She was his nurse after his big breakdown. As said breakdown was precipitated by Trudy’s death, I would say she did not, though obviously it’s not impossible.
Thanks–that sounds about right, and would make the increased intimacy between them more understandable.
I don’t think Sharona ever entirely stopped thinking of Monk as a patient. In fact, I’m sure of it–as I mentioned upthread (and eight months ago :D), she explicitly told him when they were trapped in a cave that he would always be her patient. To Natalie, by contrast, he is always, first of all, the person she works for. I think she’s sincere about loving him, but she doesn’t see him as someone she’s ethically obligated to, ah, nursemaid.
I think after Trudy’s death, Monk became extremely housebound, like his brother Ambrose. It was Sharona who got him out of the house and becoming a part of the world again.
Very nice episode tonight. Great to see Sharona again and, in a sense, achieve closure with her character who left the series all too abruptly. She “officially” handed Monk off to Natalie tonight. I almost forgot that Randy had a thing for Sharona. That was a sweet ending. Best line of the night for me: “What year is this?”
Weird, it turned out to be the opposite. Sharona thought Natalie coddled Adrian too much and Natalie thought Sharona was too hard on him.
I’m disappointed; I really wanted Sharona to be the murderer. That would have made a great episode, with Monk gradually realizing her guilt, then he and Natalie finally bringing her down.
Do I detect a bit of Side Kick envy here? 
My guess: Trudy was murdered by Sharona because she needed a job and Stottlemayer because he couldn’t stand Monk’s singing. (I actually have considered Stottlemayer as a candidate just so they could have a major “series ending everybody remembers” moment like St. Elsewhere, Sopranos, etc., but surely they won’t.)
I was disappointed in last night’s episode. This is Sharona’s return: do we really need just another run of the mill ‘ho-hum’ murder case? Just have a one time only non-mystery episode.
Best parts:
Monk’s obsessing over his dry cleaning. “So what is Benjy doing now? I mean… do you think he’s anywhere near the garage?” Her hookup with Randy was a nice touch as well, though you wonder when and how.
Sharona and Natalie comparing Monk wrangling methods. I’m totally on Sharona’s side in this one: make him get in the damned elevator, and the “Adrian/Mr. Monk” dichotomy was funny (“Nope, I don’t like it”). OTOH, why Natalie was surprised Sharona made more than she did when Sharona’s a nurse who put her career on hold was irksome.
Did I hear Sharona correctly- that she earned $950 a week from Monk? I know that’s not a lot for a nurse in California to make, but it seems like a fortune for Natalie (who said she makes $930- or $20 less than Sharona) who has no real qualifications other than willingness to put up with Adrian.
A legal question: since the club’s golf pro murdered Sharona’s uncle, wouldn’t that mean she’d still be entitled to a settlement (in fact probably a bigger one) since he was on their property and in their employ? Though one of the things I disliked about the episode was how unsympathetic she was regarding her uncle’s death: he’s her family but she couldn’t have cared less about him if he’d been mauled and eaten by hyenas. More flimsy writing was the lack of mention of her sister (Amy Sedaris) who not only lived in San Francisco when last mentioned but would have split any inheritance with Sharona (and as a struggling actress could probably use it).
I hope she does come back, which her character said she was going to do, and I hope next time it’s more reunion and less “just another forgettable murder mystery”. While this show is obviously doing something right to have lasted as long as it has, I think it would have been much better had it been occasional two hour movies ala McMillan & Wife or McLoud (if that doesn’t date me I don’t know what will) because the 1 hour (or 48 minute) murder mysteries have gotten ridiculously paint by the numbers and are usually “first and biggest guest star shown did it”. He’s a good character but it’d be interesting to see him with a more complex case.
Anyway, nice seeing Bitty Schram again. Does anybody know if she works on Broadway or in stage? Her film appearances haven’t been much since MONK so I hope she has income from somewhere.
I liked the episode, for the most part, but I think it does kinda cheapen the character to have Sharona cashing in with a lawsuit at the end, even though her injury was legitimate. I figured there would be some kind of windfall for her, but I thought it might happen a little more…gracefully.
I loved that Randy and Sharona are hooking up. And did it look to anyone else like she’s had a boob job?
I still like Natalie/Traylor more.
The only thing is, the fight has to take place next to a mud pit (a la McClintock), and involve tearing of clothing.
Holy crap, I never realized who it was that played Stottlemeyer. At first, I thought that this was just a rather disturbing non sequitur.
ETA: In retrospect, the voice should’ve given it away.
Since this is the last season, will they give Stottlemeyer a happy ending? He hasn’t had much luck with women in the past–I kept waiting for Virginia Madsen’s character to be revealed as a criminal in her episode, but maybe she’s going to the right one for him.
I had hoped for an arc concerning Trudy’s killer, and that Sharona would have assisted in finding him in some way.
Let us hope it’s not just the last episode; “Hey a guy with six fingers! Get him!” :rolleyes:
If Head Trudy turns out to be an angel, and all the cops retire to a primitive place like the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, I’m going to really be hacked off.
Given that it was I writing it, that assumption, though mistaken, was not unreasonable.
Merged two threads, so the continuity may be a little funky there.
twickster, Cafe Society moderator
I was thinking the opposite, that Natalie was somewhat underpaid, even at $20 a week less than Sharona. $950 a week doesn’t go as far as it did five years ago, especially with Natalie raising Julie for most of that time. Natalie should have insisted on cost-of-living raises, even if she hadn’t been ignorant of Sharona’s salary. Even though she’s not a nurse, isn’t Natalie basically on 24-hour call for Monk?
I just learned this fact too and it’s disturbed me ever since.
I thought it wasn’t one of the best episodes, but it was good to see Jack Wagner (had such a crush on him in General Hospital) and it was GREAT to see Sharona. I’ve never liked Natalie, although I’ve tolerated her more as time has passed. Seeing Sharona last night made me realize just how much more I liked her character, her attitude, her pushiness, and how it was a nice complement to Monk.
I was expecting the final scene to be something like this:
Interior, CAPT. STOTTLEMEYER’S office
STOTTLEMEYER: That might be a tough case to win, Sharona. Your uncle was trying to scam the country club, and then you have an accident at the same place? It looks suspicious. The club’s lawyers will say you did the same thing.
ADRIAN: Why would she do that?
STOTTLEMEYER (sarcastic): Oh, I don’t know, Monk; for the money?
ADRIAN: Well, instead of negligence, her uncle was murdered by an employee of the club, so their insurance might still want to settle. It’s too bad golf players don’t have any money or you could sue him, too.
(The mood in the room lightens. Clearly, they have not thought of this.)
SHARONA (incredulous): Adrian, he won a dozen tournaments and he’s been endorsing cars and golf clubs for years.
MONK: So?
I can only dream of $930/week 
I’ve only seen the first two seasons of Monk; has it ever been explained where his money comes from to pay these ladies? He can’t be making so much from his “consultations” that he can support himself and pay an assistant …