Overall I thought Mr. Monk Falls in Love was a very solid episode. The weekly case was pretty weak in my opinion. I did like the love storyline though. It’s good to see Mr. Monk actually be happy for the first time in a long time. You knew nothing was going to come out of the relationship since Monk will probably remain single fo rhte rest of his life. I also liked how Monk kept trying to deny that there was anything between them. This was topped by the scene where Stottlemeyer sees Monk in the robe and says “This is the one thing I didn’t think I would ever say. Monk where are your pants.” It was funny to see the rest of the cast think something happened between Monk and Leila. Well that is enough rambling so let’s get to the recap for those of you who weren’t able to watch the episode.
Disher and his latest date are trying to find a cab. They eventually find a cab but are too busy kissing that they don’t even notice that the cab driver is dead . Eventually they realize that the car is moving and they discover that he is dead. The next day at the police station the rest of the cops make fun of Disher and how long it took him to discover the dead body. The cab driver’s name is Drasden and he is actually a recent immigrant to the country. He was killed with a hair pin (with a family crest on it). In the cab the police find a charm bracelet along with some foreign currency. Monk and Stottlemeyer use the charms on the bracelet to create a profile for the killer.
The police cross check the profile against their database and end up with two suspects. Since one of them are already dead they determine that it must be a woman named Leila. They head to a refugee center where Leila works in order to question her. She is actually an immigrant from a war ravaged country and she is now trying to help other people from the country. The police determine that the money found in the cab is actually from Leila’s home country and they are positive that Leila must be the killer. Monk tells everyone that she can’t be the killer even though he can’t provide any proof. Monk has actually fallen in love with her and doesn’t want to accept that she could be a killer.
The police and Natalie recognize that he has a crush on Leila but Monk tries to deny it (not very successfully). Monk gets the police to not arrest her since the only motive they have is that she tried to rob the cab driver. Leila ends up calling Monk and gets him to take the case. They actually go out to diner to discuss the case (it pretty much is a date). Monk actually enjoys himself for the first time in years. It turns out that Leila has essentially no alibi for the night of the murder. Things get worse when it is determined that the victim is the Butcher of Zemenia (a war criminal that actually killed almost all of Leila’s family).
The police have had enough and are willing to arrest Leila but Monk tries to stop them by saying that the murder happened near the airport miles away from Leila’s house. The police are sick of Monk getting in the way so they tell him to stay away from Leila and the case since he is obstructing justice. Monk doesn’t listen to them though and actually meets Leila. When his pants get wet (car drove through a puddle), Leila takes him back to her apartment (which she recently moved to) and gives him a robe while his pants dry. They spend some time together and Monk actually gets close to Leila. Monk has second thoughts though since he thinks he is betraying Trudy. The police then show up with a search warrant and we get the scene I mentioned in the first paragraph. The police search the house and discover that the family crest on the hair pin is actually Leila’s family crest. Leila decides to confess to everything even though you can tell that she is innocent.
Monk can’t believe that Leila is guilty so he decides to continue to investigate the case. Monk actually looks through the evidence from the case and finds that Leila recently received a letter from her mother who was supposedly back in Leila’s homeland. Monk gets suspicious so he heads to the neighborhood where all the refugess from the country are staying. Monk ends up finding Leila’s mother. Monk tries to tell her what happened (she doesn’t speak English) and Monk realizes that she (Leila’s mother) did it. She came to America for Leila’s birthday. She took the cab and when she saw the cab driver’s face she recognized him and killed him for revenge on what he did. She eneded up dropping the charm bracelet which was supposed to be a present for Leila. Leila’s mother is arrested. Leila is upset with Monk even though her mother will only spend a couple years in prison (due to the man she killed being a war criminal). Leila can’t forgive Monk though and she tells Monk to forget about her and move on with his life.
Why do Chihuahuas have such short necks? Because their heads are so close to their bodies!