The Final Episode of Monk

I stayed up "late" last night to watch the final episode of Monk.
Late for me, that is.
And I had to make a real effort to do it.
This time of year, I can easily go to bed at 7:30, read for 30 minutes and then be in for the night.
But I wanted to see the end of Monk.
So I had coffee and chocolate chip trail mix pancakes for dinner.
The pancakes were delicious, I must say.
And the coffee kicked in.

The final episode?
I liked it.
It kept the fabric of the show intact.
It put the characters at rest.
It was sweet and satisfying and a happy fuzzy warm (but not sappy) ending.
It tied up loose ends, sent everyone on their way and made you feel good.
I think it was very well done without being gimmicky or overly sentimental.

UNLIKE the final episode of Xena.
We could have done with a warm fuzzy ending there, instead of a brutal destruction of the iconic character who everyone loved so much.
We could have done without Gabrielle left descending into madness and depression.

Rob..take a lesson from Mr. Monk.
Your character doesn't have to die a horrible, violent, brutal death or be a martyr for her cause.
You could have given your hardcore fans a break.