I normally don't review things here on IMDb, but I could not watch this excellent wrap-up without saying something. Howard was brilliant. Levine was brilliant. Gray-Stanford was brilliant. And as for Shalhoub, well... could there be any doubt? Of course he has always given a superb performance as Monk. But this 2-part finale went through such a wide range of contexts, from happy flashbacks, to impending death, to endearing epilogue (the list goes on). Shalhoub tweaked the foibles of his extremely complicated character perfectly for every moment up till the very end.
As I mentioned earlier, the support cast was particularly excellent in this finale. They were called on to carry more of the story than usual, as Monk spent a lot of time being so ill he could barely walk or talk properly. Levine had some powerful moments that connected with the rage of the audience at the prospect of our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective being killed off. Howard, conversely reflected our sadness at the same notion, with a performance that really pulled on the ol' heartstrings. And Gray-Stanford, god bless him, chimed in at exactly the right moments to remind us that Monk, after all is a comedy, and kept our spirits up during some of the darkest moments.
I must admit that the mystery aspect of these last two episodes was somewhat weaker than in normal Monk episodes, but then this was never going to be a normal episode, was it? If a bit of plot intricacy had to be sacrificed to make room for so many great performances, so be it. I'm happy with the result.
Finally, I would like to thank the producers, director and writers for ending Monk in such a happy way. I can't express how uplifting it was to see the man who could never catch a break ending up with such satisfaction in his life. So many series finish by either shutting the story down or ripping the 'screen family' to shreds. But your ending leaves us knowing that the Monk we know and love is still doing what he does best, with his two best friends still by his side (albeit minus Randy). The only thing he's lost is his pain, and good riddance to it.
By the way, I loved the Randy Newman montage at the end. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to a friend we knew all too briefly.
As I mentioned earlier, the support cast was particularly excellent in this finale. They were called on to carry more of the story than usual, as Monk spent a lot of time being so ill he could barely walk or talk properly. Levine had some powerful moments that connected with the rage of the audience at the prospect of our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective being killed off. Howard, conversely reflected our sadness at the same notion, with a performance that really pulled on the ol' heartstrings. And Gray-Stanford, god bless him, chimed in at exactly the right moments to remind us that Monk, after all is a comedy, and kept our spirits up during some of the darkest moments.
I must admit that the mystery aspect of these last two episodes was somewhat weaker than in normal Monk episodes, but then this was never going to be a normal episode, was it? If a bit of plot intricacy had to be sacrificed to make room for so many great performances, so be it. I'm happy with the result.
Finally, I would like to thank the producers, director and writers for ending Monk in such a happy way. I can't express how uplifting it was to see the man who could never catch a break ending up with such satisfaction in his life. So many series finish by either shutting the story down or ripping the 'screen family' to shreds. But your ending leaves us knowing that the Monk we know and love is still doing what he does best, with his two best friends still by his side (albeit minus Randy). The only thing he's lost is his pain, and good riddance to it.
By the way, I loved the Randy Newman montage at the end. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to a friend we knew all too briefly.
