Mr. Monk and the End
Encyclopedia
"Mr. Monk and the End" is the two-part series finale of the USA Network
original criminal mystery
dramedy television series, Monk
. It is the fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the eighth and final season, and is the 124th and 125th episodes in the series overall. Adrian Monk
(Tony Shalhoub
) finally discovers his wife Trudy's (Melora Hardin
) murderer after twelve years of searching, concluding a seven-year, eight-season long arc. When "Part 2" aired, it set a series high and a new viewership record for the most watched episode of a regular drama series ever in basic cable with 9.4 million viewers. Both parts were written by series creator Andy Breckman
and directed by Randall Zisk
.
and Trudy Monk discuss how it is hard for her to keep secrets from a husband who is a detective, and she asks about his current case, a missing midwife named Wendy Stroud. He mentions that he will be heading over to the birthing clinic where Stroud works to question the director. Adrian spots a small present under their Christmas tree that is meant for him. Trudy instructs him not to open it until Christmas Day. Trudy seems nervous, but she insists she is fine.
Later, she appears to be meeting someone in a multi-story parking garage. She does not see a six fingered man watching her, and the man then reveals himself from the shadows and follows Trudy. Trudy panics and begins running to her car. She gets in, turns the key in the ignition, and a bomb
planted underneath the car explodes, sending flames spurting out of the garage and up into the sky.
Across town, at the Palgrove Birthing Center, Monk and Captain Stottlemeyer
are talking to Dr. Malcolm Nash (Ed Begley, Jr.
), the clinic's director, about Wendy Stroud's disappearance. Dr. Nash mentions that Stroud was the first midwife he hired, and she's never even been late for work. Monk tries to straighten out the umbilical cord
on a model of a newborn (although Dr. Nash mentions that umbilical cords are never straight, Stottlemeyer jokes that Monk's was). Stottlemeyer receives a phone call, and he informs Monk about Trudy's death.
later that day, they realize the building they're walking to for Monk's case is where Monk first heard of Trudy's death all those years ago. Stottlemeyer offers Monk the chance to sit the case out, but Monk insists that he is okay. As it turns out, the doctor that Monk and Stottlemeyer were talking to when they first heard the news 12 years ago, Dr. Nash, is now the victim. He's been shot at least twice. It seems someone shot Dr. Nash while he was digitizing patient records on his computer, and whoever did this used a silencer. While Monk goes over the scene, Lieutenant Disher talks about his two-week vacation to New York City
, but refuses to discuss specifics.
Monk concludes that the scene was meant to look like a drug addict had robbed the clinic for drugs when it was in fact a murder for information and therefore a professional hit man. The team heads to Judge Ethan Rickover's (Craig T. Nelson
) house to get him to sign a warrant for the arrest of a felon named Joey Kazarinski, identified after his partial fingerprint is found at the crime scene. When they arrive, they overhear a conversation between Rickover's wife and some friends with Rickover present discussing how he will never move out of his current house. They then learn that Rickover has been nominated for the State Supreme Court, although it has not been officially announced by the governor yet.
That night, Rickover is seen talking to the killer, Joey Kazarinski (John Edward Lee), on the phone. Kazarinski is assigned the task of killing Monk, after Rickover informs him his fingerprint was found at the crime scene; Kazarinski inquires why Monk is to be killed prompting Rickover to reveal himself as being the one who killed Trudy. Later, Monk, Natalie, Julie, and Natalie's boyfriend Steven Albright are all eating dinner at Natalie's house, when Monk starts seeing spots and is running a high fever. They take Monk to the hospital and take a blood test and after a struggle (and after nearly everyone in the hospital has to help hold Monk down). After they perform the tests, Dr. Matthew Shuler (D.B. Woodside) a haemotologist (who deals with rare blood diseases and disorders) reveals that Monk has been poisoned with a powerful synthetic toxin based on ricin
. He believes it wasn't at dinner because no-one else got sick apart from Monk. They decide to take all of the food and other consumables in the house and test them (as a big box of mouthwash bottles is seen being carried out by a man in a Hazmat suit, in addition to food) cautioning that without knowing which form of poison was used, they cannot create or administer the antidote.
Stottlemeyer and Disher show up at the hospital to be with Monk. Dr. Shuler reveals that in a matter of 2–3 days, Monk will die, troubling everybody. Natalie spots Kazarinski's photo in a newspaper Stottlemeyer has and identifies him as having taken Monk's cart in the supermarket, giving them the motive to start checking items in the cart for the poison.
Stottlemeyer gathers an unofficial task force within the San Francisco Police Department
(SFPD) to locate Kazarinski. They are going to be split into two teams: Disher will lead one team that will work out who may have hired Kazarinski to kill Dr. Nash, and the other team, under Stottlemeyer, will work to locate Kazarinski to find out what poison he used on Monk and how he administered it, but Stottlemeyer expressly states that no one will use their guns. Kazarinski must be captured alive because if he dies, so does Monk; so all guns are to remain holstered. Stottlemeyer interrogates Ronnie, a person known to have had contact with Kazarinski and supplied him with fake documents i.e. a new identity with which to elude justice. Stottlemeyer demands to know what name Kazarinski is now going under and where to find him, eventually beating the information out of him with Disher's laptop computer.
They go to the train station, where Kazarinski is preparing to leave. Kazarinski is already there, having changed his appearance, but is spooked when he sees an undercover female officer adjusting her earpiece. After a lengthy chase in and around the railroad yard, Kazarinski pauses in the middle of a set of tracks believing he has eluded Stottlemeyer, only to turn around and be hit and killed instantly by a BNSF freight train, leaving Stottlemeyer and Disher believing they had lost the only person who could save Monk from dying.
Monk visits Dr. Neven Bell (Héctor Elizondo
) to talk about all that has happened in the past few days, revealing that none of the food in his cart was poisoned. He leaves Dr. Bell's office after having cancelled all his remaining appointments as he sets about finalizing his affairs before his death; he leaves saying a sincere 'goodbye' leaving Dr. Bell dejected. He then heads to the graveyard to visit Trudy one last time, only to say 'I love you' to her grave prompting Natalie to ask 'Is that all?' to which he replies "I'll tell her the rest when I see her tomorrow".
Meanwhile, Stottlemeyer and Disher find Kazarinski's rented motel room and find all of the chemicals he used to make the poison disposed of in the garbage. They send the materials to the lab to get tested, but it is said it will take a few weeks for the results. As he nears death, Monk finally opens the small present left for him by Trudy, revealing a video tape. He plays the tape, a recording of Trudy talking to camera addressing him. She reveals that she had one secret she kept from him, something terrible from years before they had met.
Monk is furious and decides to confront Rickover. Natalie tries to dissuade him but he is determined to go even though he is sick he retorts he won't die yet. They meet with Rickover at his confirmation hearing for the office of State Supreme Justice and question him. Monk drops a wipe, which Rickover picks up with a pen. When he doesn't confess, and begins insulting Trudy's mental stability, as well as Monk's, Monk becomes violent with Rickover and punches him to the ground and continues until he is escorted away by guards, while yelling "This is not over!" Monk is then taken to the hospital. Stottlemeyer visits him with Randy and brings him a file on Rickover. Monk has Stottlemeyer promise he will kill Rickover for him as he won't be around to do it himself. Stottlemeyer agrees but Monk knows he is lying. He tells Monk that indeed, the phone records show several calls between Rickover and Dr. Nash. Meanwhile, Natalie is back at Monk's house with Albright to pack Monk's clothing and collect Trudy's pillow. She tries to comfort herself saying that at least Monk will die knowing who killed Trudy.
At the hospital, Monk is going over the files left by Stottlemeyer and Disher, and realizes that something is missing. He explains to the nurse what happened, and she quips: no one bothers to cover up affairs any more. Monk agrees with her and remembers Rickover's wife saying he wouldn't ever move out of his house, even if it meant commuting to Sacramento. Monk figures that the crucial clue is something connected to the house.
Back at Monk's apartment, Natalie starts to feel ill, seeing spots, just like Monk did when he was poisoned. She realizes that the poison is in Monk's handwipes, which she has been using to clean the clear plastic bags she has been putting Monk's belongings in, and tells Albright to telephone the hospital to tell them they know what was poisoned and to work on an antidote. The nurse discovers that Monk has run off, and furthermore, also has found that he has used his sedatives prescribed by his doctor to drug the guard sitting outside on watch and has stolen his gun. At Rickover's house, Monk confronts Rickover again, this time at gunpoint, throwing Rickover his own spade taken from his garage and tells Rickover to dig in his front yard near a sundial in the shade of a large tree where Monk believes the remains of Wendy Stroud, the missing midwife who delivered Trudy's baby from twelve years ago are buried, the very reason Rickover said he won't ever leave that house.
Stottlemeyer, Disher and some uniformed cops hurry to the scene to prevent Monk from killing Rickover and to give him the antidote to the poison.
Monk reveals who is being dug up, and Disher continues the dig. Monk confronts Rickover angrily about his motives, realizing that it was all for a job: his position as an appellate judge that he was working for all those years ago. The skull is going to be that of Wendy Stroud. Monk explains that twelve years ago, in 1997, Wendy Stroud found religion and told Rickover that she would no longer hide the truth, that she had assisted at the birth of his and Trudy's illegitimate child. When Wendy told him she planned to go to the press, he killed her and buried her body in his yard. Then, realizing that the only person who could connect him with Wendy's disappearance was Trudy, he had her killed as well. Twelve years later, when Dr. Nash was digitizing the clinic's old paper records to computer files, he must have come across some reference to the child, and confronted Rickover in secret. Rickover panicked, and hired Kazarinski to kill Dr. Nash.
Disher soon uncovers human remains including a skull and bones, and tells the uniforms to call a forensics team — the proof that will send Rickover to jail for life. As Monk sets down his gun in a coughing fit, Rickover snatches the gun, aims it at his own head, and shouts "You take care of her", before pulling the trigger, committing suicide.
A few days later, Monk is feeling much better presumably after having been given the antidote. At Dr. Bell's office, he mentions his issue with what Rickover's final words meant, and also that he is unhappy as his quest to find Trudy's murderer had fulfilled most of his life, now he knows who killed her he is wondering what will he do with himself now. While packing up Trudy's case into boxes he comes across an old newspaper referring to the then still missing midwife Wendy Stroud whom had been presumed dead, the article states she found an orphaned baby girl and had given it up for adoption, and the baby was born on January 2, 1983, exactly the same date of Trudy's baby's birth.
He later finds out that Rickover was referring to Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans (Alona Tal
), who actually didn't die. She was placed up for adoption by Wendy Stroud, the midwife. Monk becomes anxious when he learns this and is pleasantly surprised to learn that Molly, Trudy's daughter is looking forward to meeting him after Stottlemeyer tracks down where she lives. She bears a striking resemblance to Trudy. They meet at her job where much like her mother, she is a writer; a film critic for the 'East Coast Chronicle' in Monterey County.
They are very happy to have met each other and begin to spend time together. Monk takes many pictures of her (over 600, quipping the rest are being developed), and as he is proudly showing them to Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Randy, Randy tries to subtly put away a letter on his desk addressed to 'Leland' to which Stottlemeyer grabs and opens and reveals that Randy has been offered a position as Chief of Police in Summit, New Jersey
, where he will be moving in with Monk's former nurse and assistant Sharona Fleming
(Bitty Schram
), whom he is revealed to be dating.
During a walk along the beach, Molly asks Monk what he will do with his time now that he's solved Trudy's murder. He tells her that he wants to retire and follow her around, documenting her life with scrapbooks of photographs. She tells him that he can't give up being a detective; he has a gift and he should use it, to "help all the Trudys in the world." Monk takes her advice and decides to continue his work as a detective/consultant.
The final scene shows Monk and Natalie in Monk's apartment, where he tells her that he and Molly will be going to the movies, which she comments is unusually normal while crying. It is implied by Monk's actions, speech, and his style of clothing that his various phobias and obsessions are now under control. As Monk and Natalie leave to go to a crime scene, however Monk checks that the stove is turned off, referencing Mr. Monk and the Candidate
, the pilot episode. This scene is followed by a montage of clips from over the course of the preceding eight seasons, while Randy Newman
's specially composed song "When I'm Gone" plays in the background. The final clips show the characters as they are today: Disher is living happily in New Jersey
with Sharona, as Police Chief, Stottlemeyer is happily married to T.K. (Virginia Madsen
), and Monk and Natalie arrive at the crime scene, met by Stottlemeyer, who leads them into the building.
had mixed feelings about the finale, saying that Molly's introduction was a nice way to send the show off, although he felt cheated that the show's biggest mystery was literally handed to Monk in a box. Like Waldman, he praised Shalhoub's and Nelson's acting, and the tension of their scene in which Nelson digs up the midwife's body. Overall he gave it an 8 out of 10. The A.V. Club
Todd VanDerWerff called it a "a surprisingly sweet ending to a show that I haven't watched regularly in a few years", and gave it a "B+".
), and basic cable's most-watched hour-long drama (previously set by The Closer
with 9.2 million viewers).
was nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
for this episode. Additionally, Randy Newman won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song "When I'm Gone."
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
original criminal mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
dramedy television series, Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
. It is the fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the eighth and final season, and is the 124th and 125th episodes in the series overall. Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Shalhoub and the protagonist of the USA Network television series Monk. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department...
(Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
) finally discovers his wife Trudy's (Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin
Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
) murderer after twelve years of searching, concluding a seven-year, eight-season long arc. When "Part 2" aired, it set a series high and a new viewership record for the most watched episode of a regular drama series ever in basic cable with 9.4 million viewers. Both parts were written by series creator Andy Breckman
Andy Breckman
Andy Breckman is a television and film writer and a radio personality. He is the co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series Monk on the USA Network, and is co-host of WFMU radio's long-running conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay...
and directed by Randall Zisk
Randall Zisk
Randall "Randy" Zisk is an American television director and producer.As both a director and producer, he has worked most substantially on the television series Monk and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
.
December 14, 1997
Early in the morning, AdrianAdrian Monk
Adrian Monk is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Shalhoub and the protagonist of the USA Network television series Monk. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department...
and Trudy Monk discuss how it is hard for her to keep secrets from a husband who is a detective, and she asks about his current case, a missing midwife named Wendy Stroud. He mentions that he will be heading over to the birthing clinic where Stroud works to question the director. Adrian spots a small present under their Christmas tree that is meant for him. Trudy instructs him not to open it until Christmas Day. Trudy seems nervous, but she insists she is fine.
Later, she appears to be meeting someone in a multi-story parking garage. She does not see a six fingered man watching her, and the man then reveals himself from the shadows and follows Trudy. Trudy panics and begins running to her car. She gets in, turns the key in the ignition, and a bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
planted underneath the car explodes, sending flames spurting out of the garage and up into the sky.
Across town, at the Palgrove Birthing Center, Monk and Captain Stottlemeyer
Leland Stottlemeyer
Captain Leland Francis Stottlemeyer is a fictional police officer played by Ted Levine on the American crime drama Monk. He is Captain of the San Francisco Police Department 's Homicide Detail, and a longtime friend of Adrian Monk from their days on the force together where he served as Monk's...
are talking to Dr. Malcolm Nash (Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
), the clinic's director, about Wendy Stroud's disappearance. Dr. Nash mentions that Stroud was the first midwife he hired, and she's never even been late for work. Monk tries to straighten out the umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
on a model of a newborn (although Dr. Nash mentions that umbilical cords are never straight, Stottlemeyer jokes that Monk's was). Stottlemeyer receives a phone call, and he informs Monk about Trudy's death.
Present Day
One morning twelve years later, Monk wakes up on his usual side of the bed, where Trudy appears to him. She tells him it is time to say goodbye to her, and that it's also time he began sleeping in the middle of the bed rather than be scrunched up in his side, she also says before disappearing that "it won't be much longer." When Monk discusses this with Natalie TeegerNatalie Teeger
Natalie J. Teeger is a fictional character on the American crime drama Monk. She becomes Adrian Monk's personal assistant midway through the third season of the show...
later that day, they realize the building they're walking to for Monk's case is where Monk first heard of Trudy's death all those years ago. Stottlemeyer offers Monk the chance to sit the case out, but Monk insists that he is okay. As it turns out, the doctor that Monk and Stottlemeyer were talking to when they first heard the news 12 years ago, Dr. Nash, is now the victim. He's been shot at least twice. It seems someone shot Dr. Nash while he was digitizing patient records on his computer, and whoever did this used a silencer. While Monk goes over the scene, Lieutenant Disher talks about his two-week vacation to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but refuses to discuss specifics.
Monk concludes that the scene was meant to look like a drug addict had robbed the clinic for drugs when it was in fact a murder for information and therefore a professional hit man. The team heads to Judge Ethan Rickover's (Craig T. Nelson
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...
) house to get him to sign a warrant for the arrest of a felon named Joey Kazarinski, identified after his partial fingerprint is found at the crime scene. When they arrive, they overhear a conversation between Rickover's wife and some friends with Rickover present discussing how he will never move out of his current house. They then learn that Rickover has been nominated for the State Supreme Court, although it has not been officially announced by the governor yet.
That night, Rickover is seen talking to the killer, Joey Kazarinski (John Edward Lee), on the phone. Kazarinski is assigned the task of killing Monk, after Rickover informs him his fingerprint was found at the crime scene; Kazarinski inquires why Monk is to be killed prompting Rickover to reveal himself as being the one who killed Trudy. Later, Monk, Natalie, Julie, and Natalie's boyfriend Steven Albright are all eating dinner at Natalie's house, when Monk starts seeing spots and is running a high fever. They take Monk to the hospital and take a blood test and after a struggle (and after nearly everyone in the hospital has to help hold Monk down). After they perform the tests, Dr. Matthew Shuler (D.B. Woodside) a haemotologist (who deals with rare blood diseases and disorders) reveals that Monk has been poisoned with a powerful synthetic toxin based on ricin
Ricin
Ricin , from the castor oil plant Ricinus communis, is a highly toxic, naturally occurring protein. A dose as small as a few grains of salt can kill an adult. The LD50 of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram Ricin , from the castor oil plant Ricinus communis, is a highly toxic, naturally...
. He believes it wasn't at dinner because no-one else got sick apart from Monk. They decide to take all of the food and other consumables in the house and test them (as a big box of mouthwash bottles is seen being carried out by a man in a Hazmat suit, in addition to food) cautioning that without knowing which form of poison was used, they cannot create or administer the antidote.
Stottlemeyer and Disher show up at the hospital to be with Monk. Dr. Shuler reveals that in a matter of 2–3 days, Monk will die, troubling everybody. Natalie spots Kazarinski's photo in a newspaper Stottlemeyer has and identifies him as having taken Monk's cart in the supermarket, giving them the motive to start checking items in the cart for the poison.
Stottlemeyer gathers an unofficial task force within the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
(SFPD) to locate Kazarinski. They are going to be split into two teams: Disher will lead one team that will work out who may have hired Kazarinski to kill Dr. Nash, and the other team, under Stottlemeyer, will work to locate Kazarinski to find out what poison he used on Monk and how he administered it, but Stottlemeyer expressly states that no one will use their guns. Kazarinski must be captured alive because if he dies, so does Monk; so all guns are to remain holstered. Stottlemeyer interrogates Ronnie, a person known to have had contact with Kazarinski and supplied him with fake documents i.e. a new identity with which to elude justice. Stottlemeyer demands to know what name Kazarinski is now going under and where to find him, eventually beating the information out of him with Disher's laptop computer.
They go to the train station, where Kazarinski is preparing to leave. Kazarinski is already there, having changed his appearance, but is spooked when he sees an undercover female officer adjusting her earpiece. After a lengthy chase in and around the railroad yard, Kazarinski pauses in the middle of a set of tracks believing he has eluded Stottlemeyer, only to turn around and be hit and killed instantly by a BNSF freight train, leaving Stottlemeyer and Disher believing they had lost the only person who could save Monk from dying.
Monk visits Dr. Neven Bell (Héctor Elizondo
Hector Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
) to talk about all that has happened in the past few days, revealing that none of the food in his cart was poisoned. He leaves Dr. Bell's office after having cancelled all his remaining appointments as he sets about finalizing his affairs before his death; he leaves saying a sincere 'goodbye' leaving Dr. Bell dejected. He then heads to the graveyard to visit Trudy one last time, only to say 'I love you' to her grave prompting Natalie to ask 'Is that all?' to which he replies "I'll tell her the rest when I see her tomorrow".
Meanwhile, Stottlemeyer and Disher find Kazarinski's rented motel room and find all of the chemicals he used to make the poison disposed of in the garbage. They send the materials to the lab to get tested, but it is said it will take a few weeks for the results. As he nears death, Monk finally opens the small present left for him by Trudy, revealing a video tape. He plays the tape, a recording of Trudy talking to camera addressing him. She reveals that she had one secret she kept from him, something terrible from years before they had met.
Part II
Two hours after the end of Part 1, Monk has hit pause on the remote and is not able to press play. Natalie presses play and they continue watching the tape, Monk is visibly distraught with what he is hearing and Trudy reveals that many years before she met Adrian, she had an affair with her law professor at Berkeley: Ethan Rickover. She assures Monk she never knew he was married, but that she became pregnant. She had a daughter, who died nine minutes after birth without Trudy ever having the chance to see her. She reveals a posthumous conviction that in order to keep their affair and consequential baby secret, she believes Rickover killed Wendy Stroud, the midwife who delivered their baby, and whose disappearance Monk and Stottlemeyer were investigating the day Trudy died. Trudy says she has received a phone call from Rickover out of the blue after ten years since they last spoke, asking her to meet with him at a parking garage, and she reveals that she fears that he also means to kill her as she detected a sinister tone in his voice. Therefore, she has made the tape in order to tell Monk the truth, if she met an untimely end; if she had not been killed, she would have replaced the tape with the digital watch Monk had wanted, saying that, if he is watching the tape it means her fears were true and she was dead.Monk is furious and decides to confront Rickover. Natalie tries to dissuade him but he is determined to go even though he is sick he retorts he won't die yet. They meet with Rickover at his confirmation hearing for the office of State Supreme Justice and question him. Monk drops a wipe, which Rickover picks up with a pen. When he doesn't confess, and begins insulting Trudy's mental stability, as well as Monk's, Monk becomes violent with Rickover and punches him to the ground and continues until he is escorted away by guards, while yelling "This is not over!" Monk is then taken to the hospital. Stottlemeyer visits him with Randy and brings him a file on Rickover. Monk has Stottlemeyer promise he will kill Rickover for him as he won't be around to do it himself. Stottlemeyer agrees but Monk knows he is lying. He tells Monk that indeed, the phone records show several calls between Rickover and Dr. Nash. Meanwhile, Natalie is back at Monk's house with Albright to pack Monk's clothing and collect Trudy's pillow. She tries to comfort herself saying that at least Monk will die knowing who killed Trudy.
At the hospital, Monk is going over the files left by Stottlemeyer and Disher, and realizes that something is missing. He explains to the nurse what happened, and she quips: no one bothers to cover up affairs any more. Monk agrees with her and remembers Rickover's wife saying he wouldn't ever move out of his house, even if it meant commuting to Sacramento. Monk figures that the crucial clue is something connected to the house.
Back at Monk's apartment, Natalie starts to feel ill, seeing spots, just like Monk did when he was poisoned. She realizes that the poison is in Monk's handwipes, which she has been using to clean the clear plastic bags she has been putting Monk's belongings in, and tells Albright to telephone the hospital to tell them they know what was poisoned and to work on an antidote. The nurse discovers that Monk has run off, and furthermore, also has found that he has used his sedatives prescribed by his doctor to drug the guard sitting outside on watch and has stolen his gun. At Rickover's house, Monk confronts Rickover again, this time at gunpoint, throwing Rickover his own spade taken from his garage and tells Rickover to dig in his front yard near a sundial in the shade of a large tree where Monk believes the remains of Wendy Stroud, the missing midwife who delivered Trudy's baby from twelve years ago are buried, the very reason Rickover said he won't ever leave that house.
Stottlemeyer, Disher and some uniformed cops hurry to the scene to prevent Monk from killing Rickover and to give him the antidote to the poison.
Monk reveals who is being dug up, and Disher continues the dig. Monk confronts Rickover angrily about his motives, realizing that it was all for a job: his position as an appellate judge that he was working for all those years ago. The skull is going to be that of Wendy Stroud. Monk explains that twelve years ago, in 1997, Wendy Stroud found religion and told Rickover that she would no longer hide the truth, that she had assisted at the birth of his and Trudy's illegitimate child. When Wendy told him she planned to go to the press, he killed her and buried her body in his yard. Then, realizing that the only person who could connect him with Wendy's disappearance was Trudy, he had her killed as well. Twelve years later, when Dr. Nash was digitizing the clinic's old paper records to computer files, he must have come across some reference to the child, and confronted Rickover in secret. Rickover panicked, and hired Kazarinski to kill Dr. Nash.
Disher soon uncovers human remains including a skull and bones, and tells the uniforms to call a forensics team — the proof that will send Rickover to jail for life. As Monk sets down his gun in a coughing fit, Rickover snatches the gun, aims it at his own head, and shouts "You take care of her", before pulling the trigger, committing suicide.
A few days later, Monk is feeling much better presumably after having been given the antidote. At Dr. Bell's office, he mentions his issue with what Rickover's final words meant, and also that he is unhappy as his quest to find Trudy's murderer had fulfilled most of his life, now he knows who killed her he is wondering what will he do with himself now. While packing up Trudy's case into boxes he comes across an old newspaper referring to the then still missing midwife Wendy Stroud whom had been presumed dead, the article states she found an orphaned baby girl and had given it up for adoption, and the baby was born on January 2, 1983, exactly the same date of Trudy's baby's birth.
He later finds out that Rickover was referring to Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans (Alona Tal
Alona Tal
-Career:Tal started her career fresh out of the Israel Defense Forces, with a children's musical video tape, in which she played an evil witch. Following that, she appeared in a commercial for a laundry detergent...
), who actually didn't die. She was placed up for adoption by Wendy Stroud, the midwife. Monk becomes anxious when he learns this and is pleasantly surprised to learn that Molly, Trudy's daughter is looking forward to meeting him after Stottlemeyer tracks down where she lives. She bears a striking resemblance to Trudy. They meet at her job where much like her mother, she is a writer; a film critic for the 'East Coast Chronicle' in Monterey County.
They are very happy to have met each other and begin to spend time together. Monk takes many pictures of her (over 600, quipping the rest are being developed), and as he is proudly showing them to Natalie, Stottlemeyer and Randy, Randy tries to subtly put away a letter on his desk addressed to 'Leland' to which Stottlemeyer grabs and opens and reveals that Randy has been offered a position as Chief of Police in Summit, New Jersey
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
, where he will be moving in with Monk's former nurse and assistant Sharona Fleming
Sharona Fleming
Sharona Fleming is a fictional character in the award-winning series Monk. Sharona is a divorced practical nurse from New Jersey and a single mother with a young son named Benjy. She was played by Bitty Schram. Schram was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.-Biography:Sharona's...
(Bitty Schram
Bitty Schram
Elizabeth Natalie "Bitty" Schram is an American actress, most widely known for having played Sharona Fleming in the television series Monk.-Career:...
), whom he is revealed to be dating.
During a walk along the beach, Molly asks Monk what he will do with his time now that he's solved Trudy's murder. He tells her that he wants to retire and follow her around, documenting her life with scrapbooks of photographs. She tells him that he can't give up being a detective; he has a gift and he should use it, to "help all the Trudys in the world." Monk takes her advice and decides to continue his work as a detective/consultant.
The final scene shows Monk and Natalie in Monk's apartment, where he tells her that he and Molly will be going to the movies, which she comments is unusually normal while crying. It is implied by Monk's actions, speech, and his style of clothing that his various phobias and obsessions are now under control. As Monk and Natalie leave to go to a crime scene, however Monk checks that the stove is turned off, referencing Mr. Monk and the Candidate
Mr. Monk and the Candidate
"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the 90-minute pilot episode of the TV series Monk on the USA Network.During the Monk Cast Favorites Marathon, the episode was listed as one of Traylor Howard's favorites...
, the pilot episode. This scene is followed by a montage of clips from over the course of the preceding eight seasons, while Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's specially composed song "When I'm Gone" plays in the background. The final clips show the characters as they are today: Disher is living happily in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
with Sharona, as Police Chief, Stottlemeyer is happily married to T.K. (Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
), and Monk and Natalie arrive at the crime scene, met by Stottlemeyer, who leads them into the building.
Critical Reception
Mr. Monk and the End has received generally positive reviews. Allison Waldman of TvSquad called the cliffhanger at the end of "Part 1" great and said that she was "dying to know how [it would be] resolved". She also praised Tony Shalhoub's acting in the bed scene where he talks to Trudy. Waldman called the drama "tense" in "Part 2", and praised Shalhoub's and Craig T. Nelson's acting. Jonah Krakow of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
had mixed feelings about the finale, saying that Molly's introduction was a nice way to send the show off, although he felt cheated that the show's biggest mystery was literally handed to Monk in a box. Like Waldman, he praised Shalhoub's and Nelson's acting, and the tension of their scene in which Nelson digs up the midwife's body. Overall he gave it an 8 out of 10. The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
Todd VanDerWerff called it a "a surprisingly sweet ending to a show that I haven't watched regularly in a few years", and gave it a "B+".
Ratings
"Part 1" gained 5.8 million viewers. "Part 2" set various records in television history, with 9.4 million viewers. It was the series high (previously set by last season's finale Mr. Monk Fights City Hall), USA Network's most-watched scripted television show (previously set by Burn NoticeBurn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
), and basic cable's most-watched hour-long drama (previously set by The Closer
The Closer
The Closer is an American crime drama, starring Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Georgia police detective who often closes her cases using sometimes-questionable methods...
with 9.2 million viewers).
Awards and nominations
Tony ShalhoubTony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
was nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is an Emmy presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series.-Winners and nominees:...
for this episode. Additionally, Randy Newman won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song "When I'm Gone."
Additional facts
- The Summit Police Department police car that Randy walks past on the way to his office is authentic, including the motto, "Honor, Courage and Fidelity."
- Trudy's remark that she plans to replace the tape with a digital watch is ironic, given that Adrian wears the last watch she gave him long after it stopped keeping good time, as evidenced in "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife".
- The last lines of the episode pay tribute to the first lines of the series, in "Mr. Monk and the Candidate," when Monk interrupts his contemplation of a crime scene to wonder aloud if he left his stove on at home.
- The montage of past episodes features scenes from, in order of appearance:
- "Mr. Monk and the CandidateMr. Monk and the Candidate"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the 90-minute pilot episode of the TV series Monk on the USA Network.During the Monk Cast Favorites Marathon, the episode was listed as one of Traylor Howard's favorites...
" - "Mr. Monk Takes ManhattanMr. Monk Takes Manhattan"Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan" is the first episode of the third season of Monk, and is the 30th episode overall. It was the third season premiere, and served as another installment in the series' ongoing plotline about the murder of Monk's wife.-Plot:...
" - "Mr. Monk Goes Back to School"
- "Mr. Monk and the Three PiesMr. Monk and the Three PiesMr. Monk and the Three Pies is the eleventh episode of the second season of Monk, and is the 24th episode overall. The episode introduces Adrian Monk's brother, Ambrose. For his performance as Ambrose, John Turturro won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Tony Shalhoub...
" - "Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike"
- "Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival"
- "Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure"
- "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring"
- "Mr. Monk and the Election"
- "Mr. Monk and the Panic Room"
- "Mr. Monk Takes a Punch"
- "Mr. Monk on Wheels"
- "Mr. Monk Gets a New ShrinkMr. Monk Gets a New Shrink"Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of Monk, and is the 68th episode overall.Stanley Kamel listed the episode among his favorites.-Synopsis:...
" - "Mr. Monk Goes to the Office"
- "Mr. Monk Is on the Air"
- "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night"
- "Mr. Monk Meets His Dad"
- "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa"
- "Mr. Monk and the Paperboy"
- "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk"
- "Mr. Monk and the Miracle"
- "Mr. Monk Buys a House"
- "Mr. Monk and the Candidate