In Review: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (S2 – EP2) Resonance

Synopsis: In “Resonance,” Lee and Keiko investigate a secretive village whose residents belong to a cult devoted to a mysterious creature, while Cate crosses paths with a deadly stowaway.

The Story

Picking up from last week’s episode, Cate, May, and Hiroshi have successfully rescued Lee and brought him back aboard the Monarch ship. However, a baby sea serpent has stowed away with them and soon begins targeting people on board.

Meanwhile, back in 1958, the younger Lee, Bill, and Keiko are investigating cave paintings of sea serpents created by the ancestors of the villagers where they have landed. The locals are still uneasy about having strangers in their midst, and a plan is soon hatched to get rid of them.

While examining the cave paintings, Bill discovers what appears to be a migration route used by the sea serpents. He decides to take a boat out to follow the route, leaving Lee and Keiko behind. While still in the cave, Keiko senses a strange vibration beneath the cave floor and begins to wonder what might be causing it. Before she has a chance to speculate further, she and Lee are interrupted by the village leaders, who invite them to a party. However, the invitation is really part of a plan to offer them as a sacrifice to the villagers’ sea serpent god.

Back in 2017, Lee and the others continue tracking the same sea serpent from aboard the Monarch ship. When the creature begins threatening the lives of local sailors, Lee, Hiroshi, and Tim, who is now in command, devise a plan to divert the serpent using a modified drone that emits a sonar signal. Unfortunately, the plan fails.

Things escalate further when Cate encounters the baby sea serpent roaming the ship’s corridors. With Kentaro’s help, she manages to shoot and temporarily incapacitate the creature. However, before it goes down, the baby serpent emits a signal that alerts its parent, the very creature Monarch has been tracking.

Realizing the danger, Lee acts quickly. He scoops up the baby serpent, loads it into the back of a speedboat, and races out to sea, where he releases it so it can reunite with its parent.

The episode closes back in 1958 as the sea creature approaches the shoreline, pursuing the younger Lee and Keiko.

The Acting

Kurt Russell delivers another solid performance this week as the older Lee Shaw. He shares a strong scene with Tim (Joe Tippett), who is reluctant to take command and needs a bit of a push.

Overall

This was a really cool episode with some fantastic visual effects shots. I especially loved the moment near the end where Lee drives the boat just ahead of the wake left by the sea serpent after it suddenly turns back to retrieve its baby. I also enjoyed the shot of the larger sea serpent surfacing from the water in the episode’s final 1958 scenes.