Review – Psych: He Dead

Helping the police search for billionaire investor Warren Clayton’s crashed plane, Shawn and Gus find Clayton near death. Clayton manages a few key words to Shawn, saying he “needed to make amends” and asking Shawn to “find out who killed me.”

These first hints aren’t enough for Chief Vick to open a homicide investigation, but Shawn manages to get hired by Clayton’s widow (Christine Baranski) to perform an independent investigation.

I found Shawn’s look into Warren’s character and family pretty standard. Warren was a womanizer and a Ponzi schemer. Mrs. Clayton was having affairs in turn, and their son Garvin was just spoiled. Shawn suspects early that someone in Warren’s family or one of his mistresses sabotaged the plane. His first accusations prove untrue, but obvious clues are dropped about the larger plot.

For example, when Shawn asks about a girl he sees in a picture at the Clayton home, Mrs. Clayton says, “That’s my daughter. She’s no longer with us.” Shawn takes this to mean “She’s dead,” but Warren’s daughter turns up later in a plot twist that didn’t surprise me much because the Claytons seemed like your typical wealthy family with secrets to keep, and I was listening for deceptive turns of phrase.

Warren’s Ponzi scheme was also an important plot point, but many series have used Madoff-like storylines by now. Nothing wrong with it in principle; I’m just tired of it myself. The way Warren and his family held a mirror up to Shawn’s family is what kept me watching.

Abigail Lytar (Rachael Leigh Cook) pressures Shawn to introduce her to his father. The three of them end up having dinner together, and the prickly but honest dynamic between Shawn and Henry comes through. I can’t tell where Shawn and Abigail’s relationship will go, but for now I’m glad she’s nudging Shawn into a little more maturity.

Finally, I was glad to see the ending moment: Henry trying to tell Shawn what he would say if he—like Warren—had only fifteen seconds to live. He manages to say “I love you,” but only after his time runs out and Shawn leaves.