Monarch: Legacy of Monsters ending explained – What happened in episode 10?

Kurt Russell (Lee Shaw), Mari Yamamoto (Keiko), Kiersey Clemons (May) and Anna Sawai (Cate) didn't hold back in episode 10 as their characters fought to escape the Hollow Earth and the Titans surrounding them.

Speaking of Titans, we were also re-acquainted with a very familiar face at the very end!

Here's everything you need to know about the dramatic and heartbreaking ending to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters ending explained - How was Keiko rescued?

The episode picks up as Cate is unexpectedly reunited with a younger version of her grandmother Keiko in the Hollow Earth. While Cate recognises her grandmother, Keiko is none the wiser, and is just shocked to see someone else there.

Cate, who has been separated from May panics, urging Keiko to help her find her friends.

Keiko discovers Cate's not part of a rescue party and the pair stumble across May and, to Keiko's surprise, Lee. He's forced to quickly explain that Keiko's been there much longer than she thinks – decades – and reveals how much older he is, before the pair have an emotional reunion. Keiko discovers that Bill is dead and is devastated – and that Cate is actually her granddaughter.

Shaw finds Keiko's Monarch pod, which she used to send a signal, and realises he can take everyone home if Keiko can rewire it.

What did Kentaro and Hiroshi do?

Meanwhile, Kentaro (Ren Watabe) needs information from his (very alive!) father Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira). Hiroshi says that, during his mission, he didn't know Godzilla would be there, but he needed to draw out a Titan to open a rift to prove his theory of a gateway leading to their world.

Hiroshi says that, had his parents (Keiko and Bill Randa) been believed, the destruction Godzilla had wrought on "G-Day" maybe wouldn't have happened. Kentaro's still fuming, believing Cate to be dead because of his father's theories and refuses to help him.

At Monarch, people are preparing for a wave of Titan events, with Tim (Joe Tippett) urging an unwilling crew to save Shaw, Cate and May.

Kentaro's mother, Emiko, is reunited with Hiroshi, telling him she was terrified when he didn't return after G-Day. She says that Kentaro still deserves a relationship with his father – but makes it clear she wants nothing more to do with him. Tim tracks down Kentaro, telling him that he found a signal coming from inside the rift, and that Hiroshi might know what to do.

Hiroshi watches a clip of his father, Bill Randa (played by John Goodman) saying he's made mistakes and wants to leave a legacy behind. Tim arrives and tells Hiroshi about the signal, with Kentaro convincing him to help.

It soon becomes clear that Hiroshi, Kentaro and Tim managed to pick up the signal, drawing Keiko, May, and Cate to them. But it's not quite the happy ending we hoped for.

Is Lee Shaw dead?

It certainly seems so.

As they hear Titans nearing, Shaw orders everyone to get in the pod but Keiko insists she's staying because there's nothing left for her on Earth. Cate convinces her that she still has work to do up there and says she won't allow the Titans to take any more from her.

Shaw explains that the plan is to lure a Titan to open the rift. But a Titan comes more quickly than expected, starting to destroy the pod. Shaw decides to jump out of the pod to manually re-attach some wires as Godzilla approaches. It gets into a brutal fight with another Titan, ripping it limb from limb, before turning its sights on Shaw. Shaw sets the pod in motion and runs to jump in.

Keiko has his hand as he trails on the outside of the pod but Shaw decides his own fate, thanking her and letting go and she screams after him.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Russell said of that scene: "It actually was [emotional to film]. Yeah. I just said to Mari last night, 'I have some sort of emotional connection with you. I don't know what it is. But the minute I see you, I cry!'

"I just thought it was important to capture the absolute tragedy in this adventure for her and for him. And it was tantamount that Wyatt would be able to capture that with her early on because it's, you talk about slow burn – that's the definition of it from 1 to 10. I mean, I really don't think you see that coming. And then it just gets heavier and heavier and heavier for her. So that's what drove us."

Keiko, Cate and May arrive back on Earth and are ushered inside by masked men – but Kentaro is there to greet them.

Hiroshi is reunited with Cate and then with Keiko but an unsettling tone descends as it's revealed that Tim has been working with Brenda (Dominique Tipper). Kentaro then drops the bombshell that they've been gone two years, and a lot has changed.

An alarm goes off and everyone is rushed inside.

What will happen with Kong?

That's not the end though. The final scenes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters show an appearance from none other than Kong, who beats his chest and roars before the series cuts to black.

So what will happen next? Another series of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters hasn't been green-lit just yet although director Matt Shakman told RadioTimes.com that he's hopeful the series will have a "long future".

Next in the MonsterVerse though, we'll reunite with Godzilla and Kong in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, in which the Titans will fight a "colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world".

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is available to stream on Apple TV+ - sign up to Apple TV+ now. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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