I’m always surprised about how much the end of a good show can impact the audience.

I’ve been watching the series since it began by netflixing each season as it’s released to DVD. I enjoy the show, probably because of how much I empathize with the main character. His issues, in some sense, are my issues. His neurotic compulsions and anxieties are mine. Watching him work through his issues was cathartic and hopeful.

But now it’s over. I’ve just watched the last episode. The last show wrapped up the series well. It’s not a neat little bow, nor is it all happy, but it is joyful. Adrian Monk makes real progress toward normalcy, he solves his wife’s murder, and we get to see him offer up a rare, genuine smile near the end of the show. Overall, it’s a good ending. We are left with just enough of a wrap up that we know it turns out alright, but not so much that we are led in-hand to a tidy conclusion. We get to invent for ourselves what his happy end state is. I like that.

Sadly, the show was calming to me, and now I’m stuck with the realization that there are no more new Monks to watch. Like the end of Buffy or DS9, it was well done and well timed, but sad in its finality. I’m gonna miss it.