How much you bet the same actress who played Trudy plays Molly?
…or not. 
You know the internet? She’s on it!
Edit: Awww, I’m so glad they gave Randy a nice, happy ending with Sharona.
Yeah, cool.
A most excellent ending.
bah…nevermind.
Although that episode wasn’t horrible and unwatchable, it wasn’t good and it won’t go down in the annals as a Great Series Finale. I did like the montage at the end and I did tear up when Monk met Molly.
We all seemed to know it was Coach.
I thought it was the wipes last week, but as they were so insistent on food, I figured they ruled out the wipes and I spaced out on that part. I was wrong; they never even checked. hello? Monk? Wipes? First place I would look. Second would be that special bottled water.
Even not considering the midwife clues, I knew the baby had to have survived as soon as she mentioned her. The video by Trudy was done well and that also had me teary.
What cop would fire his/her weapon into the air as a siren? It wasn’t that much of an emergency. That really took me out of the show.
About the poison: like on House, as soon as you have a specific diagnosis, you can find the proper treatment. That treatment will will not only work, but be 100% effective with no long-term effects.
I was afraid the episode was going to be much worse than it was and I thought they were going to go to a squicky place with Monk and Molly for a minute. I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it was going to be.
Spoil me please(with spoiler tags)!
What happened?
Firing off a gun tends to make people get the hell out of the way, and they were kinf of anxious to get to Monk before he murdered the Judge.
I was wrong. Par for the course
I’ve merged this thread into the bigger thread about the series finale.
Can’t believe I was so close to the right scenario! Liked the way they showed how Monk was loosening up with his OCD (wardrobe and not locking door), but not completely (checking burners and going to the movie in theater 10). Personally can’t see Randy being a police chief. Guess it’s a pretty small burb.
I totally cracked up when I saw how big the stack of pictures was he was showing off. Molly was just as patient and accepting as Trudy. Also liked the line by Natalie.
“That’s what you’ve been missing. Someone to love.”
They built up to it; Randy got the drop on the guys at Scout Camp.
He did remind me of Andy of Mayberry, though.
No, I take that back, it’s like Andy died and Barney was promoted…
The risk wasn’t worth the reward. They would have been better off getting another cop car to escort them or even driving back and getting a car with a siren and lights.
Sure, firing your gun will move people, but then they’re panicking that some crazy guy who looks like the killer from Silence of the Lambs is running around shooting randomly.
And they mentioned that a patrol car was getting there first. I know they personally thought they were the only ones who could stop Monk if he was going to shoot, but it’s not like it was just Monk and Coach.
[spoiler]Monk is watching the tape Trudy left for him. She says that she had an affair with a professor in law school. He is now a judge; it’s Craig T. Nelson’s character from Part 1. She got pregnant, and had a daughter who died after only a few minutes. Trudy never even saw her. She says she got a call from the judge who wants to see her, and had a bad feeling about it. She made the tape to explain to Monk what was happening. If she comes back safely from the meeting, she’ll swap the present for the digital watch he’s been wanting.
Monk is angry, and it gives him new life. He goes to the confirmation hearings for the judge and glares at him. During a recess, Monk accuses the judge of murdering Trudy and starts a fight with him. He is pulled off by guards.
In the hospital, Capt. Stottlemeyer overhears Randy ending a phone call with “I love you.” Randy says he was talking to the deputy chief, and that “I love you” is a common courtesy. In Monk’s room, the Captain tells Monk that he’s lucky he’s not in jail after assaulting the judge. He also explains that other elements of the case check out. The doctor, killed last week, had made phone calls to the judge. Monk asks the Captain to promise to kill the judge. The Captain tries to promise, but Monk knows he’s lying. The Captain leaves the case file with Monk. Two things are troubling him; why would someone kill just to cover up an affair, and why has the judge said he will never move from his house. The nurse comes in and leaves him pills to help him sleep.
Natalie and her beau are getting some things from Monk’s place to take to the hospital. While she’s cleaning, Natalie starts having the same symptoms as Monk. She hasn’t eaten anything, so it must be the wipes. At the confirmation hearing, the judge picked up one of Monk’s wipes with a pen. He knows they’re poisoned. They call the hospital to give Monk the news. He’s not in his room. He used the sleeping pills to knock out the guard on his room, and took his gun.
At the station, Randy finds the captain and tells him they’ve isolated a cure, but Monk is gone. Figuring out what he’s doing, they get in Randy’s car to stop Monk from killing the judge.
In the judge’s back yard, Monk pulls a gun on the judge and orders him to dig next to the sundial. In the car, the Captain is looking for the siren so they can get through traffic. Much of Randy’s stuff is there; he is selling it at a yard sale. He may have already sold the siren. When a truck blocks the road, the Captain fires a shot into the air to assert his authority. They are desperate.
In the judge’s back yard, two police have arrived. They have their guns trained on Monk, while Monk is still ordering the judge to dig. The Captain and Randy arrive just as the judge unearths a skull. It is the midwife who delivered Trudy’s baby. Monk knew where to dig because no one would put a sundial in the shade under a tree. Convinced that the Judge’s fate is sealed, Monk puts his gun down. The judge picks up the gun, says “take care of her” and shoots himself in the head.
(more)[/spoiler]Or is this more detail than you were looking for.
[spoiler]Two weeks have passed. Monk is in his therapist’s office. He is cured of the poison. The therapist asks Monk how he feels. Monk is somewhat at loose ends. The thing that has kept him going for years is now over. He is also troubled by the judge’s dying words.
Monk and Natalie are boxing up Monk’s information about Trudy’s case. He finds an article about the midwife saying she found an abandoned baby girl and took her to an orphanage. The date matches the time Trudy was pregnant. The midwife lied to her, Trudy’s daughter is alive. It also explains (sort of) why the judge went to such lengths to cover up the affair.
In Leland’s office, he says they’ve found the daughter. Her name is Molly. She is a movie reviewer with the Chronicle. She wants to meet Monk. He is somewhat scared, fearing the change in his life, and tries to back out. Natalie tells him he has to do it.
He waits nervously in front of her building. She comes out. They hug.
At the station, Monk is gushing with details about Molly’s life. He has a stack of photos six inches high. While getting some paper to write something down, Randy has an envelope marked “Leland”. The captain starts to read it. Randy is leaving them to become chief of police in a small town in New Jersey. Natalie figures out why. He admits he is moving in with Sharona.
Monk and Molly are walking on the beach. She says she’s leaving for two weeks to go to a film festival. Monk wants to go with her. She tells him he has to stay and keep solving crimes for the other Trudys in the world, and that maybe she came into his life to help keep him going. Trudy used to say that.
In Monk’s apartment, he tells Natalie that he’s going to a movie with Molly. He has loosened up considerably (going to a movie, for one thing) but not completely. They get a phone call. Presumably, it’s a case. Natalie says “we’ll be right there.”
A closing montage shows some moments from the series and everyone with their happy ending. Randy is moving into his new office, with a picture of Sharona on his desk. The Captain has a quick cup of coffee and kisses his Trudy on the way out the door. Monk and Natalie arrive at a crime scene to solve another case. The musical refrain is “you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone”, sung by Randy Newman.[/spoiler]
I know the characters are what everyone loves with Monk. The stories themselves are often muddled. That’s ok. I enjoy the show anyway. I got to say, the way they wrapped up Trudy’s death was really a mess. I was hoping they’d put more thought into it.
But, what the heck. At least there’s a chance of a Monk tv movie once in awhile. I’m going to miss these characters. 
Fridays won’t be the same without a new Monk episode now and then.
They had no time to call for a cop car. They barely arrived in time to stop cops from shooting Monk, (How did the cops know about it?) or Monk shooting the JUdge.
Who played Molly? Does anyone know? Thanks
I’m pretty sure it was Alona Tal. But, right now imdb doesn’t list the credit. Wait! Wikipedia has her credited as Molly.
I liked it. The finale was never a who-dun-it since it was obviously the Judge and there was only one judge who was introduced last week. It was about the specific circumstances and the motives that led to Trudy’s murder. And all that was explained without straining plausibility. There was no way they were going to kill off Monk – just think of what that will do to the series in syndication or the screws that would put on a future Monk special or movie. The compilation at the end was very well done, showing highlights of the series through the years, and Randy and Stottlemeyer in their new situations. The ending was consistent with most Monk episodes – a case to solve, characters who obviously care for each other a lot, and some humor on the side. I’m gonna miss getting my regular dose of a new Monk every season, but with 141 episodes in the bank I guess I can always pull up an old favorite when I need a fix.