Turns out the third episode was perfectly placed to build up my impression that there wasn’t enough character development or emotional grounding going on in the modern day storyline. I’m not going to edit my review, but

I figured I should tell you here.

I don’t think that Monarch’s episodes are well placed for maintaining a balance of narrative and action across the two timelines when they’re being released weekly. The episodes are more built on the assumption that you’ll be able to move directly from one to the next without interruption. Or maybe they’re sequenced with the assumption that you’ll be more tolerant of there being imbalance. Or the show runners are simply confident that you’ll stick with them for long enough to be satisfied overall. I don’t know the reasoning, I just know the effect it’s had for me.

The following episodes have done a lot of work expanding the emotional connection with the modern day storyline. In turn, it felt for a bit like the 1950s storyline had been neglected—which is no doubt why the show then pivoted to a 1950s episode next. A 1950s episode that I loved, actually. This is the downside to having multiple storylines, of course. You can only follow one for so long before you wonder what’s happening with the other one, and anything that sticks in the audience’s craw will only be resolved when you finally return to that issue’s timeline.

I’m still enjoying this show and I still think it’s good (those two things are not at all the same). Something has been feeling just a bit off for me though. I still haven’t felt as connected to the modern characters, and I can’t put my finger on why. I feel like the characters’ emotional development is neglected—or maybe stuck?—at times due to the action and drama, without the action and drama quite impacting them in a way that feels right. This is 100% my own read, and I don’t know whether it would feel that way for anyone else.

I keep trying to come up with reasons as to why I feel that disconnect. The best I can come up with is that I have reliably felt more attached to the 1950s storyline, more connected to the emotional arcs of the 1950s characters. I don’t know whether I’d feel this disconnect if the show consisted entirely of the modern storyline, or whether I’d be happier with it without such a close point of comparison.

I hope whatever is behind my disconnect can be resolved, or that I can at least identify the causes. Regardless, I’ll keep watching the show. It’s certainly fun.