Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) was almost a very different character at the start of Monk, but Tony Shalhoub’s detective procedural ended up giving us a much better character instead. There were a lot of important characters in the cast of Monk, from Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) to Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) and even Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), but Stottlemeyer was unique. Sharona and Natalie worked for Adrian, while Randy usually was just blown away by someone who was so much smarter than him, but Stottlemeyer was the closest thing to a friend from work Adrian ever had.

Plenty of things changed over the course of Monk. Quite controversially, Sharona left in Monk season 3, and Monk season 2 changed theme songs. Those were both very obvious alterations in the standard Monk formula, but one far less noticeable and controversial change affected Captain Stottlemeyer in the best way possible. In fact, it seems like Monk was planning to make Stottlemeyer almost an antagonist to Adrian, but the show luckily abandoned that plan in favor of making him a lovable captain instead. If Monk season 2 hadn’t changed Stottlemeyer, it’s hard to imagine the show being as beloved as it is today.

Stottlemeyer Was A Completely Different Character In Monk Season 1

Stottlemeyer Only Begrudgingly Worked With Adrian & Seemed To Hate Him In Monk Season 1

One of the harshest realities of rewatching Monk comes in the first season. In Monk season 1, Stottlemeyer was almost painted as an enemy to Adrian. In every case, he only enlists Adrian’s help begrudgingly, he seems especially exasperated by Adrian’s antics, and he just comes across as hating Adrian. For example, there are several times in Monk season 1 where Stottlemeyer explicitly says he’s only letting Adrian work on a case because the mayor of San Francisco is forcing him. Stottlemeyer, and Randy even more so, seemed like H๏τsH๏τ cops who couldn’t stand being outdone by a “weirdo” like Adrian.

Monk Season 2 Is When The Show Nailed Adrian And Leland’s Dynamic

Stottlemeyer Started Acting Like Adrian’s Old Friend In Monk Season 2

Luckily, Stottlemeyer’s antagonistic relationship with Adrian didn’t last long. By Monk season 2, the writers had figured out that Stottlemeyer being a bad guy wasn’t working, and instead pivoted to making them friends. He was still exasperated by Adrian’s peculiarities, but there was a layer of understanding and even acceptance in Stottlemeyer that he just didn’t have in Monk season 1. Take, for example, “Mr. Monk and the Captain’s Wife.” In that episode, Stottlemeyer flashes his badge to get some garbage collectors to go along with Monk’s obsessions, and that’s before Stottlemeyer confides in Adrian while his wife, Karen, is in a coma.

After Monk season 2, Stottlemeyer and Adrian only grew closer. They made more references to their shared history on the police force, they joked around with one another, and Stottlemeyer started being not just happy to have Adrian around, but actually astonished by the depth of his investigative powers. Aside from Monk season 1, Stottlemeyer seemed like Adrian’s oldest friend and confidant, and it ended up working much better than him being a captain with an over-inflated ego who reluctantly works with Adrian.

Stottlemeyer Worked Much Better As Monk’s Best Friend Than As His Enemy

Stottlemeyer Understood Adrian Like No One Else Could & Their Friendship Made A Lot Of Great Moments Possible

It’s fairly clear to see that turning Stottlemeyer from an enemy into a friend of Adrian was the best possible decision Monk could have made. That’s mainly because Stottlemeyer provided something neither Sharona or Natalie could: a window into Adrian’s past. Adrian and Stottlemeyer knew each other years before the start of Monk. They had worked on the police force together, and Stottlemeyer therefore had a view of Adrian that we rarely get to see. He knew who Adrian was before Trudy’s death and before his OCD symptoms surfaced, and he’s one of the only people who talks to Adrian like a peer instead of an oddball (most of the time).

The relationship between Stottlemeyer and Adrian turned out to be one of the best parts of Monk, once they started being friends. It led to so many iconic moments. From “Mr. Monk and the Very Very Old Man,” where Stottlemeyer and Adrian fight over living together, to “Mr. Monk and the Really, Really ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Guy,” where Leland goes to bat to stick up for Adrian in front of the FBI, their friendship was an almost endless fount of hilarity and sentimentality. I feel confident in saying that Monk wouldn’t be a fraction of the show it is if Stottlemeyer hadn’t become Adrian’s friend.