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Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Monk.
Synopsis[]
Monk must get to the truth when it appears that his late wife Trudy is still alive.
Plot[]
While Adrian Monk is waiting for his regular appointment with Dr. Kroger, he telephones Natalie, who is out running errands for him, one of which has been getting a brand new frame for a photo of Trudy. Stopping in a diner for a quick coffee, Natalie is stunned to see a blond woman who looks alarmingly like Trudy! The woman enters the diner and sits in a booth with an older man. Natalie eavesdrops as the man, Zach Ellinghouse, tells the woman he hadn't heard from her in years, and the woman explains that, while she was working on a news story, she was targeted by a dangerous extremist group, and was forced to fake her death to protect herself and her family. Her old partner, Zach's daughter Janice, recently died, and "Trudy" has had to come out of hiding to retrieve a key that belonged to her.
In session with Dr. Kroger, Monk is in high spirits: he tells Dr. Kroger that he's finally getting better; his OCD is under control, and he's finally letting go of the pain of Trudy's loss – he will always love her, and he still misses her, but her death is not the same open wound it's been for the last eight years. He's improved so much that the SFPD has given him favorable signs before his next reinstatement hearing. For Dr. Kroger, it is quite an emotional moment, for his patient to have finally put his life back together.
Monk is in such a good mood that Natalie can't find a way to break the news about what she saw. Instead, she decides to be absolutely sure. Tailing "Trudy" to another meeting with Zach Ellinghouse, Natalie snaps some pictures, but Trudy spots her and confronts her, taking her film and telling her that Adrian must not know that she’s still alive.
For the first time in a long time (perhaps ever), that Monk accepts Captain Stottlemeyer's invitation to his annual house barbecue. Leland is just as pleased with his friend's progress, and says he is now ready to back up Monk's reinstatement. In a rare moment, Stottlemeyer reveals some of his affection for his old partner, and says, "you're the man." Unfortunately, his eyes are on the grill, while Monk has ducked inside for more supplies, and a nearby Disher mistakenly thinks the tribute is meant for him. It isn't long before it goes to his head.
In his apartment, Zach Ellinghouse has another meeting with Trudy, where he tells her he has changed his mind: the key belonged to Janice, and he can't let anyone else have it. Desperate, Trudy makes a grab for the key, and as they struggle, Ellinghouse trips and falls over his desk, fatally stabbing himself on his memo spike. Realizing he is dead, Trudy flees the house.
When the police arrive at the crime scene, Monk comes along, and quickly notices some clues: the first is that the crime was probably not premeditated. He can't help but notice details that point to Trudy: the killer had small feet, wore Shalimar perfume, sweetened her coffee with a cinnamon stick, and a witness distinctly heard Ellinghouse saying, "What are you doing, Trudy?" Natalie is forced to confess what she saw. Reeling, Monk runs outside, and then, worst of all, sees Trudy lurking in the crowd of onlookers. He runs after her, shouting her name, but she climbs into a waiting car that drives away.
Stottlemeyer, Disher, and Natalie watch, helpless, as Monk sits at his desk, going through the old crime scene photos of Trudy's murder like a zombie. Dr. Kroger makes an emergency call to the apartment. He eases Adrian out of his stupor and asks him, rationally, whether he believes Trudy is still alive. Adrian says he can't be sure – "but if this is true, then nothing is true."
Desperate for answers, Monk goes to the cemetery. Somehow, his head clears, and he returns to Natalie, now sure that the woman they have been seeing can't be Trudy, because visiting her grave "still hurt".
Monk and Natalie talk to Trudy’s old boss, Sorenson, a newspaper editor. He shows them an article Trudy wrote with Janice Ellinghouse, a story about corruption in the local dockworkers’ union that relied heavily on an anonymous source. Looking at Janice’s things, Monk deduces that she was renting a locker at a nearby storage facility. Perhaps what “Trudy” is looking for is locked up there.
That evening, "Trudy" meets with her employer, a man named Jack Bollinger, in his dockside office. As they talk, she removes a blond wig from her head, revealing herself to be an actress. She says that things have gone too far, but Bollinger tells her she only needs to play her part for a little longer.
Monk and Natalie stake out the storage facility, and see "Trudy" and Bollinger drive up. Monk realizes what's been going on: Bollinger must have been the anonymous source that helped Trudy and Janice send the union's leaders to prison, allowing Bollinger to take over. After Janice Ellinghouse died, Bollinger feared that something identifying him as the snitch would be found among her effects. Zach was going to donate her papers to a university library, so Bollinger hired Cameron to impersonate Trudy, the one person Zach might entrust the key to.
Natalie calls Stottlemeyer, but Monk can’t wait. Overcome by the woman's resemblance to Trudy, he walks into the storage locker as she and Bollinger are searching it, as if in a trance. Bollinger can't find the incriminating evidence about his involvement in the rest of the group's imprisonment due to there not being any labels on it, so he decides gasoline on it with the intention of burning them. While she stares, baffled, he tells her that he still loves her, and doesn't care about what she's done. Panicking, Bollinger pulls a pistol on Monk.
As the fake Trudy pleads with Bollinger to stop, Stottlemeyer and Disher screech to a halt. Bollinger takes a shot at them, thinking they are union pals seeking revenge, and Stottlemeyer shoots back. Bollinger is struck in the chest, fatally, and as he falls, his pistol goes off, shooting the fake Trudy.
Monk holds the woman as she's passing away. She asks him if he loved Trudy, and says that she will tell her. Devastated, Monk must endure the pain of watching a woman who looks like Trudy dying in his arms.
A few days later, Natalie and Monk are taking a walk. Natalie is disappointed that the police commission turned him down for reinstatement yet again, but Monk says he can't honestly blame them, the whole incident with the fake Trudy having returned him to his "normal" state.
Natalie asks how he knew the woman she saw wasn't the real Trudy. Monk explains that, when he visited Trudy's grave, it "still hurt," so he knew she was really gone. In a way, he's relieved: Trudy may be gone, but his love for her remains unchanged.
Background Information and Notes[]
- This was the first Season Four episode produced, though it was the sixth aired.
- The Trudy impersonator is played by Melora Hardin, who also plays the real Trudy.
- The news room (where Trudy worked) is a redress of the police bull pen. It has the same pattern on the floor and the walls are the same pale green. The wide shot is the reverse of the same room shown later when Disher is organizing a task force.
- Monk says that last time he spilled something was during an earthquake in 90's, but in Mr. Monk Gets Married, he mentions throwing out his answering machine because he accidentally spilled some coffee on it.
FAQs
Is Monk's wife alive? ›
Trudy Anne Monk (née Ellison) was the wife of Adrian Monk. Adrian loved her dearly, and after she was killed in a car bomb, Monk was left "emotionally paralyzed". Trudy's murder was Adrian's only unsolved case, and was the overarching mystery of the series.
Was Trudy cheating on Monk? ›Monk discovers a videotape recording made by Trudy before her death, where she confesses to having had an affair with Rickover when he had been a law professor at Berkeley. The affair resulted in a child, which only lived for a few minutes.
Does Mr Monk ever fall in love? ›Trudy Monk was Adrian Monk's wife. After meeting Adrian in university, the two fell in love and later married.
Did Monk have 2 different assistants? ›For the first three seasons Sharona Fleming was Monk's assistant. She left to remarry her ex-husband in the middle of season three. She was replaced by Natalie Teeger in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring", and Teeger remained Monk's assistant for the remainder of the series.
Who killed Monk's wife Trudy and why? ›He also gave him a lead on the person who built the bomb, Warrick Tennyson. Unfortunately, Tennyson was unable to lead Monk to his employer but gave him the clue that the person in question has six fingers on one hand. Eventually, this led Monk to Frank Nunn, the man who remotely detonated the bomb, killing Trudy.
Who murdered Monk's wife? ›Ethan Rickover (also referred to as simply "The Judge") was a judge on the California Court of Appeals. At the time he was earmarked for appointment to the state Supreme Court, he was also, finally discovered to have been the one responsible for the murder of Trudy Monk.
What was Trudy's Secret on Monk? ›It turns out that Trudy had an affair with her college law professor some 27 years ago, before she and Monk met. She was young, didn't know that the professor was married, and became pregnant. She gave birth to a girl but the baby died nine minutes later.
Was Monk OCD before Trudy died? ›Throughout the series, Adrian mourns his wife Trudy (Melora Hardin/Stellina Rusich), who was killed on December 14, 1997 by a car bomb he believes was meant for him. The death of his wife exacerbated Monk's already existing obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).
Why did Trudy say bread and butter? ›Sharona Fleming : What did Trudy mean by 'bread and butter?' Adrian Monk : Whenever Trudy and I were walking somewhere, we would hold hands, and if there was a lamp post or somebody walked between us and we had to let go for a second, she'd always say 'bread and butter'.
When did Natalie get pregnant on Monk? ›Traylor Howard was pregnant during the filming of Season 5, so she spent several episodes hiding her stomach behind boxes, chairs, and other items in order to hide her pregnancy.
Did Monk and Trudy have a child? ›
Molly Evans is the daughter of Judge Ethan Rickover and Trudy Monk and the step-daughter of Adrian Monk.
Does Natalie on Monk get pregnant? ›Trivia (6) Traylor Howard (Natalie) really was pregnant during production. Thus, in every scene in which she appears, her stomach is concealed behind something, whether it be a car, a table, or a coat. The only exception is when Natalie "pretends" to be pregnant; then her stomach becomes completely visible.
Why did they change assistants on Monk? ›Howard's casting was a variation on the understudy-to-the-rescue bit. Midway through the series' third season, audience favorite Bitty Schram, who played Monk's no-nonsense nurse/assistant Sharona, made a precipitous departure. Reportedly, there was a contract dispute.
Why did they replace Monk's assistant? ›Bitty Schram has finalized a deal to reprise her role as sidekick to Tony Shalhoub's obsessive-compulsive detective during Monk's eighth and final season, sources confirm to me exclusively. Schram left Monk midway through the show's third season reportedly due to a contract dispute.
Does Monk have a half brother? ›When Monk's half-brother Jack shows up at his door, he's less than thrilled, especially after learning that Jack has just escaped from prison and is accused of killing a very popular female ...
Does Monk ever open Trudy's gift? ›Monk and the End," Monk was poisoned while investigating the murder of a doctor who had been interviewed in the midwife's disappearance. As doctors try to identify the toxin and a cure, an increasingly ill Monk finally opens the Christmas gift that Trudy (Melora Hardin, "The Office") left for him so long ago.
What episode does Monk find out Trudy is alive? ›Monk: Season 4, Episode 6 - Rotten Tomatoes.
Is Linda the killer in Monk? ›Linda turned heel and murdered her former partner, and she was later arrested, leaving Stottlemeyer to wonder if the relationship was real or merely something she'd planned from the beginning.
Does Monk find his daughter? ›Nelson), so that no one would know about their affair or his murder of Wendy Stroud. Earn Your Happy Ending: Monk avenges Trudy by exposing the Judge as her killer, as well as someone who murdered the midwife Wendy Stroud. He then finds out that Trudy's daughter is alive and Happily Adopted.
What mental disorder does Adrian Monk have? ›Adrian Monk, for those not in the know, is a warm and brokenhearted detective who has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental illness with specific traits that Shalhoub says are not all that hard for him to identify with.
Do Karen and Leland get divorced? ›
Downer Ending: Karen divorces Leland, leaving the latter to bitterly regret their marriage couldn't be saved.
Why is Monk afraid of milk? ›The fear possibly originated when Monk was locked in a locker at school as a child. In Mr. Monk and the Magician, it is implied that this fear had been heightened after being buried by Steve Connoly in Mr. Monk and the Buried Treasure.
Why did the first psychiatrist leave Monk? ›In this episode, Dr. Charles Kroger (Stanley Kamel), Monk's psychiatrist, retires after blaming himself for the murder of his cleaning lady and Monk has to prove the culprit was not one of Kroger's patients.
How did Monk become OCD? ›I have heard it stated both in the show and in discussion that Monk's severe OCD came about from the trauma of his wife's death, which makes sense.
Did Monk find Trudy's daughter? ›So, of course, during the last hour, while Monk solved the “mystery” of Trudy's murder, as well as the cure for hthe poisoning that was supposed to kill him in a matter of days, it was also revealed that Trudy's daughter was alive, a pretty 26 year-old named Molly.
What happened to Monk in the last episode? › What do you say when you split a pole? ›Don't Split the Pole
If two people are walking together, they absolutely should not split up and walk around an obstacle like a pole or another person. “Splitting the pole” is thought to give you bad luck, but wait; there's a remedy! If you do split the pole, just say “bread and butter” to reverse the bad luck curse.
She had one sibling, a brother named Jonathan. Her grandfather, Neville Davenport, was a former chemist's assistant, who eventually got an epiphany and founded his own toothpaste company, now the third largest in the world. In the early 1990s, Natalie married a Navy lieutenant commander named Mitch Teeger.
Does Natalie marry Josh? ›Another year later, Natalie found herself in tears during a hike at Mono Cliffs when Josh got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. Natalie and Josh got married at Honsberger Estate Winery in Jordan, Ontario.
Does Natalie have a miscarriage? ›"I went through a miscarriage, and it was really difficult because I had just kind of come to peace with leaving the game and saying goodbye to the competition of the challenge, which I love, came back home and changed my mindset into this new journey," she continued. "And that was then taken away from me.
In what episode was Monk's wife killed? ›
So, after eight seasons, we now know who killed Trudy, Monk's beloved wife, and why. If you missed second part of “Mr. Monk and the End,” here's what happened.
Does Monk ever have kids? ›Monks, for example, are not allowed to get married nor have children. They leave their family forever and get a new family in the monastery.
Is Monk coming back in 2022? ›Watch for our premiere of Season 10, the final season, coming in 2023. Here's more to look forward to in 2022/2023!
Why did Natalie leave Monk? ›"Monk has decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters," USA Network explained at the time. "Bitty will not continue with the cast and we thank her for her notable contributions and wish her the very best."
Do Sharona and Monk get together? ›At the very end of the episode, it is revealed that they have gotten together officially, as Randy is Sharona's ride to the airport. Much to Monk and Natalie's surprise, they share a quick kiss as he helps her into the car. In "Mr.
Does Natalie ever call Monk Adrian? ›She is noticeably more laidback and patient with Monk than Sharona was, though not afraid to call him out when she feels he's being unfair or unreasonable. She's also slightly more formal with Monk than Sharona was, as she calls him "Mr. Monk" while Sharona called him "Adrian."
How many assistants did Mr. Monk have? ›Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants - Wikipedia.
Why did the character Kevin leave Monk? ›Last appearance for Kevin Dorfman. This was the last appearance Jarrad Paul had on his contract. With the series coming to an end, they decided to kill off the character rather than just have him disappear for the final season.
Did they change Benjy in Monk? ›Kane Ritchotte took over the role of Benjy after Max Morrow left the show and played the character until Sharona's character left the show. After being written off of the show in '04, Kane didn't do too much acting, only appearing in When Do We Eat, All of Us, and A Mother's Rage.
Can a Monk be called father? ›Eastern Orthodox monks are addressed as "Father" even if they are not priests; but when conversing among themselves, monks will often address one another as "Brother". Novices are always referred to as "Brother". Among the Greeks, old monks are often called Gheronda, or "Elder", out of respect for their dedication.
How many phobias does Monk have? ›
Adrian Monk has said that he has 312 phobias. Some are pretty understandable, while others raise an eyebrow.
Do we ever meet monks dad? ›Monk meets his long lost father after 39 years.