didn't they say at one point in the show that the reason trudy had gotten into her car the day she died was to go and get medicine for Ambrose?

We did see Ambrose!
In the final tribute with the new Randy Newman song.
He was at the door, hugging Monk.

I was hoping Randy would give up the Badge and turn to playing music, or promoting music; something about his music would've been funny.

Long live Monk!!

My sister thinks that by having Randy move to NJ they may be thinking of doing a spinoff series.

Joey didn't kill Trudy. Monk found the six-fingered man who killed Trudy back... four or five seaons ago on a trip to New York. That's why, in the first part of the fonale, they went out of their way to show the hand with six fingers, as a call back to that revealation.

As for why Summit, New Jersey was chosen for where Randy became police chief, there was no anti-NJ dig involved. Monk co-creator Andy Breckman lives in Summit, and it's where the Monk writer's room is located.

"1. Why did Joey Kazarinski choose to kill Monk with poison?
Joey was a killer for hire. He used a bomb to kill Trudy, but shot Dr. Nash."

I didn't get from the episode that it was Joey Kazarinski who killed Trudy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have made sense when the judge said to him "12 years ago I killed his [Monk's] wife." So the judge must have hired someone else back then, or even done it himself. Unless I'm missing something and that was Kazarinski in the scene with Trudy in the parking lot (which I admit I don't remember if we got to see the person's face).

Not the greatest episode ever, not a complete dud either. Certainly not an unforgettable finale (like the Sopranos - no matter what you thought of it, you'll never forget it!).

But one thing bothered me - the denouement where Coach, I mean Craig T Nelson, is digging by the sundial. This was the exact same resolution in an episode of Columbo (aging actress doesn't want to leave house on studio lot because a body is buried under a fountain in the back yard). Perhaps a subconscious thing (I would think most Monk writers are familiar with the older eps of Columbo given a similarity in tone and tempermant of the shows.), and I suppose there is nothing new under the sun in terms of mysteries, but it still gave me pause.

I thought the finale was ok. I just thought the whole final season would've been about Monk gradually solving the murder rather than waiting until the final episode and having the murder be all of a sudden completely solved by a tape that's been on a shelf for twelve years.

Can someone explain to me how Monk was able to afford ANY of the stuff he had? Unless he was paid $10,000+ per case there is NO WAY he could afford that fancy apartment, all his expenses (like 10,000 bottles of water in one episode), a personal assistant whose sole job is serving him 24/7... I figured it was just an implicit understanding that Monk is fiction and for the show to work we're not supposed to ask about his finances. As such, it was a breach of that implied agreement for them to tell us he is broke. Surely Monk knows to the cent how much money he has at any given time, so the notion that he didn't know about it, or that Natalie kept this fact from him, is absurd.

Anyway, there are no good ways to answer any of the 7 questions asked here, a few of which I've asked myself - along with many others that were not here.

I also don't believe Monk wouldn't have opened Trudy's christmas present (he'd wait until after christmas as he promised, but not 12 years). He'd be the one person in the world who'd think that there might be a clue in there. The fact that the answer was in there all this time is somewhat insulting to both Monk and us, the audience.

OCD can be an expensive disorder to live with. I imagine the exaggerated case that Monk had would be even worse. It really isn't hard to imagine why he would have financial troubles.

Natalie had at least five to ten bottles of mouthwash in Monk's grocery cart meaning that he probably goes through one a day. Imagine what else he refuses to reuse.

He uses a wipe every time he touches something objectionable, yet his OCD makes him feel that he HAS to touch things. (Like lamp posts, parking meters)

Speaking from experience, he's probably very choosy about what brands of food he buys and what leftovers are considered "safe" for him to eat, which means that his food budget is probably through the roof.

Although insurance probably covered part of Sharona's paycheck, Natalie was most likely paid out of pocket. They stated once that she makes at least $2k a month, which isn't much, but for Monk, that's $24k a year just to have her around.

As for Monk being broke: In addition to all the money spent on cleaning supplies, water and wipes, don't forget his multiple weekly sessions with his psychiatrist. They don't come cheap (no matter how much they like their patients)!