This article mentions suicide.
Monk’s pilot foreshadowed how Adrian was eventually going to solve Trudy’s murder. WhileMonkwas an episodic showin which the titular character would work on a different case every week, the series did have an overarching storyline in the form of Trudy’s unsolved murder. Adrian missed his wife deeply, but he was also hunted by the fact he was never able to catch the person who killed her. This played a role in his OCD and was an obstacle no one could help him overcome.
It was obvious thatTrudy’s case was only going to be solved at the end of the show.There were a few red herrings before that, though, and Adrian came close to finding the truth a couple of times. However, even though Adrian found people who were involved in Trudy’s death, the mastermind behind it all was only discovered in the series finale.RewatchingMonkin 2024allows us to revisit certain moments with different eyes, and that includes what Sharona told Adrian in the pilot.
Monk Failed To Solve Trudy’s Case Because It Was Too Personal For Him
Adrian Couldn’t Bring Himself To Open Trudy’s Christmas Gift
As pointed out in thisRedditthread about theMonkfinale,Sharona telling Adrian that Trudy’s case was too personal for him foreshadowed how the show was going to end.InMonkseason 1, episode 1, we are introduced to Adrian and learn about why he does what he does. While Adrian working as a private detective was the only way he could continue doing what he knew after losing his badge, every case he solved was as if he was compensating for the one killer he could not catch. Adrian’s wife, Trudy Monk, was murdered in a car explosion.
Once Adrian watched the tape, the case solved itself.
Trudy had been dead for years by the time we met Adrian, yet he still had not solved her case. The fact that Adrian was such anincredible TV detectivewho could outsmart every criminal but could not find the person who killed his wife made for a very compelling story. In hindsight, Sharona was right about Trudy’s case being too personal for Monk.Adrian never dared to open Trudy’s final Christmas gift, which had all the answers he was looking for about her death. He only found out the tape in the series finale.
The Solving Of Trudy’s Murder Was Unlike Any Other Adrian Monk Case
The Only Evidence Monk Needed Was At His House The Whole Time
The way Adrian solved Trudy’s murder was very different from all his other cases. It can be argued that Adrian did not actually solve the case – all the answers were given to him. Before she died,Trudy recorded a tape in which she talked about her past, including her relationship with a college professor from before she met Adrianand the child she had with him. The professor in question was Ethan Rickover, a married man who orchestrated so that Trudy would think her child had died.
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Once Adrian watched the tape, the case solved itself. Rickover had Trudy killed and made sure no one would ever find he had a daughter with her.There wasn’t a proper“here’s what happened”moment inMonk’s series finale, and while Adrian collected enough proof, Rickover was not arrested because he killed himself once he realized there was no escape.Monk’s final episode took a unique approach and made the solving of Trudy’s case quite different from all the other murders Adrian had solved. While I would’ve liked to see Monk cracking the case himself, the tape was a nice twist.
The Truth About Trudy’s Death Was Monk’s Final & Biggest Plot Twist
The Circumstances Of Trudy’s Death Were A Big Surprise
EveryMonkepisodewas a different whodunit, meaning the show was used to have a couple of plot twists every week. What happened to TrudyMonkwas the show’s ultimate twist, namely because her death ultimately had nothing to do with her work as a journalist. For years, both Adrian and viewers assumed Trudy had been killed because of one of her stories. However, it was all about her past. It was also interesting howMonk’s finale deconstructed Trudy, framing her as an actual person who had regrets and secretsrather than the idealized version of her described by Adrian.
Trudy Monk was played by Stellina Rusich in seasons 1-2, and by Melora Hardin from season 3 onward.
The truth about Trudy Monk also led to a second twist, the existence of her daughter. Rickover made Trudy believe that her child had died during birth, but Adrian was able to track them down. Monk meeting Molly and becoming close to her in the series finale was an incredibly sweet way to end the show, with both characters finding a new family they never knew existed. InMr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, we learn that Adrian became a father figure to Molly, which madeMonk’s series finale even more special.
Monk
Cast
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.
