Monk: Season 8, Episode 16 “Mr. Monk and the End – Part II” (B+)
While this episode isn’t quite as thrilling or exciting as last week’s first part, it’s a more than fitting finale for one of USA’s best shows. A sickly Monk only hours away from his deathbed is still a sharper and more skilled detective than most other cops, and his ability to piece together the clues from his last case is quite impressive. His difficulty watching the tape of Trudy prolonged the revelation of just what happened that led to her death, and it’s somewhat unfortunate that it was so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The judge didn’t need to actually off those who knew his darkest secrets, and the choice to take such violent, fatal action seems over the line. Of course, without Trudy’s death, the Monk we’ve come to know and love would never have been created, and he wouldn’t have been able to close his one hundred plus cases and help so many others find the closure he desperately sought for years. Seeing Monk waveringly point a gun at someone is jarring, and though it was fairly obvious that Monk had a plan all along to reveal the judge’s crime, I was worried that he might let his jealousy overcome him and that he would actually kill the judge. Fortunately, Monk controlled himself and they were able to put things right and solve Monk’s most important case. Monk’s therapy session with Dr. Bell was particularly nice in the way it wrapped up the series. The discovery of Trudy’s daughter was a wonderful present for Monk, and just what he needed to cope with having lost her. Seeing him with his collar unbuttoned was a great way to indicate that he has loosened up a bit. It’s great that all three of the other main characters ended up happy too. Monk dying of poison would have been tragic, and it’s so much nicer that things worked out well for everyone. It’s been a great ride, and I’m glad that I only started watching “Monk” in its fifth season, so someday soon when I start getting nostalgic, I can go back and relive the first half of this spectacular show.
Season grade: A-
Series grade: A-
Season MVP: Tony Shalhoub
Series MVP: Tony Shalhoub
Showing posts with label Mr Monk and the End. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mr Monk and the End. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
What I’m Watching: Monk (Series Finale Part 1)
Monk: Season 8, Episode 15 “Mr. Monk and the End – Part 1” (A-)
This last season has been making me feel like I’m going to dread the departure of this detective, but the first part of the finale has me more excited than I’ve ever been for the next and final episode of the show. I’ve seen the past four seasons of this show and a few scattered episodes from before then, and this is the most action-packed hour I think I’ve ever seen. It’s always a tremendously smart move to open a series finale, especially a two-part one, with flashbacks to old times because it evokes an effective sense of nostalgia (like the final installments of “Alias” and “Battlestar Galactica”). Seeing Trudy in what we know to be her last moments, and seeing that parking garage scene actually happen, both really signaled that this is the end for Monk, and we’re going to finally find out who killed Trudy. It’s still hard for me to see Melora Hardin as the beloved Trudy since I’m familiar with her mostly as the anything-but-lovely, completely bonkers Jan from “The Office.” Still, the flashback does a great job kicking off the episode, and it’s really fun to see Monk and Leland out on a case together as cops in the old days. Monk getting poisoned is quite unexpected, though the way it happens and the hospital scenes it produces are quite entertaining. Bringing Casper Van Dien back as the definitive man in Natalie’s life, as well as the definitive woman in Natalie’s life, her daughter Julie, signifies the closest thing to family that Monk has left, and the meal, however ultimately fatal it may prove, is somewhat touching in that sense. Monk’s hospital visit is much funnier, even though the subject matter is serious, and the highlights include the entire hospital staff holding Monk down to give him a shot and his continually-repeated preference for death to come before the vomiting. The train station search for the killer was a good intense string of sequences, and Leland demonstrated some impressive fitness skills in his high-speed foot pursuit of the perp. The undeniably best part of this episode was Monk’s decision to open Trudy’s final gift to him, only to find that it was a videotape of her explaining who was after her. Ending this first half of the finale at that point was spectacular, at just the right point to prepare for a big revelation and then holding off a bigger one for the big finish. The fact that Monk had the answer to the mystery of who killed his wife right in front of him for twelve years is pretty incredible, but what’s even more exciting than that is that we too will get to find out next week. I can’t wait.
This last season has been making me feel like I’m going to dread the departure of this detective, but the first part of the finale has me more excited than I’ve ever been for the next and final episode of the show. I’ve seen the past four seasons of this show and a few scattered episodes from before then, and this is the most action-packed hour I think I’ve ever seen. It’s always a tremendously smart move to open a series finale, especially a two-part one, with flashbacks to old times because it evokes an effective sense of nostalgia (like the final installments of “Alias” and “Battlestar Galactica”). Seeing Trudy in what we know to be her last moments, and seeing that parking garage scene actually happen, both really signaled that this is the end for Monk, and we’re going to finally find out who killed Trudy. It’s still hard for me to see Melora Hardin as the beloved Trudy since I’m familiar with her mostly as the anything-but-lovely, completely bonkers Jan from “The Office.” Still, the flashback does a great job kicking off the episode, and it’s really fun to see Monk and Leland out on a case together as cops in the old days. Monk getting poisoned is quite unexpected, though the way it happens and the hospital scenes it produces are quite entertaining. Bringing Casper Van Dien back as the definitive man in Natalie’s life, as well as the definitive woman in Natalie’s life, her daughter Julie, signifies the closest thing to family that Monk has left, and the meal, however ultimately fatal it may prove, is somewhat touching in that sense. Monk’s hospital visit is much funnier, even though the subject matter is serious, and the highlights include the entire hospital staff holding Monk down to give him a shot and his continually-repeated preference for death to come before the vomiting. The train station search for the killer was a good intense string of sequences, and Leland demonstrated some impressive fitness skills in his high-speed foot pursuit of the perp. The undeniably best part of this episode was Monk’s decision to open Trudy’s final gift to him, only to find that it was a videotape of her explaining who was after her. Ending this first half of the finale at that point was spectacular, at just the right point to prepare for a big revelation and then holding off a bigger one for the big finish. The fact that Monk had the answer to the mystery of who killed his wife right in front of him for twelve years is pretty incredible, but what’s even more exciting than that is that we too will get to find out next week. I can’t wait.
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