'Monk' has always been one of my most watched shows when needing comfort, to relax after a hard day, a good laugh or a way to spend a lazy weekend.
"Mr Monk Goes to the Bank" is not one of the best episodes of Season 6 or of 'Monk' in general, but it's still entertaining and worthy. The reveal admittedly from personal opinion was not a surprise to me, it was the first thing that came to my head and made sense in the early stages of the episode, but that it was a shock to the characters came over believably. The pacing occasionally could have been tighter. The mystery however is still engaging and hardly takes a back seat to everything else.
The episode is even more successful in the character moments. Loved everything with Monk going undercover as a security guard, the ink and the pens scene which cracked me up, everything to do with Disher and the whole silver statue thing and the great interplay between the four regulars. Despite the writers having little idea as to how bank vaults work, the climax is fun and has a good deal of claustrophobic tension. None of the four regulars feel out of character.
One of the best things about 'Monk' has always been the acting of Tony Shalhoub in the title role. It was essential for him to work and be the glue of the show, and Shalhoub not only is that but also at his very best he IS the show. Have always loved the balance of the humour, which is often hilarious, and pathos, which is sincere and touching. Everybody else supports him very well.
Writing is tight and thought-provoking with some knowing wry humour and poignantly tender easy-to-relate-to drama and quirkiness.
The music is both understated and quirky. While there is a preference for the theme music for Season 1, Randy Newman's "It's a Jungle Out There" has grown on me overtime, found it annoying at first but appreciate its meaning and what it's trying to say much more now. The episode as always look slick and stylish.
Overall, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox