History Recap / MonkS2E9MrMonkAndTheTwelfthMan

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: InUniverse. Sharona is taken aback by Monk's description of the group of victims as ''"too diverse"'', but he says he's not saying diversity is a bad thing, he's talking about statistics - it takes a deliberate effort to find or assemble a group of such different people, which is how Monk realizes the connection between them: they all served on a jury.

** When Stottlemeyer gets the psychological profile on the killer from Disher, he talks of the contents while holding the file to his head á la [[Series/TheTonightShow Carnac the Magnificent]].

** In a sense. While the violence shown onscreen is pretty typical of the show, Stewart Babcock has the second highest body count of the series, with 12 victims[[note]] The person with the most is Frank [=DePalma=] from "[[Recap/MonkS8E4MrMonkIsSomeoneElse Mr. Monk is Someone Else]]", with 17 victims prior to the start of that episode[[/note]]; only three happen onscreen, while the other 9 (which included his own wife) were already offed before the episode begins.

* ShoutOut: One victim is murdered in a movie theater while watching an Creator/AlfredHitchcock double feature: ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' and ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch''. This sums up the episode’s plot: Someone is hunting down a blackmailer, murdering numerous innocent people in the process.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The blackmailer wanted cash to pay for his gambling debts. Had he reported the body that he saw, he would be regarded as a hero. Instead, he winds up causing the deaths of 11 innocent people.
* WhatADrag: The first onscreen victim is a tollbooth attendant named Frank Pulaski. Upon learning his name, the driver demands the change to his $10 bill. When Pulaski reaches out his hand to give the driver the change, the driver suddenly handcuffs his left wrist to a long piece of rope, then floors on the gas pedal. Pulaski's partner attempts to unfasten the rope, but it's too late, and the partner can only watch as Pulaski is dragged to his death. Captain Stottlemeyer says during the crime scene investigation that Pulaski got dragged about 0.7 miles, and the remains aren't exactly pretty.

** Also with Frank Pulaski, even if we don't see it onscreen. After being dragged almost a mile behind a speeding car, what's left of him [[NauseaFuel couldn't have been pretty]].

* ChekhovsGag: Monk and Mrs. Ling having a fight about the way she sewed a button on initially looks to be just a joke about Monk's fussiness...and then it turns out that he and the murderer both had a button replaced at her shop, enabling Monk to prove that a shirt cuff ripped off by one of the victims belonged to Mr. Babcock.

* TheGamblingAddict: Wallace Cassidy, the juror who was blackmailing the Babcocks. Things might not have turned out the way they did, since in his first blackmail note, he only asked for $10K, and Stewart was willing to pay out that small amount. But since Wallace kept losing, he kept needing money, and thus he asked for more, possibly increasing his price somewhere along the way. The Babcocks eventually get sick of this juror bleeding them dry, so they decide the jurors have to go.

* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: Mr. Babcock is being blackmailed by someone who served on the jury in a court case he was involved in years before. Not knowing which juror it is, he starts killing one after another. Unlike many of these examples, where people try to cover up their crimes by making them look like serial killings, this guy didn't know the exact identity of the person he wanted dead, but had it narrowed down to 12 people. He deliberately varied the locations and details of the murders in order to throw the police off his track, but Monk noted that the $10 bills used to pay at two of the crime scenes had consecutive serial numbers, which suggested to him that a serial killer was at work.

* ContrivedCoincidence: The blackmailer on the jury was the last juror the killers went after and [[{{Irony}} the only one they failed to kill]].

** Also withFrank Pulaski, even if we don't see it onscreen. After being dragged almost a mile behind a speeding car, what's left of him [[NauseaFuel couldn't have been pretty]].

* AsianRudeness: Granted, Monk is ''the'' UnsatisfiableCustomer, but Ms. Ling's still unnecessarily aggressive to him. She even goes so far as to praise the ''killer'' over Monk. She also makes Randy miserable when he goes to fetch her. Yes, he's taking her away from her shop during business hours, but he ''is'' just doing his job.

** However, the gore part could be considered active for Frank Pulaski, even if we don't see it onscreen. After being dragged almost a mile behind a speeding car, what's left of him [[NauseaFuel couldn't have been pretty]].

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ian Agnew is a [[DeconstructedTrope realistic]] take on this trope. He hasn't recovered entirely ever since a pipe got lodged in his head when he fell off the Babcocks' roof. It's affected him psychologically, to the point where he shushes an imaginary dog, sings randomly, and answers a phone that's not ringing. It's little surprise why he "doesn't get many visitors".
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Mrs. Ling greets Mr. Babcock, lauding him as a better customer than Monk. When Sharona points out Mr. Babcock and his wife killed 12 people in cold blood, Mrs. Ling is apparently shocked before she gives a weak "...well, he still good customer."

* LaserGuidedKarma: Sharona tries to warn Kenny against breaking the news that they have a suspect in custody. Monk has just realized said suspect wasn't the killer, and she tells her boyfriend that people won't forget this kind of error. Kenny dismisses Sharona's concerns, telling her he can trust her to pick his ties but not to make decisions like this. This ends up biting him in the ass hard when Monk proves Babcock's guilt. Kenny’s career is utterly destroyed -- once the likely next mayor, he ends up resigning the very next day.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Throughout the episode, Monk tries to act like the OnlySaneMan amongst everyone trying to rub elbows with Sharona and her new boyfriend Kenny. But while talking with Dr. Kroger, Monk admits he too has secret hopes that Kenny's connections will help get his badge back. This is reconstructed when Dr. Kroger points out there's nothing wrong with it and it only makes Monk "human", a word Monk admits people seldom call him.

* PlatonicKissing: Monk figures out an important clue to the case (all the victims served on the same jury). As Stottlemeyer rushes out of the room, he pauses to plant one on Monk's cheek. However, given the circumstances, it's clearly a sign of excitement and gratitude rather than attraction.

** In a sense. While the violence shown onscreen is pretty typical of the show, Stewart Babcock has the highest body count of the series, with 12 victims; only three happen onscreen, while the other 9 (which included his own wife) were already offed before the episode begins.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Kenny dismisses Sharona's concerns when it looks like they might have the wrong suspect. This ends up biting him in the ass hard when Monk proves it was Babcock. Kenny’s career is utterly destroyed -- once the likely next mayor, he ends up resigning the very next day.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Throughout the episode, Monk tries to act like the OnlySaneMan amongst everyone trying to rub elbows with Sharona and her new boyfriend Kenny. But while talking with Dr. Kroger, Monk admits he too has secret hopes that Kenny's connections will help get his badge back. This is reconstructed when Dr. Kroger points out there's nothing wrong with it and it only makes Monk "human", a word Monk admits anyone seldom calls him.

* PersonaNonGrata: A small example; Monk ends up being banned from Mrs. Ling's shop at the end of the episode.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The blackmailer wanted cash to pay for his gambling debts. Had he reported the body that he saw, he would be regarded as a hero. Instead he winds up causing the deaths of 11 innocent people.

* AsianRudeness: Granted, Monk is ''the'' UnsatisfiableCustomer, but Ms. Ling's still unnecessarily aggressive to him. She even goes so far as to praise the ''killer'' over Monk.

* AsianRudeness: Granted, Monk is ''the'' UnsatisfiableCustomer, but Ms. Ling