WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie.
WARNING: This article discusses self-harm and suicide.
Summary
- Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie ends with Adrian proving Molly's fiancé was murdered and deciding to work again after considering taking his own life
- The movie reveals that Rick Eden was responsible for Griffin's murder, and Adrian deduces the details of how it was done at the very end of the film.
- The ending of the Monk film highlights the impact Adrian has had on the lives of others and emphasizes his significance as a detective, setting up the possibility of a sequel.
Monk TV show’s tropes. This includes how, after struggling with finding pieces of evidence that could confirm who killed Molly’s fiancé, Adrian makes a genius deduction that leaves no room for Rick Eden to escape.
The Monk film ends with the one responsible for Griffin’s murderer being arrested after Monk proved how it was done. Griffin’s death was not an accident after all, and Molly got to have the immediate closure Adrian never did. Apart from the case, the Monk movie’s ending deals with a very serious storyline regarding Monk’s mental health, with the character abandoning his thoughts of self-harm and deciding to go back to work. Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie ends on a positive note as Adrian re all the lives he has impacted.
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Who Killed Molly’s Fiancé In Mr. Monk’s Last Case (& Why)
As Molly suspected since the beginning, Rick Eden is the one who had her fiancé killed. In a very Monk fashion, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie was more about proving how Rick Eden did it than whether he was guilty. Some of Monk’s best episodes never tried to hide the identity of the killer, with some of the murderers even confessing to Adrian, believing there would never be enough evidence for them to be caught. The Monk movie uses a similar trick, with Rick Eden clearly being guilty from the beginning. As the flashback sequence reveals, Rick Eden murdered his business partner a few years ago.
The case of Eden’s partner was closed as an accident, yet Molly’s fiancé continued to investigate it. Griffin was working on a story that was going to expose Rick Eden, and it would have included a picture that proved Eden was there when his partner “accidentally” drowned. Molly’s fiancé confronts Rick Eden at the beginning of the movie, and while the billionaire tries to bribe Griffin, the journalist does not accept his offer. This is why Rick Eden killed Molly’s fiancé – the billionaire hoped to bury the story forever while sending a message to everyone who would try to expose him.
How Rick Eden Killed Molly’s Fiancé In Mr. Monk’s Last Case
It did not take long for Mr. Monk to be sure that Rick Eden was the guy. However, one of the most charming Monk tropes is that Adrian’s deduction skills are sometimes way too good, to the point he cannot prove the things he is saying. Adrian spends most of the movie trying to understand how exactly Rick Eden had Molly’s fiancé killed. It was clear that Rick paid one of his employees, someone with a criminal record, to temper with Griffin’s bungee jump equipment. However, there was nothing wrong with the cord Griffin used. While someone did break into Griffin’s garage, the cord's length had been confirmed twice.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’s ending revisits another classic trope of the TV series, with Adrian having an epiphany that helps him crack the case just as he and Molly are about to give up. When measuring the size of the heads of two identical twins at a casket shop, Monk realized what happened to the cord. The equipment was never messed with – the tape measure was. Rick’s delivery man replaced Griffin’s tape measure with a slightly inaccurate one in which every inch was “a fraction of a millimeter ” longer. Griffin never measured 304 feet – it was actually 310 feet.
Monk’s Bench Scene Explained: Why Trudy & Molly’s Fiancé Appear To Him
Monk seeing Trudy whenever he feels vulnerable is something that would always happen in the TV show. This is something Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie incorporates throughout the entire story, including by having Monk’s therapist acknowledge it. That said, the Monk film explored Adrian’s mental health on a level that not even the series had done and included a storyline about Monk having thoughts about self-harm and suicide. Adrian was about to take his own life at the end of the movie by taking all of his prescription drugs, but thinking of Trudy and Molly’s fiancé made him reconsider.
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More specifically, ing all the lives Monk impacted, namely the people whose families only got closure after Adrian solved their cases, revitalized the detective. Mr. Monk felt like he had no place in the world, especially after his book deal was canceled. However, seeing the countless people who only got to rest after Monk brought their murderers to justice reminded Adrian of all the good he brought to the world, and that there would always be a place for Adrian Monk. It is a heavy scene that concludes Monk’s arc in the movie.
The Meaning Of Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’s Final Scene
While Adrian Monk has friends, family, and people who care about him, the truth is that the character always sees himself as being lonely. By the end of the movie, after saying goodbye to all of his friends, the memories of Trudy are everything Monk has left. The movie’s final scene before the little stinger at the end of it, however, sees Monk being backed up by the memories of all the cases he solved – and was yet to solve. Monk walking alongside those people highlighted the impact of his career, proving to Adrian himself that he was necessary and that he would never be alone.
How Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie Sets Up A Sequel
Despite its name, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie sets up a sequel in two major ways. Firstly, the mention of cold case files earlier in the film suggested that, if Monk were ever to leave retirement, there would be plenty of unsolved murders for him to tackle. The police captain specifically says that the cold case files are waiting for Monk, although Adrian was initially not interested in it. However, considering the interaction Adrian has with the spirit of a woman whose murder was never solved at the end of the film, he is now willing to help bring closure to all of those people.
Therefore, a Monk movie sequel could be about Mr. Monk working on one of those unsolved cases. The fact that there are plenty of it could even set up a revival Monk series in which each episode would be about one of the films. Secondly, Monk now has a dog, and the thought of Adrian taking care of a pet is too good not to be explored. Whether as a movie or as a series, there is room for more Monk stories after Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.
Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie is streaming on Peacock.
