.
[scoffs]
Okay.
We come back, proving the network is real,
and then our theory is not just some insane fantasy.
Yeah.
This could make everything we’ve sacrificed worth it.
Mmm.
[Geiger counter clicking]
[all breathing heavily]
[associate] Get the gear.
[associate 2 grunts, breathing heavily]
Billy, fall in.
[Billy sighs] Yeah, I’m coming.
[speaking Russian]
[in English] Put down your weapon!
[speaking Russian]
[in English] Calm down. Calm down.
Pla… Kei!
[Kei speaks Russian]
[Billy, in English] Kei, keep your mask on.
[in Russian] This is a restricted area.
Who are you?
We are scientists.
We only want to help.
And if you eat those you will get sick.
Your family could die.
You mean “the contamination”?
[in Russian] It is a fairy tale
to scare away the curious.
Why?
What are people so curious about?
The old folks say…
the government burned a hole through the earth,
all the way to Hell.
Do you believe that?
See for yourselves.
[all breathing deeply]
[Billy, in English] Must be getting close.
[associate breathing heavily] Thank you, Billy.
[associate] There a problem?
[Kei exhales deeply]
[Billy] Hey, will you stop doing that?
[sighs]
The problem is there is no radiation.
[scoffs] That’s impossible.
We detected it 1,000 miles down range. We should be standing at ground zero.
But we’re not.
[sighs] The boy was right. It’s a fairy tale.
Okay. So, are we taking these things off or not?
‘Cause it’s hotter than hell in here.
No.
Yes. [sighs]
Oh, great. So, now you’re trying to die?
Well, Doc says yeah, so…
Yeah, I’m a doctor too, you know?
Of course. Yeah, I know.
[in Japanese] She doesn’t even look like him.
Hmm.
But…
she has his keys.
But not his face.
[in English] Prove it.
[scoffs] Where’s your proof? A bunch of pictures?
I’ve got pictures.
This is us camping at the Redwoods.
He got poison oak and had these horrible red blotches all over his arms.
Drove him crazy. Ring any bells?
This is our backyard.
He built that playhouse for me when I was five.
One weekend he was actually home.
Here’s a good one.
I bought them a sunset cruise for their wedding anniversary.
Thirty years.
That’s an accomplishment.
How long were you married to him?
Don’t talk to her like that.
[scoffs] I’m not judging her.
[tenant speaks Japanese]
[in English] But aren’t you even curious who he was cheating on first?
Your mother or mine?
Wai… [scoffs] W-What do you want?
[in Japanese] Kentaro…
what is going on?
[in English] Can you tell us anything?
We have been waiting,
looking,
but… [breathes shakily] …Hiroshi’s gone.
[keys jingle]
I’m sorry I barged in here. Um, let’s just forget this happened.
Are you kidding me?
Please, help me understand.
I wish I could.
Here, these are yours.
[Kei] I’m not reading anything.
Every time there’s a small spike,
it fades away like it’s been absorbed by something.
Yeah. Or eaten.
What? It’s not like we haven’t seen it before.
[scoffs] These things think the “A” in A-bomb stand for “appetizer.”
Come on, time for some science shit.
[grunting]
[Billy grunts]
There you go.
[associate] All right. Last charge is set.
[Billy] Uh, I think we need more spacing.
These are supposed to be set at 50 meters apart.
That was for the larger ones. The 3.8 megajoules.
Well, that’s what we brought.
No, these are the 2.1’s.
If you want to measure greater depth, we get maximum overlap at 30 meters.
Only when we use the diamond grid.
This was a circular dispersal.
Fire in the hole.
Wait. Is that… Wait.
Voids.
What?
Chambers. Deep in the bedrock.
[Billy] There’s something down there.
Those are off the charts.
Hell yeah, they are.
This is what we’ve been looking for.
[chuckles] Yes.
[Kei laughs]
[rumbling]
[grunts]
This is it.
[cell phone ringing]
[Cate] Hi, Mom.
[Mom] Cate, why haven’t you called back?
What happened?
There’s nothing here for us.
[Mom] What? Was someone there?
Cate?
Did you know?
[Mom] Know what?
Cate?
I gotta go.
[Mom] Cate, what did you find out? Whose apartment is it?
It’s his.
Mom, are you there?
[cell phone beeps]
Mom? Mom!
[cell phone alarm buzzing]
[alarm blaring]
[announcer speaking Japanese]
[people clamoring]
[Cate yelps]
Get up.
What’s happening?
It’s the early warning system.
Warning for what?
Godzilla.
[clamoring continues]
[speaks Japanese]
[speaks Japanese]
[tenant speaking Japanese]
[in English] It’s probably just a drill.
How long do we have to stay here?
[in Japanese] We have to wait for…
[in English] “…All clear.”
[stammers] What if it’s not a drill?
I thought you’re from San Francisco. You’d know better than we would.
[tenant speaking Japanese]
[speaking Japanese]
[in English] She wants to know if he was with you.
What? [breathes shakily]
[Kentaro] When it happened, was he with you?
What difference does that make now?
You don’t think it would’ve made a difference
if he’d been here with us instead?
No, he wasn’t with me.
[glass shattering]
[children screaming]
[Cate gasps]
No, no, no. Oh, my God. Are you okay?
Everyone, it’s gonna be okay.
[children clamoring]
I’m gonna get you out of here.
It’s fine. Everyone, follow me. Follow me!
[screams]
[gunfire]
[roars]
Kids! Come on!
I got you. It’s okay. Come on.
It’s okay. Come on.
[bellows]
[Cate] No! No! [screams]
[children screaming]
[screams]
No! [breathes shakily]
I need to go! I-I need to go, I’m sorry. Excuse me.
We need to get out of here. Let go. Let me out! [sobs]
[speaking Japanese]
[panting]
[speaks Japanese]
[in English] I’m fine.
I’m fine.
[creaking]
Holy crap.
[associate] Well, there’s definitely something down there.
[Kei] Some new form of M.U.T.O.
[Billy] They look embryonic.
Like larvae. Almost like a nursery.
[associate] Yeah.
And if it’s a nursery, Mom can’t be far away, right?
We need to get a sample of their genetic material.
[Kei] Mm-hmm.
So, you wanna go down there?
Well, yeah. I mean, they appear to be dormant, right?
[associate] Appears to be?
[Billy] We’re talking about a new goddamn species, Lee.
And we can’t afford to pass up an opportunity to learn w-whatever we can.
We can. We can if it’s gonna get our asses killed.
Then why are we here?
I just think that we should…
[sighs] I have a bad feeling about this, okay?
Billy’s right. We’re not going home empty-handed.
Whoa, whoa.
What are you doing?
I know the sample particles.
Kei, come back over the railing.
Come on.
I’m the lightest.
You boys can pull me up if I get in trouble.
[scoffs] Okay. We are not just letting you go down there.
No.
You’re not letting me?
Billy.
She’s right. It’s gotta be her.
What are you doing? Billy, what are you… Bil… Hey! Hey, B… Stop. Stop!
Both of you stop.
Tell me exactly
how much time you need down there to collect enough genetic material.
Five minutes. Tops.
Okay. We’ll do it together.
[Billy] Be careful.
[PA system chimes]
[announcer speaking Japanese]
[people chattering]
[in English] See? All clear.
[announcer 2] All clear.
Emergency alert has been canceled.
[speaks Japanese]
[announcer 2, in English] Please resume regular life.
So, everything just goes back to normal?
What should we do? Run home and hide in the closet?
[speaking Japanese]
[speaks Japanese]
She’s asking if you’ll come have tea and talk about your life.
That’s very kind, and you can tell her I’m saying whatever you want right now.
But I can’t imagine anything I’d like to do less
than have tea with the woman Dad was cheating on my mom with.
Yeah. Well, from our perspective, your mother was the other woman.
That’s fair. I’m gonna go now.
The other woman’s gonna have a lot of questions.
Did you get the answers?
You flew halfway around the world looking for something.
Or what these unlock.
And all you found was Dad was apparently a lying asshole.
Is that enough for you?
I guess that’ll have to do.
[Kentaro] You think our father was so bad?
I wanna show you something.
Okay. [sighs]
Look around.
Am I looking for anything in particular?
Well, him. He just wasn’t who you say he was.
[Cate] Maybe you just didn’t know him.
[Kentaro scoffs]
You gotta give it to the guy.
He had two families and still had time to be obsessed with work.
It was important.
[scoffs] Please.
Do you even know what he did?
Software for satellites.
“Software for satellites.”
Did you ever meet anyone he works with?
Ever get invited to take-your-kid-to-work day?
What do you do anyway?
Let me guess. Computer engineering?
Something that would make dear old Dad proud.
Whoa, whoa. Hey!
[Cate] What’s in here?
[Kentaro] I didn’t know it was there.
What are you doing?
[beeps]
What’s your birthday?
Stop doing that.
I thought you wanted to introduce me to your dad.
Show me something I didn’t know about him.
‘Cause the only thing in this room that isn’t old news to me is this.
July 7th.
[beeping]
What about your mom?
He wouldn’t be that obvious.
Afraid of what we’ll find?
August 17th.
[beeps]
[Cate sighs]
Keep that up. You’re gonna get me locked out.
Seriously, stop. I’ll never get it open.
How did you do that?
Your birth month, my day. Your mother’s month, my mom’s day.
It smells like fish.
[no audible dialogue]
[gasps, breathes shakily]
I need to know what this is.
It’s some kind of old data storage.
It’s private.
I’ll make you a deal.
You help me, and I’ll get out of your life forever.
I might know someone.
Go away. I’m eating.
[Kentaro] Come on, May.
Have you seen a format like this before?
What do you think, ’80s?
Um, no. It’s, like, ’70s.
You know, I can’t drop everything when you need a favor. Life goes on.
I can pay you.
Not much, but make it worth your time.
Pay me?
You wanna pay me?
Okay. Whatever.
Wait here.
May.
May!
[May] What?
[Kentaro] We can keep this professional.
Is that what this relationship is now?
Transactional?
Or was it always that, and I just didn’t see it?
I told you I needed some time.
Yeah. And I-I gave it to you.
You don’t get to ghost me for months and then show up out of nowhere,
treating me like tech support.
I’m sorry.
And why should I do shit for you?
And her, really? Is that for real?
I don’t know.
But my father had that old data in his safe for a reason.
If there’s something on it that can explain this, or prove she’s lying…
[Cate] Everything all right?
I paid.
[Cate] You live around here?
Uh, yeah. It’s cheap. I mean, by Tokyo standards.
Everyone minds their business. It’s real. I like it.
But I wanna know more about this ’cause I have siblings.
You know, we dribble out every few years. We get a nine month heads-up.
You just had one dropped on you full-grown. This one, at that.
[Kentaro] Oh, great, thanks.
I’m sorry.
[chuckles] Nah, he’s a delight.
I like you.
[sighs] All right. Make yourselves at home.
You know where everything is. [sighs]
Are you a collector?
Uh, no. [chuckles]
The audiophile nerds swear it’s the only way to listen to vinyl.
They say it’s warmer, more honest.
They’ll drop two, 300,000 yen on some antique I pulled from grandpa’s garage.
Smack a fresh coat of wax on it.
There’s not even science that says the sound is better.
It is.
No, it’s not.
But hey, people wanna listen with their hearts instead of their ears.
I will gladly take their money.
May is not what you call sentimental.
Right. Because you know me so well.
It keeps me in ramen and Asahi during the dry spells.
I mostly do, uh, freelance coding and game design.
Is this from one of your games?
No. Actually, your, uh… Your brother did that.
Half-brother. And that’s still up for debate.
You said you were an engineer.
No, you said that.
[chuckles]
All right. Here we go.
[hard drive whirring]
[Kentaro] Corrupted?
Encrypted.
So, you can’t read it?
[May] Well, encryption technology has come a long way.
What was military grade 40 years ago… [sighs] …is off-the-shelf now.
[computer beeps]
[beeping continues]
Hey, it’s Collins in data culling.
I’ve got something here you should see.
[Monarch employee] Yeah?
What is it?
[Collins] Someone tried to run it through some online decryption software.
It’s got a Monarch recognition code embedded so it pinged back to us.
How much did you get?
[Collins] Not much. Just a few megabytes.
Well, whoever has it is being careful.
They ran a small sample through the decrypt,
then immediately took it down when they saw the software worked.
Did you get an IP address?
Just a general area. Tokyo.
So, do you want me to kick this up to Verdugo?
Uh, you know, I’ll, uh… I’ll take care of it.
Are you sure? ‘Cause after G-Day, Verdugo said she wanted to see everything…
Thank you for everything. You were really helpful. You did a great, great job.
Hey. How’s your Japanese?
[Kentaro] What is this?
I don’t know. But there is a lot of it.
Is that Bigfoot?
Wait… Go back. What’s that?
It looks like that big satellite map in his office.
Yeah, but what is it a map of?
I don’t recognize anything.
What’s “Monarch”?
[Cate] They were there.
In San Francisco.
Like soldiers or something. With this on their uniforms.
Doing what?
[Cate] I don’t know. [sighs]
It felt like the whole city was coming down.
People were trapped, dying, and these guys were taking pictures.
Running around like kids on a field trip. Like they’d been waiting for it.
You think that your father was working for them?
This stuff was in his safe.
[Kentaro] That’s not who he was.
[in Japanese] Why are we even talking to her?
If my father had been here with me instead of San Francisco,
he’d still be alive.
But he wasn’t in San Francisco on G-Day.
I thought you couldn’t speak Japanese?
I never said that.
It was my dad’s and my secret language.
[in English] I don’t speak it anymore.
[Kentaro, in Japanese] You expect us to trust you now?
After you tricked us?
[in English] I wasn’t trying to trick anyone.
[in Japanese] What do you mean?
He wasn’t there?
[helicopter whirring]
[line beeping]
[cell phone ringing]
[in English] Dad?
[Hiroshi] Cate, where are you?
Dad. Oh, my God. Are you all right? We’ve been calling and calling.
[Hiroshi] Where are you?
We’re at a camp.
[Hiroshi] Where exactly? Where are you standing right now?
I’m at the Red Cross tent near the north entrance.
[line disconnects]
Dad?
Dad, are you there?
[Hiroshi] Cate!
Dad. Dad! [gasps]
[in Japanese] Are you all right?
I’ve been trying to call you for days.
The cell network just came back up.
Where have you been?
I couldn’t get a flight. Everything was grounded.
Is your mother okay?
Mm-hmm.
Come on. We’ve got a tent on the other side of the camp.
I can’t stay.
There’s a bus heading east out of the zone at 10pm tonight.
There are passes in there for you and your mom.
When you get to Reno,
there’s a hotel and a car reserved in your name.
Reno?
What…?
You have to come now. Mom’s been sick worrying about you.
I need you to take care of your mother.
[in English] No.
[in Japanese] There’s something I have to do.
[in English] No!
[in Japanese] I’m sorry, Cate.
But you are strong.
You’ll be all right.
[in English] I’m sorry.
“Sorry”?
Tell your mom I love her.
I love you both.
Dad!
Dad!
[gasps, breathes shakily]
About a week after that, we got a call from the state police in Fairbanks, Alaska
saying the bush plane he was on disappeared in a storm.
They never found the wreckage.
What are y’all gonna do now?
He wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t a monster.
He had some reason for doing what he did.
[scoffs]
The answers have to be here.
Good luck. I hope you find it.
But nothing can justify what he did to my mother and me.
Stop. Stop. Go… Go back.
That?
[Cate] That’s my grandmother.
Yeah. She died when he was little.
Why is her picture in these files?
What is she standing in?
[Kei sighs]
All right.
[Kei exhales sharply]
[Billy] What do you see?
Same as you, Billy. Just closer.
Thank you.
[rumbling, cracking]
You’re already under three minutes, so get to work.
[sighs] There seems to be multiple sets of appendages.
Definitely insectoid.
Oh, it’s stunning.
When they powered up the reactor,
it must have drawn them toward the surface to feed.
[rumbling]
[Lee] Holy shit!
Oh, my God. We gotta go.
Uh, Kei. Forget the timeline. We gotta go.
One more minute. Okay.
No, we gotta go now.
[Billy] Get up there!
You guys, run!
[Kei shouts]
[Lee] Hey, look out!
[Kei screams]
Get out of there, guys! Come on, get back here!
[screeching]
[Billy] Come on!
Oh, my God.
[screeches]
Oh, my God. Go, go, go!
[chittering]
[Lee grunting]
[grunting]
[grunts]
Go! Go! Keep going!
[grunts]
[chittering]
Pull! [groans]
[grunts]
[Lee] Pull!
[insect screeches]
[screams]
[Billy grunting]
[Lee] Pull!
[insects chittering]
[Lee] Pull!
They’re coming! Hurry!
[Kei] Billy! Pull!
[chittering]
No!
[screams] No, don’t drop me!
[gunfire continues]
No!
There’s too many!
[groans]
[screams]
[Lee] We’re too heavy.
[Kei] No!
Give me your hand!
[insects chittering]
I can’t hold on!
[Lee] Reach, Kei!
Reach!
I can’t hold on!
[Lee] Pull! Pull!
[screams]
No!
[Kei screaming]
