Following up an episode where Adrian Monk is a jerk the entire time, the newest one brings out the sweetest - and most painful - side of everyone's favorite obsessive compulsive detective. In the past seven seasons, Monk has met a great deal of people, some who used him for their own means or pretended to be his friend for nefarious purposes. Other than those who surround him (Natalie, Stottlemeyer, Disher), he has no one in his life, and even those friends do use him for solving cases or their livelihoods. Monk finally meets someone who might just love him for him ... and can't believe in it.

"Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door" starts out showing us the murderer of the week, John Keyes. He breaks into a museum of oddities, Guinness World Records and the like, and kills the security guard there. Most TV shows surround the audience figuring out whodunit, but "Monk" will occasionally have these episodes where everyone knows who did it. Then it is all about how Monk catches them, and the main story is usually about something else entirely. In this, it is about Monk meeting Marge, a kindly older lady who helps him cross the street when the Do Not Walk sign refuses to change. She is played by guest star Gena Rowlands, who is naturally and wonderfully charming in this role. Monk has always been starved for the love of a mother since his mother was callous toward him, and Marge gives him something he's never had before: unconditional parental love.

He agrees to help her with the neighbor next door; he refuses to stop playing his drums and she can't sleep. When Monk goes over to stop him, the audience knows something he does not: her neighbor is the murderer! Monk is excited when Keyes backs down without a fight, and he gets to know Marge's past and share his own. He lets her rearrange his furniture, cook him food, and even lets Natalie have a day off because Marge is there for him. This episode serves to remind the fans how deprived Monk has been of love and social interaction, and he eats up Marge's attention like a starved child. It is only when talking to his therapist that Monk begins to suspect there is a catch, and Marge is actually in on the murder. Keyes robs a jewelry store, but his alibi holds up since Marge insists he was playing drums at the same time.

This leads Monk to completely lose his mind and accuse Marge of being an accomplice. He assumes that Reyes may actually be Marge's son (who she said was dead) and brings her in for questioning. It is an incredibly painful and sad scene to watch, especially since Marge is innocent and Monk loses the only good person in his life that asks nothing of him. Perhaps next time he will not be so quick to judge, but then he might get burned again, and worse than ever. It was nice to be reminded why Monk is such a lovable and somewhat pitiable character, and hopefully Gena Rowlands will come back to guest star again. Her chemistry with Shalhoub was appealing and sweet without being saccharine. In the next episode, Monk gets tickets to a big football game, but they have to solve a murder case before enjoying the game.

Bob Costas will be guest starring. "Monk" is on Friday's at 9 PM EST on USA.

Monk cast: Tony Shalhoub / Bitty Schram / Ted Levine / Jason Gray-Stanford / More

Story by Chelsea 'Dee' Doyle

Starpulse contributing writer