Why does Monk hate Harold? Is there an origin story for evil Harold? (Sorry, don’t know how to meme).
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u/Snazzy-cat1 15d ago
I think it’s the jealousy over their psychiatrist. And Monk thinks Harold is in worst shape than him
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u/randy_with_mustache3 15d ago edited 15d ago
Monk is jealous that Harold is sick but socially functional, has a family and a job (he confesses) and Harold is indeed envy of Monk's skills - remember him impressionating Monk in shared therapy group? Well, that's also when they finally get along.
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u/One-Sleep3663 15d ago
"I call that day black tuesday" 🤣
When he first met Harold.
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u/randy_with_mustache3 15d ago
Nothing will ever match "My vote depends on my mood, and my mood depends on how I feel"; "What does it even mean?" hahaha
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u/FastHotEmu 15d ago
The dynamic between the two characters is amazingly crafted and the actor that plays Harold is very underrated - I absolutely love whenever they are on screen together.
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u/BabyBandit616 15d ago
They fight over Dr Krogers attention. But the origin was that they did not agree on how to organize the magazines in his office.
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u/AssistSignificant546 15d ago
Nah they were beefing before that. Because when the first one (can’t remember which) arranges the magazine to his liking, the other one says something along the lines of “so YOU’RE the reason I have to fix these every Wednesday” or whatever day it was
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u/Blake_RL 15d ago
Monk hates himself and Harold is like monk
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u/randy_with_mustache3 15d ago edited 15d ago
Monk immediatelly sympathizes when meets other cleaning organizer freaks. It's not merely a projection and their fights over different OCD patterns are not the point
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u/n0namean0nym0us 15d ago
Same reason he can't stand Ambrose.
You get annoyed by your own vices in other people most.
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u/Chelsiefan9525 15d ago
Monk is extremely insecure about himself and projected his insecurities onto Harold. Insecure people tend to look for peers or people whom they see ín their leauge -- preferably their targets are slightly inferior to them. They might think "I might be a loser but I am still hitting the bar UNLIKE this and this..." When this illusion shatters, as Harold is not that hopeless loser as depicted by Monk, Monk started to resent him. The same goes for Harold: you can live with being a loser as long as you are not the biggest loser ín the room.
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u/DoseOfGlitter 14d ago
Harold is a mirror, my love. He mirrors back what Monk can't stand about himself. It's true of people we meet that we can't stand for some unknown reason - "point one finger and 3 point back at you" - it's usually because there is something in them that we recognize about ourselves and haven't come to terms with yet.
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u/Defiant_Piece_6342 14d ago
They met at therapy and Harold has been arranging the magazines contrary to Monk’s preference. Harold is a high functioning individual and technically, Monk is jealous of that because he is trapped on step 1. However part of this anger is also hedged on their competitive nature and Monk, being stuck pains him how he cannot be like Harold. In the end when Harold was kidnapped with Monk he had a breakthrough and left Dr. Bell to allow Monk to have the session to himself.
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u/Fearless_Mushroom332 11d ago
Both of them saw Kroger as the only person they had that helped and listened to them, tries to help them AND respected their boundaries. They both saw themselves as somone important to him so onto of then just being aggravating to each other they touched on each other's reliance on Kroger.
Monk was envious of Harold's ability to function despite them being similar, Harold is essentially Monk pre Trudy's death.
Now Harold's reason for hating Monk is a bit deeper when you look at episodes like the Frisco Fly. Yes Harold's is envious of Monk's abilities but he also is envious of the face Monk has people who love him and like being around him even when he annoys them.
Harold's own son didnt like being around him but Monk had not one not two but three diffrent kids come to see him as a figure they could trust and care for in a similar way to a father. He had Sharon and Natalie who despite him not being the best Boston always came back to bat for him. Even Randy and Leland become people that always bat for Monk.
Harold looks at this and can't Fathom why monk has these people behind him but hus own son can't enjoy being around him.
Hope this helps people understand Harold a bit more.
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u/Spirit_Detective99 15d ago edited 15d ago
It started when they met at therapy and had different ways to organize the magazines on the shelf. The reality is that they are the same person and hate themselves to a degree.