Apple Notes freezes and cannot be force quit on Mac

Not sure I grok the issue...

>Force Quit>Notes

if that does not work as expected, quit the app from the Terminal.app copy & paste:

killall "Notes"

You can hold the Shift key down and relaunch the Notes.app if you are is some glitch loop and compare your results

You can always force quit a shutdown by holding the power button/TouchID for ~6-10 sec.

Force Shut down your Mac.

Log out, sleep, wake, restart or shut down your Mac

Shut down or restart your Mac - Apple Support

disable 'relaunch open applications' if it is causing a continuing issue.... the safe boot recommended above may be the way out if no resolve

You can also try booting into Safe Mode then restart normally. Sometimes that will fix anomalies.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

No issues for me on 26.1. Do you sync Notes with iCloud? If so, try turning that off then back on.