A Little Ode to Psych

It was the summer of 2014. I was visiting the sun-scorched state of Texas to see my family. When I arrived at my cousin's bitchin' sweet home, I discovered that she had a Netflix account. After going through the first two seasons of Orange is the New Black, I decided I needed to find something else to watch. I watched the first episode of Freaks and Geeks. Good show, but perhaps not the gem that everyone else made it out to be. I watched The Rescuers Down Under. Nice animation and a cool soundtrack, but pretty dry compared to how I remember it. I even watched an episode of The Magic School Bus and the first episode of Portlandia. Nothing quite seemed to satisfy my short attention span.


Then came along a little show called...Psych.






"Oh, but on a site with Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, House of Cards, and The Magic School Bus, how did you land on Psych?" Well, I'll tell you, anonymous thought from nobody! It was just there. I had heard about it, though I guess subconsciously, I remember people saying nice things about it. So, I thought, "Why not?" and gave it a go.

Like most pilots for shows I would eventually really get into, I wasn't quite feeling it all too much. I watched a little more, and that all changed. Seasons 1 and 2 are fun and silly, but things definitely start to pick up steam in later seasons as more dramatic turns are taken and we really get closer to our four main heroes.

For those that are not aware, the show follows Shawn Spencer, a slacker that poses as a psychic detective to get hired by the Santa Barbara Police Department to solve cases with his best pal Burton Guster (aka Gus). Shawn is just really great at observing things that most other people, including the SBPD, can't. On his adventures, he teams up with uptight tough guy Head Detective Carlton Lassiter (LASSIE!) and Juliet O'Hara (Jules <3). Shawn also gets help from his dad, a former cop named Henry. Shawn later tackles bigger cases involving notorious thief Pierre Despereaux and the sinister Yin-Yang killers.

First off, the thing that works best about Psych is the dynamic between Shawn and Gus. Shawn is goofy but brilliant, while Gus is smart in his own way, but he also has qualities that make him endearing to us as much as he is to Shawn and the others. Shawn also grows considerably as the series goes on. He's still a man child by the end of the series, but he accepts more responsibilities and he has put others before himself.
 

The supporting characters are also superb. Lassie can still be a jerk, but when you really get a look at the guy, you kinda just wanna hug him. So it's nice to see him develop friendships with Shawn, Gus, and Jules. Speaking of Jules, she proves to be more than just Shawn's love interest. She is adorably girly, but when the chips are down, she will do what needs to be done. Chief Vick, while not as prominent as the others, also has her moments and is a pretty benevolent boss to the four. Henry is also great when he needs to help Shawn, but also to show that he and his son are not so different. We also have minor characters like Woody the coroner and Officer Buzz McNab (and yes, I got the reference afterwards) that make things fun whenever they're onscreen.
 

As I've said before, things get crazier starting around season 3 with the Yin-Yang killer. Without going into too much detail, it's one of the most dramatic arcs in the show, and it puts certain things into perspective with Shawn and his loved ones. Additionally, the 6th season finale cliffhanger is pretty crazy enough that I had to start season 7 immediately.

All in all, I had a great time watching this show, and while it feels sad to have to let it go, I'll never forget the laughs I had and tears I shed with Shawn, Gus, Lassie, Jules, and everyone else.