History Recap / MonkS2E16MrMonkGoesToJail

* BodyHorror: Ray Kaspo spends his last moments in excruciating agony as the poison in his last meal moves through his bloodstream. The coroner who does his autopsy remarks that the combined chemicals were powerful enough to kill ten men, and furthermore that Kaspo's organs weren't just damaged, they were ''liquefied'' (which, as it turns out, was the killer's goal all along, as she wanted to keep Kaspo from being able to donate his kidneys).

* PetTheDog: By revealing the truth about Trudy's death--namely, that she herself was the victim, and not Adrian--Dale does a genuinely kind thing by relieving Monk of the tremendous guilt he's carried around for years. Dale [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the rarity of his doing anything remotely good after he tells the secret: "There's my good deed for the ''decade!''" It's arguably a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], though, given that Dale wants Monk to learn more about Trudy's murder as part of a [[XanatosGambit long-term revenge scheme]].

A while later, Monk has committed to solving the crime, despite Sharona pointing out that Dale could be lying, especially considering that Monk is the whole reason he was sent to jail in the first place. Monk explains that he can't give up--"This is for Trudy now." The pair's next stop is the kitchen where Kaspo's poisoned last meal was prepared. Warden Christie meets them and explains that Abernathy, who delivered the meal, and all of the cooks have been cleared. But Monk's keen eye notices that one of the cook's time cards was not punched out the previous night. The group investigates and discovers said cook, Tucker--or rather, his corpse--locked in the kitchen freezer. Monk tells an officer to search Tucker's pockets, where a fat wad of cash is sitting. The group now knows that someone paid off Tucker to slip the fatal poison into Kaspo's chili--but who? An answer comes in the form of Sylvia Fairborn, a social worker who serves as the prison's librarian. She tells Monk and Sharona that she overheard Kaspo in a heated argument with another inmate, Darnell "Spyder" Rudner. Kaspo apparently threatened to "tell the world" about a job the two pulled together in Manitoba. It seems like Monk has a new lead, but problems immediately arise: Spyder is the meanest, cruelest, most violent prisoner in the whole compound, with four murders to his name and a history of beating up anyone who touches his stuff. Monk decides that the only thing to do is go undercover as a fellow inmate to try to get information out of Spyder. Sharona and Christie are against the plan, but Monk refuses to give up--"it's for Trudy."

* KnownOnlyByNickname: Everyone calls Darnell Rudner "Spyder".

* PetTheDog: By revealing the truth about Trudy's death--namely, that she herself was the victim, and not Adrian--Dale does a genuinely kind thing by relieving Monk of the tremendous guilt he's carried around for years. Dale [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the rarity of his doing anything remotely good after he tells the secret: "There's my good deed for the ''decade!''" [[spoiler: It's arguably a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], though, given that Dale wants Monk to learn more about Trudy's murder as part of a [[XanatosGambit long-term revenge scheme.]]]]

* TheBadGuyWins: In a fairly downplayed fashion. Regardless of Adrian's involvement, Sylvia's plan succeeds flawlessly, in part due to just ''how fast and effective'' the poison is once the victim eats it. The Downplayed part comes from the fact that one of her victims was someone already scheduled to die, and her intended target was a remorseless millionaire who was going to sue her son into poverty because he criticized him in a book. No one beyond a close friend is really sad about either of them, but the method of death was horrid either way (even if it were necessary).

* TheBadguyWins: In a fairly downplayed fashion. Regardless of Adrian's involvement, Sylvia's plan succeeds flawlessly, in part due to just ''how fast and effective'' the poison is once the victim eats it. The Downplayed part comes from the fact that one of her victims was someone already scheduled to die, and her intended target was a remorseless millionaire who was going to sue her son into poverty because he criticized him in a book. No one beyond a close friend is really sad about either of them, but the method of death was horrid either way (even if it were necessary).

* MeaningfulName: Monk uses the alias "Ben Lincoln" for his prisoner persona, who's in jail for embezzlement. Ben (as in UsefulNotes/BenjaminFranklin) and Lincoln (as in UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln) both appear on U.S. currency.

* TheBadguyWins: In a fairly downplayed fashion. Regardless of Adrian's involvement Sylvia's plan succeeds flawlessly, i part due to just ''how fast and effective'' the poison is once the victim eats it. The Downplayed part comes from the fact that one of her victims was someone already scheduled to die, and her intended target was a remorseless millionaire who was going to sue her son into poverty because he criticized him in a book. No one beyond a close friend is really sad about either of them, but the method of death was horrid either way (even if it were necessary.

We open in the execution chamber of a prison, where an officer tells Warden Christie that one Ray Kaspo's attempt to appeal his case has been overturned in federal court. In forty-five minutes, he'll be killed via lethal injection. Another inmate, Abernathy, is seen delivering Kaspo's requested last meal--an order of ribs and chili--to the holding cell. Kaspo tells Abernathy that he is at peace with what is about to happen, and even gifts his fellow prisoner his most precious possession--a set of drawing pencils--to pass onto his daughter. Abernathy thanks him and walks away...only to hear death throes a few moments later. He rushes back to the cell and finds Kaspo lying on the ground in agony, a frothy white substance oozing from his nose and mouth. Warden Christie comes running, but it is too late--Kaspo is dead...apparently forty-five minutes early.

* BerserkButton: Spyder Rudner, quadruple murderer and most feared inmate in the whole prison, has a famously HairTriggerTemper. But the one thing he hates more than anything is...people touching his stuff. And [[SuperOCD Monk]] ends up in the same cell with him. Everyone immediately assumes that Adrian is dead meat. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], though, in that Monk uses his skills to clean the cell, sharpen Spyder's personal shiv, and even put it in a better hiding place. Spyder is genuinely impressed by him and lets him off the hook.

* CardboardPrison: The bars to Dale's cell stand wide open at all times. Since Dale is almost completely immobile, he is not considered an escape risk.

* AllMenArePerverts: Every single prisoner openly ogles after Sharona, with a few flashing mirrors from their cells so they can get a look under her clothes. After one walk through a hallway, Sharona puts on an extremely baggy sweatshirt to hide herself from their leers.

* AssholeVictim: Kaspo committed at least one murder (of a Mennonite, no less) to earn himself the death penalty, and he clearly wasn't a nice person, even if he did have a minor PetTheDog moment with Abernathy prior to his death. Tucker, the chef who fatally poisoned Kaspo himself, also falls under this, as he himself ends up being murdered after doing so.

* BlackComedy: When Warden Christie takes Monk and Sharona into the kitchen, a sassy chef cracks jokes with them, saying that the food must be good because all of his diners are "repeat customers." The prison in general has a lot of guys clearly using humor as a coping mechanism to deal with their situation.

* CoolTeacher: Sylvia is portrayed as a caring teacher who is liked and respected by the vast majority of the inmates. As anyone who's been watching ''Monk'' for this long can probably guess, she turns out to be the killer.

* {{Gonk}}: Dale the Whale looks even ''more'' repugnant than during his debut appearance. Though this isn't meant as a comment on the appearance of replacement actor Creator/TimCurry compared to his original actor Creator/AdamArkin, but rather due to Dale's physical appearance deteriorating due to no longer having access to the expensive housekeeping and medical staff he had prior to his incarceration (well, that and them giving Curry a more convincing FatSuit than the one Arkin had).

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If Sylvia hadn't duped Monk into going after Spyder Rudner, he'd have had no reason to suspect she was involved in Kaspo's death. For good measure, Monk's getting in good graces with Spyder ends up saving his life when she sics the Aryan Brotherhood on him.

* MeaningfulName: Monk uses the alias "Ben Lincoln" for his prisoner persona, who's in jail for embezzlement. Ben (as in Benjamin Franklin) and Lincoln (as in Abraham Lincoln) both appear on U.S. currency.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In presumably an attempt to do at least one good thing before he dies, Kaspo gives his drawing pencils to Abernathy, to pass on to Abernathy's daughter. Not only does Kaspo get fatally poisoned by Tucker right afterward, but Tucker is killed soon afterward because of HeKnowsTooMuch.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In contrast to the two American actors who portrayed Dale in other episodes, Tim Curry's native English accent slips out at certain moments.

** When Monk and Sharona are in the kitchen searching for clues, Adrian spots a punch card with the previous day's date on it, meaning that its owner never clocked out the previous night. Sure enough, the missing cook--Tucker--turns out to be the one who slipped the poison into the fatal chili (although he didn't make it, and ended up dead for his trouble).

* SympathyForTheDevil: While Dale is, as always, a revolting human being with virtually no redeeming qualities, it's possible to feel a twinge of pity for him when he's denied a window in his jail cell--the one thing he desperately wants. It's telling that Dale [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness drops his jovial façade]] when Stottlemeyer asks about it:

-->'''Dale''': ...''try living without one.''

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Presumably the reason why Sylvia killed Tucker (or probably more likely, had one of the Aryan Brotherhood members kill him) by locking him in the freezer.

* WhamLine: Dale's revelation to Monk: "The bomb that took your dear Trudy from you...was ''not'' intended for you. It was ''meant for her.''" This completely flips the series' overarching mystery on its head--for two seasons, Monk (and the audience) assumed that [[MurderByMistake he was the target of the explosion that killed Trudy]]. Hearing that Trudy's death was the actual goal forces Monk to start delving into her past to figure out why anyone would want to kill her.

The next day, Stottlemeyer summons Monk and Sharona to the prison to investigate the murder. All of Monk's phobias are immediately turned UpToEleven at being in a prison, much to the frustration of Sharona and bafflement of the guards (especially when Monk offers to simply "frisk himself" rather than have anyone touch him). In the holding cell, Sharona suggests the most obvious solution--that the family of Kaspo's victims were trying to get revenge on him--but Monk discounts it, pointing out a letter from the family: they're Mennonites, who practice non-violence, and even mention that they've forgiven Kaspo and will pray for him. When Warden Christie reveals the central question of the crime--why murder a man who's already going to be executed?--Monk decides to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere cut and run]]: Kaspo was already doomed, and as his anxiety is becoming unbearable, there's no point in trying to solve the case. Before he and Sharona can leave, though, the gate guard receives a phone call and tells Monk that it's for him...

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The episode presumably takes place in 2004. Since then, the last prisoner to be executed in California was in 2006 and, since 2014, the death penalty has been abolished in the state.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefules: Once Tucker had poisoned Ray's food, he was locked in a freezer to keep him from talking.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulnes: Once Tucker had poisoned Ray's food, he was locked in a freezer to keep him from talking.