Mr. Monk And The End

Christmas time is upon us. That means I've been crazy decorating, shopping, and doing all sorts of stuff for school.

But really, when I sat down at my computer to write about the Final Episode of Monk, I didn't know what to say. It was touching, sad, uplifting, happy, and so much more. It was one helluva finale.

Within the first several minutes of the show, Trudy confessed everything in the video she made twelve years ago. When she was in law school, she had an affair with Judge Ethan Rickover (who was my suspect after Part 1) and wound up pregnant. The baby supposedly died. To keep this secret, the Judge had the midwife killed, whose murder Monk was investigating on the day Trudy died. And of course, he killed Trudy Monk to keep the secret from getting out.

Monk is furious and wants Rickover dead. He is about to die from the poision and doesn't have much time left. He tells Stottlemeyer to kill Rickover because he will not make it. The investigation continues, but Monk slips away from his deathbed to confron the Judge.

Meanwhile, Natalie came down with the same symptoms as Monk. The she realizes... it's because his wipes were poisioned! I thought that was an ingenious move, and never would have suspected the wipes being poisioned. Now that this is discovered, a rush is put on the antidote. As Stottlemeyer and Randy rush to the hospital to tell Monk the good news, he's not there. But they know where he is.

Monk confronts Rickover about the murder at gunpoint. He orders him to dig up the probable spot where the midwife's body is. When Randy, Natalie, and Stottlemeyer arrive, Rickover hits a skull. Rickover is done. But Monk has a coughing fit and sets down his gun. And Rickover snatches it up, tells Monk "Take care of her" and pulls the trigger.

A few days later, it is revealed that Monk is alive and healthy, and is sitting with Dr. Bell and chatting like old times. But he still ponders the meanings of his last words. But not for long.

Monk finds out that he was referring to Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans who is alive and well and was adopted. She bears a striking remeblance to Trudy and is a film critic. The two meet, and are happy to spend time with one another. Monk becomes slightly obsessed with Molly and plans to retire. Like Trudy, she convinces him that he has a gift and should use it. And he still continues to be a detective.

At this point, you can tell things are winding down. Randy reveals he got a job as Chief of Police in NJ where he is dating Sharona.

The final scene of the show, shown above, was happy and sad. Monk now sleeps in the middle of his bed. He also tells Natalie he's going to... the movies, which Natalie says is "so... normal". Though not stated, it looks like some of his disorders are resolved. But his OCD is still here, as noted by his constant checking to make sure the stove is off.

Montages show important scenes from all during the series. The final clips show the character the way they are today. Sharona and Randy are happy in NJ, and Stottlemeyer is happily married to TK and still working with Adrian.

And Adrian Monk and Natalie go to a crime scene with Stottlemeyer.