Shawn connects an overturned ice cream truck to a larger plot to rob an armored car. With Shawn kidnapped and shot in the process, Gus, O’Hara, Lassiter, and Henry decipher clues he’s left behind while Shawn does his best to escape.
Usually on Psych, Shawn does most of the sleuthing, and stories progress in linear fashion after the opening flashback. For the fall finale, these conventions were turned on their heads. Having the supporting characters interpret most of the clues was a way of showing how much they all cared about Shawn. Starting with Shawn already missing and flashing back to how he was kidnapped allowed the writers to establish suspense instantly and spend the rest of the episode building a more complex story.
I’ve seen enough series protagonists shot, so I don’t genuinely fear for their lives, but it never fails to make me more concerned for the protag in the short term. Besides, Shawn getting shot is the most serious thing to happen on Psych to date.
The opening childhood flashback was of Henry teaching Shawn how to escape from the trunk of a car. Pairing this with scenes of adult Shawn trapped in the kidnapper’s car hinted that at his most desperate hour, Shawn was thinking of his father. Similarly, I like how Henry’s cocky, demanding front drops away to fatherly concern whenever Shawn is in trouble.
I also found it interesting that, spending most of the episode teamed with Henry, Lassiter remarked how similar Henry and Shawn were. Shawn denied it, but the suggestion had already been planted for viewers, showing that, despite himself, Shawn had matured over three and a half seasons.
Finally, the show continued to play out the sexual tension between Shawn and O’Hara at a good pace. Shawn appealed to one of the kidnappers’ sympathies by claiming he wanted to say goodbye to his girlfriend Abigail. He called O’Hara instead and was forced to tell her he loved her. As a bonus, he got to gauge her response, but didn’t know what to make of it at the end.
All in all, a very satisfying mid-season finale.
Great review. You really read between the lines. Other blogs have people upset about the episode, not happy with the Juliet/Shawn moment or the pace of the show. But true fans or people who can feel where the writers are coming from get out of it what you did. The whole, Henry/Shawn relationship was felt throughout this episode. I love the fact that as much as Shawn “hates” his father for all of the “training” he gave him, deep down Shawn knows Henry is right because those skills have gotten him where he is today, and at the same time Henry knows Shawn is great at what he does but can’t openly admit it. I think people who can pick up on that are really getting what the writers are trying to express. Others didn’t like the end with Shawn telling Juliet he loved her because they don’t like the Abigail character. I think it was a great scene. Short but said a lot. I think it was a tremedously written and acted episode.
it was a really good episode!!!
THE BEST EPISODE OF ANY TV SHOW EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!