Villainess Review: Angeline Dilworth (Monk)

I remember the promotion for Monk's eighth and final season in 2009 very well, and I also remember the final year's episodes being very intriguing, with "Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse" being no exception. The episode started at a Little League baseball game, which saw an accidental fatality: an elderly woman killed by a fly ball. The victim's name was Martha Moxley, and as Adrian Monk and his group were at the scene, they stumped on to something very peculiar: a voodoo doll. This would not be an isolated occurrence; another accidental death occurred later on: Ralph Ferris was struck by lightning while golfing, and at the scene, yes, a voodoo doll.

You would think that this would get to Monk with his phobias, but it was Natalie Teeger who was affected and staunchly believed that voodoo was involved in the deaths. She even refused to enter the home of another victim, Robert Byrd, who died of a sudden heart attack. After being interviewed by Leland Stottlemeyer, Angeline Dilworth (Robert's niece) was approached by Monk, who noticed the good luck charms around the house. Angeline informed Monk that her uncle was immensely superstitious, but Monk noticed that the horseshoe hanging above a doorway was upside down--it's supposed to be right side up.

The voodoo dolls were traced to a shop owned by Reverend Hadley Jorgenson, who was played in this episode by the late rock icon, Meat Loaf. On January 20, 2022, Meat Loaf passed away at the age of 74, and the first thing I thought of was this episode. I loved his performance as Hadley Jorgenson; he was very charismatic and humorous at times, I honestly think he stole that episode. Jorgenson was suspected--after all, the deaths were responsible for his business thriving, but Stottlemeyer couldn't prove that they were homicides. As for Natalie, she ended up receiving a doll in the mail, and it's revealed that her belief in voodoo was a result of an encounter with a voodoo priestess who warned her that something bad would happen to her husband, Mitch. Natalie dismissed the statement, but on the following day, Mitch was killed in action.

Jorgenson was called to perform an exorcism (of sorts), but it goes south when Natalie suddenly drinks the potion that Jorgenson concocted (she wasn't supposed to drink it!). 911 is called and the EMTs arrived, with one of them being Angeline Dilworth. Interesting. Monk and Jorgenson track the ambulance, but the former is stuck on Angeline's words: "It's a small world." Monk realizes that Angeline was on call for both of the accidental deaths, and after Jorgenson reveals that Angeline bought a plethora of voodoo dolls from his shop, it all adds up for Monk. In this case, two and two equal a sinister murderess.

While the deaths of Martha Moxley and Ralph Ferris were purely accidental, Robert Byrd's wasn't--he was murdered by Angeline. However, Angeline needed a cover for her murderous deed before she could commit it, and her scheme began with postmarking packages to herself before placing the voodoo dolls inside. She waited for the right accidents to occur, and Martha Moxley's death was the perfect time. Angeline went on the call and placed a doll in Martha's home and did the same with Ralph Ferris, and afterwards, the villainess killed her uncle with an untraceable poison and placed the good luck charms all over the house to continue the ruse. Angeline also sent the doll to Natalie, doing so after Monk noticed the horseshoe, and as for Natalie, she realized this on her own when she saw that her surname, Teeger, was misspelled in the same way as her package. Seeing that Natalie had caught on to her, Angeline attacked Natalie and attempted to kill her, but she was stopped when Jorgenson rammed the ambulance. Regarding Angeline's motive, she wanted her uncle's wealth.

"Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse" was the seventh episode of Monk's eighth and final season, and aired on September 25, 2009. The episode's central villainess, Angeline Dilworth, was played by Canadian actress Claire Rankin, and she was the best villainess from the final year--as well as one of my all-time favorites in the entire series. Angeline was diabolical, greedy, fiendish, and (as Monk himself put it) certifiably insane. I loved the flashback scenes, as we see Angeline's evil side take center stage--a complete 180 from the mournful niece we saw in her introduction. This episode made me a fan of Claire Rankin; her performance was very, very stellar. I especially love how she acted out Angeline's sinister smirks and mannerisms, truly showing how sadistic of a villainess she truly was.

Claire Rankin has done a lot in her career, and it includes villainous roles on Diagnosis Murder and Republic of Doyle. She has also appeared on the original Charmed series, Quantico, and Ransom (among other shows), and she even appeared in some Lifetime films, most notably 2016's Killing Mommy.

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Check out Angeline Dilworth's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!