Monk is ready for the end.

“Monk” aired the first part of their finale on Friday night, and it was in many ways a flashback to the show of seasons past: it was intense, funny, and meaningful all at the same time. While the mystery at hand (Trudy’s murder 12 years ago) may not be too difficult to solve at this point, the show’s writers and actors are working hard to ensure that the story does the series justice.

Now in its eighth season, “Monk” has served as the flagship show for USA Network. Star Tony Shalhoub has won countless awards for his role as Adrian Monk, the obsessive-compulsive detective with a knack for figuring cases out. In a way you could label the show as another formulaic “murder mystery,” but what has made “Monk” stand out over the years is the way that they inject some personality into the genre. Some of the highlights include Monk having to tolerate a nudist beach and Capt. Stottlemeyer (his former boss) trying to interrogate a chimpanzee.

Friday night’s episode brought in plenty of laughs, and it also contained plenty of conflict; in the midst of working on another case (one with a secret connection to the case of Trudy), Monk was poisoned and put in a life-threatening situation. He had been holding onto Trudy’s Christmas gift for years, but at the end of the episode he finally opened it out of desperation. The contents? A video tape detailing a “secret” that Trudy hid from her husband during their marriage.

What do you think this “secret” is, and are you excited for the “Monk” finale? Let me know your thoughts with a comment and stay tuned for more coverage.

Source: Matt Carter