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"The Way Out" is the fifth episode of the first season of the MonsterVerse series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Synopsis[]
Cate's painful memories of G-Day come flooding back as she treks through the ruins of San Francisco with Kentaro and May.
Plot[]
Monarch Command Post
Alaska
2015
Cate sits in a holding cell and talks to the cameras watching her. She's not afraid of them or their black-ops shit. Verdugo watches the group in individual cement cells. Kentaro shouts for answers and bangs on the doors. He throws a chair into the door.
May is in a hospital bed when Duvall visits to check how she's feeling. She wants to know why May was out there. They couldn't recover anything on the computer. She figures May has a backup of the files somewhere. May thinks Monarch should focus on chasing the monster nearby instead of old files. Duvall knows about May's other identity as Lyra Mateo from Tacoma. She thinks they can help each other.
Duvall enters a room where Verdugo watches the monitors with Tim nearby. Tim refuses to believe that the Randa children don't know anything. Duvall insists there's nothing special about them, though May is interesting. Tim wants to teach the kids who they are by recruiting them. Verdugo thinks a legacy is more dangerous than anything else. Duvall suggests putting the trio on a long leash and following their lead. As for Lee, he's Verdugo's problem now.
Nome
Alaska
2015
Tim transports May, Cate, and Kentaro out of the outpost. He gives them plane tickets, passports, money, and phones - courtesy of Monarch. Tim bets they think they're on a righteous crusade. He warns them to wake up. They're lucky to be alive and should go home. He won't cover for them again. Once in the truck, Duvall commends him for learning.
The trio goes into the airport. May plans to go home, which surprises Kentaro. He wants to stay because of Colonel Shaw. The siblings aren't sure if their father is alive or not. Monarch can't help them find Hiroshi. Cate suggests checking his San Francisco office. She assumes May has a backup copy of the files. May is willing to give them over but warns they might get killed. Cate doesn't want to split up. They need each other.
Back at the outpost, Lee watches a film reel of Keiko, himself, and Bill. Verdugo visits Lee and he recognizes her as the deputy director. As they talk, Lee makes his displeasure with Monarch clear. Their conversation turns tense quickly. She doesn't think Hiroshi wanted this life for the Randa kids. Lee plans to ask Hiroshi when he finds him.
Duvall and Tim watch the interrogation from the monitoring room. Duvall wonders how Lee still looks young despite being in his 90s. There are rumors of a mission gone wrong, but it's classified. Duvall desperately wants to know what Lee knows.
Oakland Airport
San Francisco
2015
Cate, Kentaro, and May land at the airport. They watch an advertisement for a secure home company. May sits next to Kentaro to check on him. He didn't think his first trip to the States would be like this. May is guessing that Cate felt the same way Kentaro felt when she arrived. A van pulls up and honks for Cate. She explains his name is James, and he's a friend from Caroline's work. After a bit, he convinces Cate to let him drive her.
Alameda Point
FEMA Housing
2015
James explains that FEMA relocated people after the disaster, but not everyone wanted to go. He confirms Kentaro's rumor of the city selling tours of the destroyed city, though the government has walled it off now. Kentaro's mom tried to sign up for one to find his father. They arrive at one of the housing units. Cate hesitates outside the house, so Kentaro and May offer to go for a walk so she can break the news. Caroline runs outside and hugs her daughter. Cate bluntly admits that Kentaro is Hiroshi's son. Caroline invites them inside. She apologizes for the mess, which is people's items from the disaster. She collects to give back to those looking for them. Kentaro tries to help but makes things worse. Cate has Kentaro and May wait in her room. Cate talks to her mom about the situation while Kentaro listens from the bedroom. Caroline had an idea that Hiroshi was having an affair, so she pushed Cate to Tokyo. They have an emotional conversation before Cate tells Caroline they're going to Hiroshi's office.
Reconstruction Area Entrance
South Pier
2015
Caroline and James drive to the entrance. They use their FEMA badges, plus a bribe for the patrol guard Carla, to get through. Once inside, they open the back of the truck to let the trio out. They survey the damage done to the bridge. James warns that if they're caught they'll be arrested for looting. They must be at the gate and out of the red zones by eight. Cate leads Kentaro and May to the office.
Monarch Command Post
Alaska
2015
Tim and Duvall continue to watch Verdguo's attempts to win trust with Lee. She wonders why he went decades without escape attempts. He wants to do something about the world being on fire. She thinks she's helping the situation already. He thinks their solution of "letting them fight" was stupid, as Godzilla could have lost. She wants to know what's in the files. He plays it coy and is unphased by her threats. He tells the cameras that Monarch is wrong and has been for a long long time.
South Pier
2015
Kentaro stops to steal some chips. The market suddenly collapses, so Cate warns them about the unsteady foundations. They reach the city. Cate used to grade papers there and point out her favorite coffee shop.
G-Day Minus Two
2014
Cate kisses her girlfriend Dani hello outside the coffee shop. They go for a walk and talk about moving in together. They walk up the school steps hand-in-hand as Dani encourages Cate to leave her expensive apartment and move in with her. Cate smiles and takes the keys.
G-Day Minus One
2014
Cate stares at the pink key while in the halls of her school. She then enters her classroom and calls their attention. Most of the students are absent because their parents are afraid of the monsters. Another teacher tells Cate to ensure all the students have charged phones and a family reunification plan. A student asks Ms. Randa if the monsters are coming there next.
South Pier
2015
A cat jumps out of the debris and startles the trio. May, Kentaro, and Cate walk past the broken school. Cate has flashbacks of bicycles falling. They hide from the police, who are searching for looters. Cate's PTSD comes in another wave.
G-Day
2014
Aircrafts fly overheard while Cate decides whether to follow the kids on the bus or go with Dani.
South Pier
2015
The police approach the car where the trio are hiding. Kentaro uses his chip bag and a rock to distract the cats. The police withdraw. Kentaro notices Cate's triggered state, but she insists she's fine. They head deeper into the city but have to navigate broken cars and debris. Kentaro starts singing in Japanese, which aggravates May, though it makes Cate chuckle. The song is a cheesy commercial their father used to sing. A police officer spots them, forcing them to run. Cate has another flashback and becomes frozen. May has to help Kentaro move her. She keeps seeing Godzilla's attack. The officers find homeless looters and chase after them instead. May pulls Cate away, and they spot a tunnel. Cate can't bring herself to go into the tunnel. May consoles her and insists she can do it. Kentaro affirms that they either go together or not at all. The tunnels are closed off from debris. Cate starts to panic as she remembers Hiroshi saying goodbye. Kentaro tries to soothe her, but she pushes him away, seeing her father in his place. He leaves to find a way out while May helps Cate recenter.
G-Day Minus One
2014
Cate wakes up to texts from Dani and her mom. She's in bed with another woman. That afternoon, Cate chooses to go on the school bus instead of with Dani. Dani tells Cate she doesn't want good and watches her leave.
South Pier
2015
Cate admits she doesn't see herself as better than her father because she lets people down. May reminds Cate that she helped her in Alaska. Kentaro returns with a message to follow the cats. Once out of the building, Cate remarks that their dad loved the view.
They trek up the stairs to the office, which is in shambles. Kentaro looks at the photos of Hiroshi with Caroline and Cate. He finds another wall map and rips it off, but there's no safe behind it. May reminds them that they have to leave before too long. Cate looks at the pins and remarks how she used to think the maps were satellite work. She studies the alleged air wave lines. May shows Cate the files, and they find a world map with hidden continents. Kentaro traces the points on May's map and has the girls put the map back up. He did his first art installation on projected images - how putting one image up can reveal something completely different. May remembers that. Kentaro puts the holed paper on the window, and it shines points on the map. They realize each point is the path Hiroshi took. San Francisco to Alaska to Africa.
The trio meets up with Caroline and James to escape the red zone. Once back home, Cate asks Caroline if she and James are dating. James is waiting for Caroline to be ready. She doesn't feel that she wasted time on Hiroshi. Caroline could have asked about the affair or gone to Tokyo, but she didn't want the truth. She liked having a part-time husband. Though she admits Cate deserved more than a part-time father. Cate tells Caroline that Hiroshi didn't die in Alaska. He worked for a secret organization for Godzilla and is going to find him.
May checks in with Kentaro to see how he's doing. He's feeling better for the first time since his father disappeared. He decides to call his mom. She reminds him to be nonspecific. She walks away to make a call of her own to Duvall. May wants to go home and will do anything she wants.
Monarch Command Post
Alaska
2015
Duvall tells May she'll be in touch. She watches the monitors as the agents lead Lee away down a hallway.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Anna Sawai as Cate Randa
- Kiersey Clemons as May Olowe-Hewitt
- Ren Watabe as Kentaro Randa
- Mari Yamamoto as Keiko Randa
- Anders Holm as young William Randa
- Joe Tippett as Tim
- Elisa Lasowski as Michelle Duvall
- Wyatt Russell in the role of Lee Shaw
- Kurt Russell in the role of Lee Shaw
Guest starring[]
- Takehiro Hira as Hiroshi Randa
- Mirelly Taylor as Natalia Verdugo
- Tamlyn Tomita as Caroline Randa
- Charlie Hewson as James
- Courtney Dietz as Dani
Co-starring[]
- Barbara Patirck as Ticketing Agent
- Jsamine Lukuku as Meg
- Marika Slewert as Gate Attendant Carla
- Breanne Willamson as Evin
- Sevilla Rivas as Elena
- Valencia Budijanto as Kayla
- Billy Christos Jr. as Chad
- Treymont Levy as Sergeant
- Matthew Caza as Guardman
Appearances[]
Monsters[]
- Godzilla (video/flashback)
- MUTO (video)
- Frost Vark (mentioned)