Monk’s riskiest decision paid off and made the show’s ending even better

Monk made a risky decision by not making Adrian a police detective again permanently in the final season, but it made the ending even better. Monk Season 8 had a few boxes to check, including whether Adrian would return to the force and the mystery of Trudy Monk’s death. “Mr. Monk and the End” finally revealed who ordered Trudy to be killedbut the status of Monk’s career was addressed a few episodes earlier.

When we met Adrian at Monk pilot, he has been a private detective for some time after losing his badge following the traumatic loss of his wife. Monk had shown signs of OCD since he was a child, but after Trudy’s murder, his symptoms progressively worsened until he could no longer be a police detective. It was easy to assume that MonkAdrian’s final episodes would see Adrian finally becoming a police officer again after trying for so many years, but Monk opted for a more surprising approach.

Monk not becoming a police detective in the end was the right decision

Monk was happy to continue being 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, at the end of the episode, Monk decides to resign, despite having spent the last eight years dreaming of returning to the police force. Adrian realized he could be more useful – and happy – as a private consultant than if he tried to adjust to the way the police department operates after so many years on his own. MonkThe series finale confirmed this decision, with Adrian remaining as PI despite his significant improvement in his mental health.

“Mr. Monk and the Badge” was one of many Monk episodes where whether Adrian would ever return to the force was a major storyline. MonkAdrian’s first episode was about Adrian trying to get a recommendation from his psychiatrist saying he was ready to be a police detective again.which almost happened, but didn’t work out in the end. Monk He joked that Adrian might become a police officer again a few times, but that never happened. This was the right decision not only because it recognized 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 join the force to find the closure he needed

In retrospect, it’s safe to say that Monk wasn’t really concerned with getting his old job back, but rather with proving that he was, in his own words, “normal” and was ready to go back to the way things were before Trudy’s death. Monk’s departure from the force and his desire to become a police officer again were linked to Trudy’s death.an event that had a huge impact on Adrian and changed him forever. The fact that Adrian was unable to find Trudy’s killer played a major role in his severe OCD diagnosis and made it difficult for him to show any improvement.

However, as Monk continued, 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, but that they were never enough. Adrian accepting to be a private detective and continuing in that career even after solving Trudy’s murder shows that he has learned to value the life he had, regardless of everything that has happened. This was a smart and sensible take on the character that made MonkIt’s ending very satisfyingly.