Villainess Review: Linda Fusco (Monk)

One of the craziest developments and swerves in Monk's eight-year history occurred during the show's sixth season, but to properly tell this, I have to go back to Season Five. The episode, "Mr. Monk, Private Eye," centered on just that: Natalie had coerced Monk into going into the private eye business, despite Monk's aversions to the idea. Sure enough, the pair receive their first client, a realtor named Linda Fusco, who hired the pair to investigate a minor accident involving her car. Sure enough, the accident ends up evolving into a case regarding an unrelated murder, and Linda is along for the ride, which included her first meeting with Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer.

At the time, Stottlemeyer was coming off his divorce from his longtime wife, Karen Stottlemeyer (who was played so sweetly by the late Glenne Headly), and regarding Linda, she definitely caught the captain's eye. So the pair started dating, and it included Linda's next appearance in the Season Six opener, "Mr. Monk's Biggest Fan," which sees Linda "win" Stottlemeyer in an auction. During their date, however, Linda vents about how little she sees Stottlemeyer, and she even goes as far as to ask, "What do I have to do to get your attention, kill someone?"

Holy foreshadowing, Batman! (on a side note, RIP Kevin Conroy)

Three episodes later in "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend," Linda was chatting with Stottlemeyer (as well as the rest of the group) via a webcam, with the conversation including plans for a trip to Hawaii. Later that evening, we see realtor Sean Corcoran presenting a house to a couple looking to buy, but the sale is interrupted by a masked gunman suddenly appearing and shooting Sean to death. Naturally, Monk and Natalie are on the case, and it included a visit to Linda's office, as she and Sean were business partners. Linda suggested that an angry customer had it out for Sean, even giving a name: Helen Huppert. After this, the pair suddenly discover some evidence that ties to a surprising suspect: Linda.

Neither Monk nor Natalie could believe that Linda was capable of murder, so they actually did a dry run to disprove their belief. The dry run was the route from the office to the house, and when the drive officially disproved Linda as the killer, they were both relieved...until the found a hibiscus flower; the same one Linda wore in the webcam convo. The pair tell Stottlemeyer, but after dismissing it as a joke at first, he completely brushes it off, even resorting to accusing Monk of being envious that Stottlemeyer has someone in his life. What stuck out to me in that confrontation: Monk admits it, because he's never one to lie, but as we all know, he never lets personal feelings get in the way of his profession.

Helen's interrogated, but of course, that goes nowhere, because she didn't do it. In order to trap Linda, Natalie posed as a potential buyer, while Monk searches Linda's house for evidence, and finds it in the form of the actual rifle used in the murder. However, Linda appears, as she's figured out what was being planned, and after seeing Monk, she attempts to seduce him, though Monk turns him down because he's devoted not only to Stottlemeyer, but also to his late wife, Trudy. Before he leaves, Monk picks up a pen and placed it back down, and it's followed by that familiar look that he has--the "I've solved it" look.

Meanwhile, at a party, Linda tells Stottlemeyer everything that occurred with Natalie and Monk, but she decides to add the accusation that Monk made a pass at her. That statement left the captain befuddled (more on that later), and later on, we see Monk appearing on the webcam and asking everyone to come outside. Once they do, Monk is shown inside a moving van, which featured a duplication of Linda's bedroom, while revealing that he knows how Linda pulled it off. So as it turned out, Linda found out that Sean was leaving the business and going on his own, and was taking Linda's clients, which prompted Linda to plan Sean's murder. In order to create an alibi (knowing full well who she was dating), Linda rented a moving van and recreated the inside to look just like her bedroom, where she had her nightly conversations with Stottlemeyer. She was doing just that on the night in question, and after that, Linda put on her disguise and entered the house that Sean was planning to show; waiting in ambush before killing him.

As for the pen, well, that actually ended up being Linda's undoing. On that night in question, Linda's pen rolled off the dresser, but in her actual bedroom, after Monk placed the pen down, it remained stationery. Linda had to have parked on a hill on the night in question, leaving the villainess stunned that such a small detail foiled her plans. Despite Linda's pleas, she ended up arrested by Stottlemeyer, and the final scene revealed the true plan for the trip to Hawaii: Stottlemeyer planned to propose to Linda. He would find love again two seasons later, but that's another story for another time.

Linda Fusco appeared in three episodes during Seasons Five and Six of Monk, and regarding "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend," that episode was the fourth of Season Six and aired on August 3, 2007. Sharon Lawrence appeared in all three episodes as realtor-turned-villainess Linda Fusco, and while she was brilliant in all of her appearances, the aforementioned episode that featured Linda's heel turn was definitely her best. From the first minute of her debut, Linda's vivacious personality was established, which does make her actually resorting to murder not that shocking. Linda is strong-willed, yet warm in her first two episodes, but once she became villainous, we see Linda display a cunning and devious personality, especially in the second half of the episode when she actually attempts to seduce Monk. About that. I still can't believe that Linda actually attempted to convince Stottlemeyer that Monk made a pass at her. Big mistake. Stottlemeyer knows that man. Intimacy isn't really Monk's thing, and even if it was, he wouldn't randomly use it on any other woman willy-nilly; his devotion to Trudy was absolutely unbreakable.

Linda Fusco is one of Monk's best villainesses; I personally have her listed on my top 10. She was viciously ruthless and fiendish in her actions, and regarding Lawrence's performance, it was absolutely stellar. Lawrence gave her all regarding Linda's personality in the first two episodes, and we definitely see that when she acts out Linda's heel persona in the latter half of her villainous episode. I also couldn't help but love that last scene where Linda was stunned over the fact that she parked on a hill on the night in question. That was also amazing acting from Lawrence; as it told us that Linda truly thought she had everything figured out in her murderous scheme, yet she couldn't believe that such a small detail gave her away.

Sharon Lawrence is best known for playing Sylvia Costas for six seasons on NYPD Blue, and she portrayed serial killer Maggie Peterson on SVU. Rizzoli & Isles fans recognize Lawrence as Dr. Hope Martin, the biological mother of the latter half of the titular duo, Dr. Maura Isles, and she also played Vivian Cates on CBS' short-lived series, Wolf Lake. Other shows Lawrence has appeared on: Ghost Whisperer, Body of Proof, The Mentalist, and Grey's Anatomy (among many others).

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Check out Linda Fusco's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!