Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man review

Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man review

Okay, it's time to review latest episode of Monk. Would have done it Saturday morning, but my weekend (well actually all of last week) was pretty crazy. If you haven't seen it, be warned since this will definitely contain spoilers!

All episode scores are on a scale of 10 because Monk would want it that way :)

I would give Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man 9 out of 10 stars. This episode was classic Monk. The mystery, the heart, the humor, and everything else in between made for what, as I expected from the preview, should have been the season premiere. The only thing that I think kept it from being the season opener is the lack of heaviness. I guess they decided something slightly "fun" would be more appropriate.

First up, the mystery. Maybe I was just being incredibly slow, but for the life of me, I could not figure out what the murderer's motive was. Yes, I knew instantly that the two cases were connected, but I never suspected that he accidentally ran over Ansara and then "had" to go murder the housekeeper who overheard it. They did a good job of keeping the mystery a little more hush hush than usual.

Of course, next comes the heart. From the very first moment Ansara came onto the screen, I seriously wanted to cry. I don't know how they did it, but they did an excellent job of developing a very strong connection to this woman within only the opening scene. I knew she was going to die, but seeing the kind of character she was, it made me just as angry as Samuel or Monk! Maybe I'm just crazy, but it was like Kevin Dorfman (okay, a little less) all over again. Also, there was some other heartwrenching moments, all of which shared between Monk and Samuel. The moment Samuel explained to Monk about his wife was very endearing. Monk allowing him to touch him, smoke in his house, etc. was all very nice. Then there was the Monk breakdown in the back of the truck. It was sad to hear him say he doesn't feel Trudy anymore. And finally, the closing scene where Samuel told Monk he was next...epic dialogue...epic foreshadowing!!

Now, as much as this episode literally had me on the verge of shedding a few tears, it had some very humorous moments to balance it out. And, in my opinion, the humor wasn't forced. The laughs were more reminiscent of the good old days (not that I'm saying the show still doesn't make me laugh!!). I love subtle humor. For instance, I love when Captain Stottlemeyer plainly told Monk to "shut up." It was cutting, but witty. Similarly, the "San Francisco treat" line from the Captain was good for a laugh. I also enjoyed the teasing/biting remark that Natalie made in the beginning to Randy about impressing the CSI lady. I wish I could remember it word for word, but having only seen the episode once, I can't. Then, there was the absolutely hilarious moment with Monk and Samuel in the back of the truck where Samuel asks if Monk can put his hand in his pants. I usually don't like drawn out jokes, but when they were silent for so long, I actually thought my t.v. screen had froze! No kidding! BUT when Monk finally answered with a leary "yes" I nearly fell out of my chair as did my dad who was watching it with me. This was one of those times when delaying the punch line was genius.

So, overall, I was much more impressed with this episode than Favorite Show. I can definitely see myself wanting to watch this one on box set someday in the future. Now, I can't wait for this week's episode, Mr. Monk and the U.F.O. It definitely looks interesting to say the least.

What did you think of Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man?