Join me on Blood Drops as we explore the evolution of the Monsterverse, from the hopeful beginnings of Godzilla 2014, through the exhilarating Kong: Skull Island, to the flawed yet ambitious Godzilla: King of Monsters. We'll dissect the fragmented landscape of organizations like Monarch and Apex and discuss the narrative shortcomings of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. we'll brainstorm a more engaging TV show concept that focuses on Monarch agents, highlighting missed opportunities in character development and world-building in recent entries.
In the second part of our discussion, we tackle the polarizing Episode 5 of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters." How does the controversial portrayal of Cate and the political undertones affect the series? We explore the disconnect between flashback and modern storylines and compare the development of characters like Cate and Kentaro to the more fleshed-out Bill Randa, Keiko Randa, and Colonel Shaw. I share my vision for a more cohesive narrative, proposing the integration of elements like Jet Jaguar, ancient civilizations, and the complex dynamics between Monarch and Apex. Join me as we strive for a more compelling and interconnected Monsterverse storyline that enriches both character development and lore.
Join me on Blood Drops as we explore the evolution of the Monsterverse, from the hopeful beginnings of Godzilla 2014, through the exhilarating Kong: Skull Island, to the flawed yet ambitious Godzilla: King of Monsters. We'll dissect the fragmented landscape of organizations like Monarch and Apex and discuss the narrative shortcomings of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. we'll brainstorm a more engaging TV show concept that focuses on Monarch agents, highlighting missed opportunities in character development and world-building in recent entries.
In the second part of our discussion, we tackle the polarizing Episode 5 of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters." How does the controversial portrayal of Cate and the political undertones affect the series? We explore the disconnect between flashback and modern storylines and compare the development of characters like Cate and Kentaro to the more fleshed-out Bill Randa, Keiko Randa, and Colonel Shaw. I share my vision for a more cohesive narrative, proposing the integration of elements like Jet Jaguar, ancient civilizations, and the complex dynamics between Monarch and Apex. Join me as we strive for a more compelling and interconnected Monsterverse storyline that enriches both character development and lore.
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to Blood Drops. This episode we're going to follow the blood drops of the Monsterverse. I'm a Godzilla fanboy. In the 90s I got all the comics and I have all the Dark Horse and IDW comics for Godzilla. I have model kits, which is one of my hobbies Building and painting model kits and dioramas. I have Funkos and other merchandise. I enjoy action-adventure science fiction just as much as the next guy and giant kaiju romping through a city battling other monsters just icing on the cake. I'm a fanboy, but I also love stories more so than most.
Speaker 1:
That's why, in 2014, we all had hope for this new thing called the Monsterverse People making mock titles of classic monsters in the Toho franchise of the Monsterverse, fan-made titles sparking imagination of what we're going to get. We knew nothing of what was coming. We didn't even know what was on the horizon. Godzilla 2014 was a mediocre movie that had a good splash for an introduction. I seriously thought they were going to use the skeleton they found in the Philippines that was eaten by the parasites to make mecha godzilla, which, in 2021, godzilla versus kong. They used monster zero's head as a conduit to resurrect monster zero in a cybernetic monster. This, if anything, is an interesting twist on mecha gododzilla and Mecha King Ghidorah. In 2017, we got Kong Skull Island by far one of my favorite movies in the Monsterverse. John Goodman played Bill Randa. John Goodman was brought back in a cameo in Episode 1 of Monarch Legacy of Monsters. I love the adventure, the discovery, the characters, the sense of wonder that was in that movie.
Speaker 1:
In 2019, we saw Godzilla, king of Monsters. I got a hot take. The audiobook was better than the movie. This movie introduced two villain groups Apex, who made the Oxygen Destroyer, and the Eco-Terrorist, who sold Monster Zero's head to Apex for Mechagodzilla in the Godzilla vs Kong movie. This is where we start seeing issues in the Monsterverse. We were fine with Monarch and Apex and the eco-terrorists being faceless husks, a device to push plot forward with little explanation of how the organizations work. This problem is best seen in the TV series Monarch Legacy of Monsters. Monarch is fractured with different factions, but we never get a look inside the organization. Weak and lazy writing spawns this onto the audience.
Speaker 1:
In episode 6, we could have gotten a Better seeding of the story. Moreover, we got the eco-terrorists selling Titan parts to corporations. Is there a black market for Titan stuff? What is Monarch's response to this? We know what Apex is doing, building Mecha Titans. This leads to the second problem.
Speaker 1:
The second problem in the Monsterverse is lore. Let me explain. In Godzilla King of Monsters we get Monster Zero. Monster Zero is from space, so the Monsterverse has space. Kaiju, the Oxygen Destroyer they seeded. Destroyah Godzilla hides in a cave to recover from the Oxygen Destroyer they seeded. Destoroyah Godzilla hides in a cave to recover from the Oxygen Destroyer. That cave looks like an ancient civilization. We also get marketed cave paintings and other stuff from the ancient past.
Speaker 1:
Godzilla X, kong the New Empire was such a switch from what we had been getting. They gave us lore in history, less of the hand-holding, and I would have given it four stars. Imagine a tv show that follows monarch agents trying to stop obtain, learn what other corporations and titan groups are doing. So lost, I'm like. So lost knowledge doesn't fall into the hands of bad actors or they release something they shouldn't have. Think of it as the Ultra Q of the Monsterverse. If you haven't watched the 1960s Ultra Q TV show it's the first Ultraman show, but it doesn't have Ultraman in it you should watch it. It's actually pretty good. Godzilla King of Monsters had the Orca. This is an interesting tidbit. I'm sure they got that plot from Godzilla Legends issue one. I'll let you look that one up. In 2021, godzilla vs Kong came out Hot take.
Speaker 1:
The novel was better than the movie. It's a fun movie. I enjoyed it. Story-wise it needed more. One of my favorite characters came in this movie. Bernie Hayes is played by Brian Tyree Henry.
Speaker 1:
I believe the MonsterVerse should dive into conspiracies to build the Monsterverse. Omar O'Aro, the asteroid I'm pretty sure I butchered that name was an alien ship. There was an ancient civilization before our current civilization and people are trying to find their technology. Bernie Hayes should have a spinoff TV show and the Monsterverse should dive into Then. In 2024, we got Godzilla X Kong, the New Empire. I don't know what the new empire is in the movie, godzilla Kong and Mothra uniting to stop the Scar King and Shimo I don't know. I like this movie. I saw it in 3D. My biggest gripe about this movie was I felt like a child with the hand-holding. We also got another example of the Monsterverse using Monarch as a force to drive the plot. Kong's Power Glove Cool, absolutely, but hollow in story terms. Godzilla X Kong did the lore right. I would have given this movie four stars instead of three, if it wasn't for the hand-holding, of course.
Speaker 1:
Then we get to the TV show Monarch Legacy of Monsters, which fell flat with the characters Kate, kentaro and May. These characters couldn't carry the show because they were weak characters. Episode 5 is the most political episode, followed by 7, 6, and 4. Episodes 4 and 5 have no information and are a slog. Episode 7 seeds a plot for Godzilla vs Kong's Mechagodzilla. If we had an effective world building, this would have made an impact, but we didn't care because May was nothing but a shadow. Through six episodes we also have no villain, nothing to drive plot urgency. In fact, in some episodes I felt like they didn't know what to do with Kate Kentaro and May, as if they were an afterthought with no well-thought-out direction for the characters.
Speaker 1:
Episode 5 divided the fandom. People I watched on YouTube either loved episode 5 or hated it. I wondered if anybody in the writing room raised their hand and said it. I wondered if anybody in the writing room raised their hand and said portraying Kate as a cheating, promiscuous lesbian who thinks her students or her children maybe isn't the best idea. One of the hot button political topics right now is what is being taught in schools parents' rights and the LGBTQ ideology being taught to minors. But before you think I'm misinterpreting this, in episode two, in a flashback, bill Randa references the 1916 Project, a politically charged, revisionist US history book. The writers made a choice to put that in the script. They had to show Kate was a lesbian because at the end of episode 7, they seeded the possible romantic relationship with Kate and May after cutting Kentaro's balls off in episode 6.
Speaker 1:
Sadly, this is the only interesting thing about these characters, because they were not properly developed like Bill Randa, keiko Randa and Colonel Shaw were. We're all watching this show for the flashbacks and Kurt Russell anyways. It was almost like a tale of two writers One wrote the flashbacks and one wrote the modern story. We get a fracture in Monarch that was never seeded well. Episode 6 was a shock. For this reason, monarch Legacy of Monsters was a mess and I could go through it and absolutely pick it apart, but I'm not going to. What I am going to do is tell you what I think should have happened with Monarch, what I would have done with Monarch Legacy of Monsters to bring the lore together. And that's what I would do. To bring the lore together. And that's what I would do In Godzilla, king of Monsters, we have the alpha signal and a way to communicate with Kaiju, with the orca.
Speaker 1:
What if a civilization before a civilization built Jet Jaguar, an intermediary between humans and Kaiju? We could use Kate and Kentaro's search for their father, hiroshi randa, as he tries to find jet jaguar, to save his mother, keiko randa, because shaw asked him to. We could have made a loving girlfriend to kintaro because she's an agent for Apex, who got the technology for Mechacodzilla from Jet Jaguar and discovered discovery of a possible new power source in the Hollow Earth. I would change Kentaro's character to a physicist who loves light and shadow and is indecisive about his future because he likes art. With Kate, I would use her PTSD for Kaiju as a development point to build a strong leader and leave all the sexual stuff out.
Speaker 1:
There's a lot of character opportunities to showcase with Kate putting herself back together. We would explain and build Apex and Monarch as organizations with depth, making them characters in the show, dueling over ancient tech, lore and government contracts. Jet Jaguar would be made of stone and metal that emits light and shadow, built with primitive form of cybernetics. We would also see possible aliens, because Monster Zero is from outer space. What do you think of this idea and if you made it this far, thank you, thank you you.
