“If you call that living:” Monk’s sad line summed up Tony Shalhoub’s character and made the show even more tragic

Monk Season 1, Episode 1, “Mr. Monk and the Candidate” opened with one of the show’s most tragic lines and set the tone for what the titular character would become. While Monk was a hilarious series full of funny and clever moments, it was also a very bitter story in which Tony Shahub’s character always felt like he was missing something. Monk’s wife was murdered before the events of the show, and it was the only case in his career that the genius detective failed to solve.

Monk showed signs of OCD as a child, as confirmed by the Little Monk webseries that followed Adrian and Ambrose as kids. however, Trudy’s death caused Adrian to develop severe symptoms as well as social anxiety. This led Adrian to lose his badge and spend most of his time at home before finding a new job – a private detective. While Adrian found great success as a PI and worked with the department on several cases, his life would never be fulfilled until he found out what exactly happened to Trudy.

“If You Call That Living” was such a tragic line to open Monk with

Monk was referred to as a “living legend” by one of the cops

MonkThe first episode opens with a pair of police officers and forensic scientists watching Adrian Monk study a crime scene as he tries to remember whether his stove was left on or not. The crime scene was more packed than it should have been because every police officer around wanted to see Monk in action. While this was the first episode of the show, Monk has been a private detective for a while now. His reputation preceded him, for better or worse. Monk’s skills as a detective were as famous as his other traits.

Although Monk Was always careful not to make fun of a mental health condition and preferred to appreciate the fact that Adrian continued to work solving cases despite no longer being a member of the force, most characters had reservations about Monk’s style. At the end of the five-minute opening scene, One of the police detectives says that Monk is a “Living Legend,” To which the other responds “If you call that living.” The show immediately cut to another scene, but the line continued to echo throughout Monk.

Adrian Monk is never really happy for most of the show

Adrian only found closure in the Monk Final

The sad fact about Adrian Monk’s character is that he was never really happy for most of the show. Adrian loved his wife more than anything, and the fact that he was never able to find out who was behind her murder took a huge toll on him. Although Monk sought professional help and had three or more therapy sessions each week, his treatment was very slow. Monk’s OCD was tied to his trauma about Trudy, not to mention how much Adrian valued his work as a police detective.A position he no longer had.

There were a couple of Monk Episodes, including the first, in which Adrian does everything he can to join the force. While he was close to it a few times, it never worked. With no closure for Trudy and never getting his old job back, Adrian has nothing in his life but the cases he would solve Every week. This is something that David Ruskin, the actor who wanted to play Monk, quickly understood after spending some time with Adrian. Monk was a tragic character, and the show never shied away from him.

Monk living through his pain made the character even better

Adrian Monk never stopped helping people

Adrian not finding closure and never getting to become a police detective again during the show makes the character quite tragic, but it’s also what makes him so special. Although Monk is usually in pain and has many ghosts to faceIncluding but not limited to the Trudy case and his relationship with Ambrose, he never stopped helping people. Adrian Monk lived through the pain so that he could use his gifts—or curse, according to himself—to help other people find the closure he never had.

Monk said the cases he solved were never enough to fill the hole of Trudy’s unsolved murder, but that never stopped him from showing up to a new crime scene every week. Adrian would also face his worst fears when someone was in trouble, as seen when he entered the sewer to save Sharona. Interestingly, though Adrian found the closure he needed in the Monk Finale by solving Trudy’s case and showing signs of progress in his treatment, he preferred to remain as a private detective and never rejoined the force.