1) “Monarch,” 9 p.m. Fox. Soaps love to end an episode with a jolt. Last week had a big one: Albie (Trace Adkins, shown here) was told that his late wife set a barn fire, trapping his mistress inside. There’s a related mega-jolt near the end of this episode, Then “Monarch” finally starts the night it’s been flashing forward to, when someone is killed. Alas, we still won’t know who it is or how it happens. Also: at the start of the hour, a lame plot twist is tossed aside.
2) “La Brea,” 9 p.m., NBC. This show and “Monarch” have much in common – wild plot twists, supersized beings (woolly mammoth, Adkins) and end-of-episode jolts. Tonight, the 10,000 B.C. world underneith us includes a fierce fog and attacking wolves … the 1988 world has an hour-ending surprise … and a teen learns of her mom’s love triangle. It’s another wild ride.
3) Baseball playoffs. Regular-season results have been tossed out the window. The Dodgers dominated with 111 wins – the most by anyone in two decades and tied for fourth-most since 1900. Also in the National League, the Braves and Mets each had 101 wins … but all three are gone. Now (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports1), the San Diego Padres (89 wins) host the Philadelphia Phillies (87). American Legue games start Wednesday, with the World Series on Oct. 28.
4) “The Winchesters,” 8 p.m., CW. Last week’s opener (a good one) saw John, a Vietnam vet, meet Mary, a teen-aged demon-hunter. Now he argues with his mom about his new interest. Meanwhile, Mary follows a tip left by her dad. We’ll meet him next month; he’ll be played by Tom Welling, who also stars in the so-so “Professionals” at 9 p.m.
5) “Making Black Amereica,” 9 p.m., PBS. As the Depression grew, this interesting hour says, Black progress skidded. Some people turned to unions and protests; many also found snippets of joy. Henry Louis Gates points to rent parties, Negro League baseball, Ebony and Jet magazines and the resorts and restaurants listed in The Green Book. Bigger fights began; setting up next week’s finale, this ends with Martin Luther King about to say, “I have a dream.”