“Psych” Recap: High Noon-ish

by Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Lassiter asks Shawn and Gus to investigate a series of strange occurrences at Old Sonora, an Old West tourist attraction located well out of his jurisdiction. Sheriff Hank Mendel (James Brolin) explains some of the mysterious things that have been happening — stolen wood, poisoned water and a stench in the air that reminds Gus of cat urine. If the vandalism doesn’t stop, the old mining town will have to shut down. Lassiter is determined not to let that happen to the beloved place he visited every weekend as a child. The Psych guys spend the night to try and catch the vandal in the act.

Sheriff Hank tells the legend of The Ghost Rider around the campfire until something in the distance spooks the horses. He leaves to check. Shawn and Gus follow a few minutes later, deciding that the town is simply old and falling apart. Then they trip over a dead body. As they rush to find Hank, a stampede of horses charges toward them. Hank pushes them both out of the way, but sustains a severe injury in the process. While he recovers, Shawn fills in as Sheriff of Old Sonora. He and Gus immerse themselves in their new roles, taking advantage of the chance to really play Cowboys. (Not Cowboys and Indians, though, because Indians is offensive.)

The body is identified as Frank McBain, a millionaire real estate developer who bought up all the land surrounding Old Sonora. He tried to buy Old Sonora through a proxy company, as well, but Hank would never sell. McBain then took alternate measures, paying Old Sonora employees to list all the safety violations, in order to convince the county to close the institution and, thus, force Hank into selling. Unfortunately for Lassiter, with this information, his mentor Hank becomes the primary suspect in McBain’s murder.

Shawn and Gus continue searching for new clues at Old Sonora, never believing that Hank had anything to do with the vandalism or murder. Snooping around the old mine entrance, they fall through the ground and realize that someone new has been mining a previously undiscovered vein of gold. The culprit turns out to be Stinky Pete, Old Sonora’s token outlaw who discovered the gold, began mining (indirectly causing the acts of vandalism around town) and killed McBain to delay the mine’s sale. “Playing a bad guy all those years, the line between actor and role kind of blurred.” He traps Shawn and Gus in the mine by knocking down several support beams. Gus, in a typical moment of panic, uses a spoon to start tunneling out. Common sense prevails and the guys use the mining equipment to escape. They get out just in time to see Lassiter confronting Stinky Pete, in a classic Western gun draw shoot out.

This episode is a delightful return to Psych formula. The somewhat absurd plot, the cartoon-ish versions of themselves (Shawn and Lassiter, especially), sharp writing spiked with pop culture references, and lots of laughs. Last week, I lamented the many mistakes and rushed judgments Shawn made. And the dull sideplot with Abigail had neither the chemistry of past interactions nor the development needed to make the story interesting. Thankfully, in this episode, my favorite fake psychic detective was completely back on form, with nary a mention of Abigail or relationships. Gus, as always, cracked me up with his uptight one-liners. And it was nice to see a little of Lassiter’s history. Somehow the fact that his mentor was an old-timey (if fictional) sheriff makes total sense.

Spot the Pineapple: A pineapple-shaped jar is on the kitchen counter in Henry’s house. Definitely a blink-and-you-miss-it one. (Trust me, I blinked and missed it about fifty times. Darn you, Psych props crew!)

Quotes and References:

Shawn: Holy crap! He shot that guy!
Lassiter: I know. Isn’t it great!

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Gus: Nope, I’m outta here. I’m calling a cab.
Hank: Oh, those things don’t work out here. We got no tvs, no radio, no refrigerators.
Gus: Sounds like prison. Except they have all those things.

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Gus: That’s nothing. I just bruised my coccyx. When I get home, you’re gonna have to rub oil on my coccyx. A deep tissue massage is just what my coccyx needs.

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Gus: It worked for Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption, Shawn. Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’.
Shawn: Gus, we don’t have years to dig a tunnel. Besides, that makes me Morgan Freeman, which is weird.

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Tourist: How can you tell which one’s the bad guy if they are both wearing black? (after Lassiter shoots Stinky Pete) Boo! Boo!
Lassiter: I’m the GOOD guy, you toothless hillbillies!