Monk made a risky decision by not making Adrian a police detective again permanently in the final season, but that made the finale even better. Monk season 8 had a few boxes to check, including whether Adrian was going to rejoin the force and the mystery of Trudy Monk’s death. “Mr. Monk and the End” finally revealed who had Trudy killed, but the status of Monk’s career was addressed a few episodes earlier.
When we meet Adrian in the Monk pilot, he has been a private detective for a while after losing his badge following the traumatic loss of his wife. Monk had shown signs of OCD ever since he was a child, but after Trudy’s murder, his symptoms got progressively worse until he could no longer be a police detective. It was easy to assume that Monk’s final episodes would see Adrian finally becoming a cop again after trying for so many years, but Monk went for a more surprising approach.
Monk Not Becoming A Police Detective At The End Was The Right Decision
Monk Was Happy To Remain A Private Detective Even After Solving Trudy’s Case
Adrian Monk was reinstated as a police detective in season 8, episode 14, “Mr. Monk and the Badge.” However, by the end of the episode, Monk decides to resign despite having spent the last eight years dreaming about rejoining the police. Adrian realized he could be more helpful – and happy – as a private consultant than if he tried to adjust himself to the way the police department works after so many years on his own. Monk’s series finale confirmed this decision, with Adrian remaining as PI despite his significant mental health improvement.
Monk was retired during the events of
Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie
but decided to help the police with unsolved cases at the end of the film.
“Mr. Monk and the Badge” was one of many Monk episodes in which whether Adrian would ever rejoin the force was an important storyline. Monk’s very first episode was about Adrian trying to get a recommendation from his psychiatrist saying that he was ready to be a police detective again, which almost happened but didn’t work out in the end. Monk teased that Adrian could become a cop again a few times, only for it to never happen. This was the right decision not only because it acknowledged how unique Monk was but also because it validated his character development.
Adrain Monk’s Real Character Arc Was Never About Getting His Badge Again
Monk No Longer Needed To Rejoin The Force To Find The Closure He Needed
In hindsight, it’s safe to say Monk was not really concerned about getting his old job back but rather in proving that he was, in his own words, “normal” and was ready to return to the way things were before Trudy died. Monk’s exit from the force and his wish to become a cop again were both tied to Trudy’s death, an event that took a huge toll on Adrian and changed him forever. The fact that Adrian couldn’t find Trudy’s killer played a role in his severe OCD diagnosis and made it difficult for him to show any improvement.
Monk is back for his most personal case yet. Here’s a breakdown of who did it, how they did it, and what Mr. Monk’s Last Case’s ending really means.
However, as Monk went on, Adrian learned how to use his gifts to help people despite no longer being a police detective. Monk admitted that working on impossible cases was supposed to make up for the one murder he couldn’t solve, yet that they were never enough. Adrian coming to terms with being a private detective and continuing in that career even after solving Trudy’s murder shows that he learned to appreciate the life he had regardless of everything that happened. This was a clever, sensible approach to the character that made Monk’s ending very satisfying.
Starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk follows the titular detective, a private investigator with OCD who helps solve crimes with the San Francisco Police. On the side, he also investigates the death of his wife, who was killed by a car bomb. Bitty Schram, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford also star.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
English (US) ·