| “ | You killed my parents! This one is for them! | „ |
| ~ Wendy Mass before shooting Jason Cross |
| “ | Wendy: Thank you, Mr. Monk.
Disher: You're thanking him? |
„ |
| ~ Wendy Mass accepting her defeat |
Wendy Mass is the main antagonist of Monk season 1 episode 12, Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger.
She is the murderer of Jason "Sonny" Cross who pretends to be blind and frames Willie Nelson so she can get away with it. She killed Cross because he was responsible for the car accident that took her parents' lives and rendered her blind for a long period of time. She is also one of the few sympathetic culprits in the series.
What Makes Her Magnificent?[]
- She has a very tragic backstory. She was in a car accident where her parents died, and she lost her vision for the next 35 years. By contrast, the drunk driver responsible, Sonny Cross, got a slap on the wrist in comparison with merely a year and a half in jail. She spent all of that time mourning her parents and vowing revenge against Cross.
- Instantly after regaining vision in her left eye by luck from a concussion, she realized that she could use this to kill Cross. She pretended to be blind for the next year and successfully deceived the police about it while she was being questioned.
- A good example of her pretending to be blind is when she showed Benjy the square button on her jacket which indicated to her that it's blue. While this may have been true in the past, it shows that she's able to use what she already had to make the lie more believable.
- She lured Cross into an alley using a fake sign and then shot him twice. She fired the first one in his shoulder so he could run away, then fired again when he was 20 feet away because no blind woman could accurately shoot a man from that distance.
- In the flashback, she is shown to be wiping down the gun she used to kill Cross, showing that she thought ahead and was able to act fast enough to remove evidence.
- She is shown on multiple occasions to be a genuinely affable woman.
- She treats Monk and the police with the utmost respect.
- The grocery store employee compliments her and says that she didn't sue them for the concussion (which caused her to regain her sight).
- She agrees to do an interview for Benjy’s school assignment. She gives the answers in good detail and is very nice to him.
- She's genuinely loving of her late parents, vowing to avenge them.
- She thanks Monk after he solves the case, expressing remorse for framing Willie Nelson. She gracefully accepts that she will go to prison, only requesting that her cell have a window so she can fully appreciate that she’s regained her sight.
What Makes Her a Baddie?[]
- While it was arguably justified, she still murdered Sonny Cross in cold blood. She doubles down on the idea that what she did was real justice when Monk gives his explanation.
- She specifically incriminated Willie Nelson when the police had the suspects lined up and had them give voice samples. She knew by sight that he was the one in the alley that day but pretended to only recognize his voice.
- In addition to framing him for the murder, she also lied to the police that Willie threatened to kill her if she talked. If she had gotten away with the murder, Willie would've gotten an additional charge for a death threat.