Monarch: Legacy of Monsters EPs Talk Episode 4 Twist: Can the Team Trust Their ‘Enigmatic’ Rescuer?

Matt Webb Mitovich
·3 min read
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The following contains spoilers from Episode 4 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, now streaming on Apple TV+.

The heroes of Monarch‘s 2015 timeline this week dodged all manner of icy/snowy/chilling death and got scooped up, in the nick of time!, by an arriving helicopter. The identity of their rescuer, however, clearly came as cold comfort to at least Cate, seeing as it is the Monarch agent who chased after her in Tokyo just a couple of episodes ago!

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“Colonel Shaw!” said Tim, flanked by his colleague Duvall, as Lee, Cate, Kentaro and a wounded May arrived at Monarch’s Alaskan outpost. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

But who exactly is Tim? And what is his agenda?

Across the first four episodes, pretty much all we know is that when Tim (played by Joe Tippett of The Morning Show and Mare of Easttown) first got tipped that someone (May) had accessed the late Bill Randall’s data tapes, he did his best to isolate the crisis and not tag in any superiors.

Then, when Monarch boss Natalia was ready to bench Tim/keep him from chasing after Colonel Shaw, Duvall (Versaiiles‘ Elisa Lasowski) made a point to request that her “partner” stay in the field.

“The brilliant Joe Tippett brought so much to Tim,” Monarch: LoM executive producer Matt Sharkman, who directed the first two episodes, tells TVLine.

“Our characters don’t know if Monarch are good are bad. They don’t what Monarch’s intentions are. They don’t know that Monarch are going to become the voice of global security and authority in five years’ time,” Shakman notes. “We got to represent all of that in Tim and Duvall.”

In a word, Shakman describes Tim as “enigmatic,” adding: “We liked the idea that we’re not going to know who he is. That’s part of the fun and the joy of the season, to work with a brilliant actor like Joe, who quickly made Tim a favorite character amongst all of us, for sure.”

Monarch showrunner Chris Black echoes Shakman, saying, “Joe is such a sweet, delightful guy, and Matt, shooting with him in Tokyo…. That scene in the subway station, when he first accosts Cate? He is so creepy.”

“And funny at the same time,” adds Shakman.

If Tim comes off as an almost comically ambitious office drone leaping at his “big chance,” all whilst other Monarch characters are chasing (or being chased by) frightful Titans, that is by design.

“One of the challenges of the show is that it’s both this human, family drama, this epic adventure/spectacle, but it’s an espionage/mystery drama, as well,” says Shakman. “It plays with so many different tones. It can be funny. It can be disturbing. It can be shocking. And it can be moving. So you need an ensemble of amazing actors who can dance, and Joe is one of the best dancers around.”

Want scoop on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!

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