More than 14 years since Monk aired its series finale, Peacock brought back our favorite OCD private investigator for one (supposedly) last case involving his stepdaughter, Molly. While the series ended on a positive note, the Covid pandemic ruined any progress Monk made with his mental health, so much so that in Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, our hero is in the darkest mental state a person could be. However, he puts his own disturbing “plans” on hold to investigate a new case. While this isn’t exactly a whodunit (it’s pretty obvious who the killer is), the problem Monk and his friends have is proving it. Here’s what happened in the ending.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie Ending Explained
After Rick Eden blows up the delivery driver he paid to kill Griffin, a disappointed Leeland approaches Monk and offers to help prove the multi-billionaire’s guilt. It’s a shame Rick is a murderer, as poor Leeland loved his well-paid head of security job.
To prove Rick’s guilt, Monk needs to get his hands on his laptop. And what better way to do so than to sneak into the mansion during Rick’s pre-going to space party? Leeland gets Monk in as a (terrible) bartender, but his pesky perfectionism blows his cover. To be fair, going undercover was never Monk’s strongest suit.
Upstairs in Rick’s apartment, the billionaire admits to having killed Griffin because he was about to run a story about his involvement in the murder of his business partner. Rick offered Griffin his dream job in exchange for his silence, but Molly’s late fiance was a man of integrity and paid for it with his life.
Rick makes Monk an offer not many could refuse; $1 billion to walk away from the investigation. When the villain gets distracted by a fine fireworks display, Monk runs off with his laptop but hilariously gets lost inside the mansion and simply can’t help himself from turning the spotlights on the tennis court as he’s trying to escape.
Did Rick Eden kill Monk?
The two eventually face off at the edge of a cliff, and an armed Rick pushes Monk over the edge. Thankfully, he survives the fall thanks to an inflatable astronaut lady.
After the Coast Guard reunites Monk and Molly, she asks him to drop the case and let Rick have the win. Even if the billionaire admitted he was the killer, Monk still has no way of proving it.
Molly reveals she’s been offered a job in New York and invites Monk to join her, but he refuses because he doesn’t want to be a burden on her life.
Depressed, Monk starts putting his plan to end his life into action. He writes notes to all his friends and proceeds to perfectly align all the anti-anxiety medication he’s been hoarding for months. But when he goes to a funeral home run by two nearly identical twins (one’s head is a quarter of an inch smaller), he finally figures out how Rick Eden killed Griffin.
“Here’s What Happened” — How did Rick Eden murder Molly’s fiance?
Armed with the realization and backed by the new police captain and a warrant, Monk rudely interrupts Rick’s televised space launch. In the “Here’s What Happened” segment, we learn that Rick didn’t have to mess with Griffin’s bungee cord, he simply replaced his tape measure. The new tape was almost identical to Griffin’s, but every inch was slightly longer, impossible to notice with the naked eye, which is how the man cut the longer cord that led to his untimely demise.
With Rick Eden safely behind bars, Monk goes to his favorite park bench to go ahead with his plan to end things. He’s thankfully stopped by Trudy’s ghost, who’s not alone. She’s joined by Griffin and the ghosts of every single person whose murder Monk solved over the years.
As the deceased thanked Monk for giving them and their families closure, he notices a young woman whose murder he doesn’t remember solving. She reveals her case is still in “the freezer” at the police station, waiting for Monk to take it on.
The movie ends with Monk eventually deciding against ending his life. Instead, he starts walking through the park with his new ghost friends and tells Molly he might head to the precinct, where he’s been invited to act as a permanent consultant. It’s a touching and hopeful way to end the movie. It also leaves the door wide open for a Monk revival series.
What did you think of the ending of Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie? Comment below.
