"Terrifying Miracles"
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"Terrifying Miracles" (恐ろしい奇跡 Osoroshī Kiseki) is the sixth episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Directed by Mairzee Almas and written by Karl Greenfeld, it premiered on Apple TV+ on December 15, 2023.
Plot
1955: Dr. Keiko Miura and Captain Lee Shaw attend an American Defense Industry Federation ball, with Shaw visibly stunned by Miura's evening dress. He presents her with a corsage. She's uncomfortable, both with the dress and the thought of hours spent charming dismissive men who might have Monarch either shut down or brought under the military's purview on a whim. Shaw reassures her that they only have to do this once a year to keep their funders pleased. She downs the cocktail he hands her in two gulps. An inebriated General Puckett praises Shaw's key role in Monarch to Lieutenant Hatch and General Coleman. Shaw quickly moves to introduce them to Miura; when Hatch asks if her name is Japanese, Puckett clarifies that she's "one of the good ones." She fumes over the comment in private. Shaw views it as typical of old-fashioned military men; she counters that the same men will probably try to kill or weaponize the next Titan they find. He remains convinced that she'll find a way to change their minds, because it's what she does. At his prompting, they head to the dance floor, earning side glances from many of the attendees. Though Miura is aware of the onlookers, they grow increasingly more relaxed with each other. Puckett observes them with a small smile, aware of the sparks flying between them.
When the song ends, they withdraw to the balcony. Miura muses that Shaw could be a career military man like those below if he wanted to be. Shaw begins listing off what such a life would mean, and it becomes increasingly clear he's talking about their potential life together. When he mentions kids, Miura tells him that her favorite thing about children is their willingness to say, "I don't know." He replies that his favorite thing about children is making them. While waiting on the elevator to take them back to their room, however, they hear a bellhop with an urgent message to deliver to Shaw from Bill Randa. Shaw tries to ignore him, but Miura convinces him to be responsible. With a sigh, he whistles the bellhop over and echoes her words from earlier in the evening: "The things I do for Monarch."
2015: The Monarch van transporting a hooded Shaw comes to a sudden stop. Michelle Duvall comes aboard, announcing a change of plans to the guards, then tells Shaw in French to drop down on her count. She knocks out both guards, then cuts him out of his restraints. But she keeps the knife leveled at his head, demanding to know why he seems to know more about the impending Titan emergence than the entirety of Monarch. He explains that Monarch has been dismissing his warnings for years, just as it sidelined Bill and his son Hiroshi. He asks why she's turned on Monarch. She reveals that she originally joined to avenge her sister Sandra Brody, who was killed during the male MUTO attack on the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant in 1999. She wants to prevent another Titan attack, not just study them, and there are others in the organization who feel the same and are in need of a leader. He cheerfully responds that they have a lot to talk about before they leave the scene in her car.
1955: Miura and Lee arrive at Monarch headquarters, where Bill shows them a recent isotopic signature recording in Japan that's suggestive of a Titan. At her hedging, Shaw asks exactly what it is. Randa responds, "The three most beautiful words in the English language: 'I don't know.'" Miura and Randa prepare to leave for Japan, but Shaw is hesitant, as they have to present their budget proposal on Friday. They suggest that he handle the presentation, but he doesn't want Miura in potentially close proximity to a Titan without him. At Randa's quizzical expression, he hastily includes him in the statement too. Randa lays out their dilemma: they need funding to hunt Titans, but need to prove Titans besides the presumed-dead Godzilla exist to secure that funding.
2015: In Almeda Point, Cate Randa, May Olowe-Hewitt, and Kentaro Randa debate exactly how deep into the Sahara they'll need to travel to retrace Hiroshi's steps. They enter Caroline's house and are startled to find Shaw and Duvall waiting for them. He believes that the Titan event Hiroshi is trying to stop will be much worse than G-Day if it's allowed to transpire. He thinks he knows how Hiroshi plans to do it, but they need to find him to be sure. Neither Cate nor Kentaro are eager to work with Duvall, but Shaw points out that her actions in Tokyo were just following Monarch's orders, and she no longer answers to them. She's also agreed to take them wherever they need to go - if the trio are willing to share their map.
Monarch Deputy Director Natalia Verdugo and Tim follow the trio's cell phone data to Hiroshi's San Francisco office, but are unsure what they were looking for. Tim points out that while Hiroshi's office offers an incredible view of the city, he would have sat at his desk with his back to the window. He deduces that Hiroshi preferred to stare at whatever was on the opposite wall. He takes note of a flag push pin nearby, then the many tiny holes in the wall, finding a pattern in them. He asks Verdugo why Monarch exiled Hiroshi, as his file is sealed. She reluctantly explains that he illegally retargeted deep-space satellites to inspect locations on Earth, searching for gamma rays in particular. Tim links this to the high gamma ray readings Dr. Barnes detected in Alaska. He redraws the map on the wall, explaining that the individual marks represent locations where Monarch has simply visited, while clusters likely indicate areas with intense gamma radiation. As she requisitions the satellite logs, Tim questions why Hiroshi would pursue the gamma ray readings in Alaska rather than follow Godzilla out to sea. As this is the same area where Monarch found Hiroshi's children and the Frost Vark, Verdugo realizes they're looking for him. Their next destination could be any one of three locations also heavily marked on the map: Central Asia, Vietnam/Cambodia, or the Sahara.
1955: Miura and Bill travel to Hateruma Island, where they find Dr. Suzuki working on a large, spherical machine. He apologizes for not being prepared for their arrival, as his assistant has fled the scene and the local residents are too terrified to bring him messages. He explains that the device is a gamma radiation simulator, which has increased the gamma radiation emitted by the original source with each use. Miura calls it a Titan phone; Bill deems it Titan bait.
2015: Cate, May, Kentaro, Shaw, and Duvall take a truck into the Algerian Desert. In the front seat, after Cate reports they're close to their destination, she and Shaw affirm that they couldn't have made it this far without each other. May is uneasy about the trip, but Duvall promises her that she'll be able to go home after they both make it out of the desert. They stop at a Monarch camp for supplies; the agents here are friendly to Shaw's "movement." Cate is wary of their involvement and of Shaw's motives, wanting only to find Hiroshi, but he points out that he hasn't moved to take the map from her. He gives her the option to leave, but warns her that the consequences of not catching up to Hiroshi and helping him could result in millions dead. Kentaro is impatient to leave, while May points out that Cate talked her out of leaving the group in Alaska. Cate relents.
1955: Bill calls Shaw from Japan to report they have found a Titan. Shaw quickly asks about Miura; but Bill ignores him, continuing to talk about their plans to drop a lure for the creature, and says he wishes Shaw was there. Shaw visits Puckett during a family cookout in full uniform, requesting to be sent to Japan. Puckett reacts coldly, asking Shaw to weigh the consequences to his career if he misses the presentation, but offers him the ability to run Monarch his own way if he remains Stateside.
2015: The group, joined by agents from the camp, nears the point on the map, with Shaw declaring it's just over a nearby ridge. Kentaro spots Hiroshi in the distance with a truck. A device resembling a more compact version of Suzuki's invention sits on the bed. They call to him when he notices them.
1955: Suzuki's gamma radiation simulator transmits from a canoe floated offshore. Bill is impatient with the lack of results, but Suzuki urges him to be patient. He asks if Bill and Miura have ever seen a Titan. She describes them as terrifying, thrilling him, as "miracles should be terrifying." Shaw arrives in a Jeep, having skipped the presentation. Bill introduces Shaw to Suzuki, then ushers Suzuki away so that Shaw and Miura can talk. Less than pleased to see Shaw, Miura walks away.
2015: Shaw realizes that Hiroshi is trying to tell them to run, moments before he drives the truck away. A Monarch helicopter soars overhead; Tim is inside, pointing them out to the other agents.
1955: Shaw tells Miura that he belongs here with her, but she cuts him off, saying that his job is to protect Monarch, not her. He responds that Monarch couldn't exist without her. Sitting on opposite sides of a bench, she tells him they can't have a relationship, can't risk making decisions based on what they want instead of what Monarch needs. It could cost them everything. Shaw says he doesn't care, and they finally kiss, but Miura breaks away tearfully, saying, "Yes. You do." She realizes first that the gamma ray transmitter has disappeared under the waves. It rockets out of the water towards them, Shaw knocking Miura out of the way as it impacts against the shore. Godzilla surfaces behind them, roaring, then swims back towards open water. Shaw is awed to realizes the hydrogen bomb failed to kill him; Miura smiles.
2015: The ground cracks beneath the group's feet and Godzilla emerges from beneath it, sending them tumbling off a hill. Kentaro rescues May from one of the vehicles as it falls past them. They linger, watching Godzilla open his eyes. He seems to focus on Cate in particular before getting to his feet. In the process, one of his dorsal plates collides with the helicopter's blades and it crashes. He bellows and stomps away.
1955: Back in Washington, Shaw argues that Puckett should know about Godzilla's survival. Miura believes that the U.S. will just build more and more powerful weapons in response - which may be turned against targets besides Godzilla if they can't find him. He doesn't back down, reminding her that he wasn't supposed to be in Japan and needs to give Puckett something to justify his absence. They arrive at headquarters to find Hatch already there, reviewing their field reports. He explains that Puckett has installed him as the new leader of Monarch and demands a report on their trip by end of day. Miura asks Shaw, "What have you done?" before she and Bill storm out.
2015: Shaw reports that no one survived the helicopter crash and urges the group to leave quickly so they can determine where Godzilla is headed before Monarch. He also takes the map. Cate believes stopping Godzilla is impossible, but Shaw explains that he's actually trying to help the Titan. He promises them all the answers they want, but Cate, May, and finally Kentaro decide to part ways with them to continue looking for Hiroshi. He leaves them supplies to last until they reach civilization, ten kilometers away. As they walk, Kentaro and Cate can't decide whether Hiroshi was really waving them away, as only Shaw saw him through binoculars. Cate is optimistic - they're finally sure he's alive and there could be any number of reasons why he drove away. Kentaro asks how they can continue their quest without the map or any real resources. Cate points out that May always makes backups. May stiffens at that, telling them about her deal with Duvall and how she gave away their location in Alameda Point. She admits that she angered the wrong people a few years ago and fled to Japan to escape them; Duvall offered her a deal that would have allowed her to return home. She has enough money saved to cover their travel, but Cate angrily refuses it, realizing May only urged her further into the desert because of the deal. She storms off towards the city in the distance.
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Anna Sawai as Cate Randa
- Kiersey Clemons as May Olowe-Hewitt
- Ren Watabe as Kentaro Randa
- Mari Yamamoto as Dr. Keiko Miura
- Wyatt Russell as young Lee Shaw
- Kurt Russell as Colonel Lee Shaw
- Elisa Lasowski as Michelle Duvall
- Takehiro Hira as Hiroshi Randa
- Mirelly Taylor as Deputy Director Natalia Verdugo
- Christopher Heyerdahl as General Puckett
- Leo Ashizawa as Dr. Suzuki
- Matthew MacCaull as Lieutenant Hatch
- Liviu Rain as General Coleman
- Sam Krochmal as lobby boy
- Erik Gow as lead singer
- Emily Henney as backup singer #1
- Amanda Huxtable as backup singer #2
- Josh Collins as Sabitha
- Dominic Fugere as Monarch guard
- Roman Kinsella as Puckett's son
- Susan Arntsen as Puckett's wife
- Scott Nicholson as Rosenstern
- Camille Legg as Collins (voice, uncredited)
Appearances
Titans
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Gallery
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Trivia
- "Terrifying Miracles" is the first Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode to not feature a cold open; the opening sequence instead begins immediately.
- The opening scene of this episode features a cover of the song "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" during the military ball. Al Jolson's 1947 recording of the song was used in the opening scene to the 2005 King Kong film.
- The theme of the American Defense Industry Federation ball is "Bali Hai", referencing a fictitious island from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.
- Natalia Verdugo dryly likens Tim to the fictional detective Columbo, delighting him.
- While investigating Hiroshi Randa's San Francisco office, Tim erroneously points at the Eastern Hemisphere on a map when talking about Outpost 47, which was shown in an earlier episode to be located in the U.S. state of Utah.
- Dr. Suzuki refers to Hateruma Island as "Monster Island", a storied location in the Godzilla franchise. The Monsterverse previously referenced it in Godzilla: Awakening, where Godzilla battles two Shinomura on the fictitious Moansta Island.
- This is the only episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters in which both Godzilla's GareGoji and DougheGoji designs appear.
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