Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 5.Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 might have just had its biggest episode yet, with a shocking ending that kills off a major character. In last week’s episode of Monarch, the Apple TV sci-fi series saw Hiroshi find the letter that Keiko had written to Lee confessing her love for him, but ending things to be with Billy. As expected, that is followed up in episode 5.
Additionally, the show explored Cate’s journey back to the team, Corah/May’s decision to stay with Apex and try to change the world, and Billy was able to piece together the locations Titan X would go to, allowing Lee, Keiko, and the others to realize the kaiju was headed back to Santa Soledad. In episode 5, Monarch season 2’s cast suffers a hit as Apex’s plan fails.
That Shocking Death Explained
The main event of episode 5 comes at the very end of the episode. Hiroshi has been a key character in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters from the start. In season 1, the present-day story revolved around his disappearance, with Cate and Kentaro finding out that their father had another family that they had never heard of as they searched for him.
In season 2, Hiroshi has to grapple with the tension between his two children, while also finding a way to make peace with the fact that, although his mother was not there when he was growing up, Keiko is now here and trying to bond with him. This has made Hiroshi one of the most complex characters on the show, and his arc has sadly ended in tragedy.
At the end of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 5, Titan X comes to Santa Soledad. Cate feels a connection to the kaiju, which puts her in harm’s way. When Titan X’s severed tentacle falls towards Cate, Hiroshi is there to save his daughter, but he is not fast enough to save himself.
Hiroshi’s death is incredibly sad. With nothing left to be done to save him, he slowly passes in the arms of his mother and daughter, as Hiro, Keiko, and Cate sing the bedtime song that the mother had passed to the son, who then repeated it with his daughter. Hiroshi’s death fundamentally changes the Apple TV sci-fi series, and it should boost the guilt Cate was already displaying.
Can Apex Really Control Titans?
All Monsterverse fans know from the Godzilla and Kong movies that Apex is playing the long game in the show to be able to control the kaijus. In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 5, the shadowy organization tries to control Titan X when it arrives at Santa Soledad. In episode 4, it was revealed that the mind-control microchips only worked briefly.
The Apex inhibitor chips were originally tested on smaller creatures, so, even with May’s help with her coding skills, there was no telling how that would translate to a longer duration on a kaiju as big as Titan X. To make matters worse, the process was fast-tracked by Apex. May let it be known that she needed more time to make it work properly.
However, Apex was in a rush to get results, which led to the feedback loop causing major data spikes. In the end, the inhibitor chips were not powerful enough nor adjusted to a kaiju as big as Titan X. Not only did the beast resist being controlled by Apex, but it had the help of the hundreds of scarabs that followed it to cut off the tentacle that had been affected.
Apex does not want to just prevent another G-Day, as its main goal is to control Titans to have them as weapons.
As such, Apex ended up being responsible for Hiroshi’s death. Now, that does not mean that Apex can’t control Titan X and other kaijus. While this attempt was a failure, even with Corah on the team, she made it clear that the test was not done under optimal conditions. With better planning and more time to work, it is possible that Corah could crack how to make the chips work.
Titan X’s Migratory Route Explained
In the past, Billy traced Titan X’s moves, travelling through the world to pinpoint all the locations the kaiju would visit. That eventually brought him back to Santa Soledad, which had Monarch’s Outpost 27, which Lee and Keiko found out was active in 1968, when Billy was on the island. Santa Soledad’s citizens moved out after Monarch moved in.
From Titan X’s migratory route, they are able to pinpoint that the beast was awakened by Cate years before it was supposed to. Titan X was meant to travel from the Axis Mundi to Santa Soledad in 2023. However, with its cycle disrupted, it remains to be seen what the beast’s end goal is.
Hiro And Keiko Finally Clear The Air
Finally, before Hiroshi dies, he clears the air with his mom. From the start of Monarch season 2, the Apple TV sci-fi series had been building up the tension between the duo. After all, Keiko had been absent from most of Hiro’s life, while Billy had mysteriously left the boy out of the blue. By finding Keiko’s letter to Lee, Hiro realized Billy had felt betrayed and had left Keiko’s son.
While it was easy for him to get mad at her, Hiroshi couldn’t say a thing, as he also fell in love with two women, Cate and Kentaro’s mothers. By the end of the episode, they make up, reaffirming their love for one another. It is due to the conclusion of that arc that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2’s major death feels final, as Hiroshi’s story is wrapped up.
- Release Date
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November 16, 2023
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Chris Black, Matt Fraction
- Directors
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Julian Holmes, Matt Shakman, Mairzee Almas, Andy Goddard, Hiromi Kamata
- Writers
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Al Letson, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Chris Black, Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Overton, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Milla Bell-Hart
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Kiersey Clemons
May Hewitt