Monk Season 5 Episode 4

Mr. Monk is in the fire station with his friend Rusty when an intruder is heard. Rusty goes after the guy and gets pummeled with a shovel. Monk tries to fight the intruder off and gets a jar of solvent in the face. The intruder escapes leaving Mr. Monk blinded and Rusty dead. We learn the solvent was detergent and acid. Monk has scarred corneas and nerve damage. He may never see again, although there is still hope. Monk hates to hear there is still hope and falls into a deep depression. Can you blame him? OCD and blindness is such a cruel fate.

Natalie and Captain Stottlemeyer insist Monk can still be of assistance on the crime scene and make him return to the station. High jinks ensue as Monk tries to find his way around but only finds himself humiliated. Natalie begins to lead him away from the taped off area as Monk feels around and notices one of the firemen coats is missing.

Monk is called into the police station to identify a drifter who has been caught with the missing coat. Since he can't see, Monk is forced to feel the drifter's face. Monk begrudgingly puts his hands to the drifter's face until he feels a bump that he continues to touch. The drifter points out it is a wart and Monk loses it.

The detectives head out to the alley where the drifter claims to have found the coat. Monk offers he is glad to be blind when he hears the squeaks of rats but can't see them. This is a revelation. Monk realizes he is standing in an alley but is fine because he can't see anything. Stottlemeyer mentions the fire call, that had emptied the fire station the day of the murder, is in the neighborhood. Monk doesn't trust the coincidence so they go to the destroyed house. The resident, a young woman named Stephanie, had fallen asleep with a cigarette. Monk begins to feel around the ruined home, sans gloves. Natalie points this out to him and Monk's giddy response is, "out of sight, out of mind." Monk deduces: Stephanie did not live alone because there are two toothbrushes in the bathroom, there is the image of a horse burned into the mirror, and the remote is too far away from the couch for her to have been watching television.

"Here's what happened," Monk explains someone killed her and then set the fire. The killer leaves the house but realizes he forgot something- something that can't burn. The fire department is all over the house, so he goes to the fire station and steals a fire coat, kills Rusty and blinds Monk in the struggle, then goes to the house as fireman in order to retrieve the forgotten item. Monk has still got it.

Monk and the gang go to the construction site where Stephanie worked. They speak to the foreman, Mr. Breen, who says his architect can alibi him. While they are speaking a co-worker hands Breen papers and tells him he still has his keys. Breen quickly dismisses the co-worker and continues walking. Randy begins to gush over Breen's Ferrari out front, while Monk hears familiar squeaky shoes and breaks from the group. The killer had squeaky shoes. Monk follows the squeaks into an abandon room. The killer has trapped him and they begin to tussle. Monk manages to grab his ID and flee. The killer is disoriented and takes off up the stairs. Natalie, Randy and Stottlemeyer finally catch up to Monk. He gives them the ID and they see the killer's name is Eddie Murdock, just as Murdock's body comes flying down the stairwell. He is dead. It is declared he slipped while in pursuit of Monk.

At the hospital, the doctor tells Monk he is healing and shall see again. Natalie asks Randy for a ride to go pick up Julie. Randy jangles his new car keys around before leaving. Monk and Stottlemeyer are left alone when Monk asks what the Ferrari mascot is. Stottlemeyer responds it is the horse. They deduce Breen was having an affair with Stephanie and gave his keys to Murdock so he can get into her home and kill her. Murdock forgot the keys in the house, as they burned into the mirror, and had to grab the fire coat to return to the house and get the keys. Breen also threw Murdock over the stairwell railing when it became clear that Monk had discovered him.

Monk and Stottlemeyer go to the morgue to see if the keys are still on Murdock's body. They find the keys with Murdock's possessions when Breen comes up from behind and knocks out Stottlemeyer. Monk can barely see, but he manages to get a hold of Stottlemeyer's gun. Breen throws things around the room to confuse him but Monk's sight begins to return and he manages to shoot Breen before Breen can kill him. Stottlemeyer regains consciousness and all is good.