S1 E1 – The Pilot

By the way, I know I mentioned it before, but keep in mind that as I write this I have seen every episode through the end of Season seven multiple times and may reference those episodes, so just as a reminder, this is not a spoiler free blog.  If you haven’t seen season seven since it isn’t on Netflix yet, and the DVD’s won’t come out until October 8^th, oddly exactly two years after Fan Appreciation Day, and you don’t want to know what happens, I suggest you wait a little longer and you can catch up on all the post at a later date.  But if you like spoilers, read on my fellow Psych-O.

Seeing as how Juliet isn’t even in the episode it’s a little hard to talk about the relationship between Shawn and Juliet.  But before we can understand the relationship, we do need a clear understanding of Shawn and how he eventually came into the position that led him to meeting Juliet.

We know that from the beginning of the episode where we see Shawn and Henry at the restaurant after Henry questions him about all the things that he observed, that Shawn never wants to grow up.  Also that he has been conditioned by his father to notice everything that he sees. It is also interesting to note that he was arrested while he was in High School for stealing a car.  The arresting officer was his father and the main lesson that Shawn learned from the experience was that he hates his father.

I do love how Shawn and Lassiter immediately hate each other and that Shawn has the perfect comeback for all of the questions that he is being asked about this robbery that Lassiter or Lassie can’t seem to believe that he solved just by watching the channel 8 news.  Lassie is not convinced and actually reads Shawn his Miranda rights. Shawn can’t believe that he is serious.  Shawn looks around and sees the inside of the cells and wants nothing to do with that, Lucinda Lassie’s partner tells him that he can avoid being booked if he can provide them with a plausible explanation for how he knew about all these crimes.  Shawn is being handcuffed and he looks at the officer booking him, sees her earrings and remembers all of her charms and her phone conversation from earlier and suddenly has a thought.  He tells them that he got the information because he is Psychic.

This revelation only makes Lassie madder and wants Shawn out of the room, but Shawn starts proving his skills.  He shows them an example with the booking officer, Lucinda want him to clarify that he claiming that he is a psychic.  Shawn then turns around and looks at both Lucinda and Lassie and then asks if he wasn’t Psychic how does he know that the two of them are sleeping together and then before they can comment he starts counting to four in step and then asks McNab when the wedding is, and McNab tells him May 3^rd, and then wonders how he knows.   Lassie wants to know who is actually buying this charade, and everyone raises their hand, even the person in the cell they are near.  Shawn then tells them to go to one of the detention rooms and they will find all the evidence they need will be in his left shoe.  But he couldn’t just say that, he had to act out the vision coming to him through his left foot. 

The next thing we see is that Shawn is free and is getting a check, but Lassie looks on with disgust and still can’t believe him. On his way out of the building the Interim Police Chief, Karen Vick, stops him.  She tells him that what he just did was possible but improbable. She also tells him that she knew his father, and that he was a good cop, but he is nothing like him.  He takes this as a compliment.   She tells him about a case they have been having trouble with and she would like him to take a look at it on a trial basis.  But she then tells him that if the Psychic thing is a scam, they will prosecute.  Also that he needs to know that hindering a police investigation is a crime. 

So with the news of being semi hired by the police department to do what he does best, but not as a cop actually excites Shawn.  So he immediately turns to his best friend in the world, Burton Gustor, but just plain old Gus to use although he also has around a hundred other names as well.  Gus is a little skeptical about this promising new job opportunity that he has for him since Shawn has had 57 jobs since graduating high school.  Including driving the wiener mobile, which for those of you that were at the musical preview how cool was it to see the cast show up in wiener mobiles?   Shawn wants Gus to just come with him and see what he’s talking about.  But Gus isn't going anywhere blindly with Shawn again, or so he says, because he learned that lesson with Shawn at the Mexican border twice.  Finally Shawn tells Gus that the cops think that he is a psychic and that he’s been hired to look into a kidnapping and Gus is floored to find out that he is serious.

Now just as a reminder, this blog isn't set up to look at every aspect of the episode, but the information that will one day be relevant to the relationship that will form between Shawn and Juliet, so I really won’t talk too much about the case of the week, I will for fun try and remember to post Gus’s nicknames though, just for kicks and giggles.

At the crime scene Gus is already sure that everyone there knows that they are frauds.  Shawn tells him to relax, because the only way that they can actually prove that he is not a psychic is if he tells them he is not, which is the one thing that he will never ever do.  But looking forward at season seven, he proves that he will do anything to win Juliet back.

 Okay I have to say something here that is completely unrelated to the relationship, but Psych in general.  I don’t go to comic-con, because although I think that the Psych cast will probably be there, I am not willing to shell out that kind of cash for a maybe, and I figure that the day after I can watch the panel online.  But every year, someone makes their way to the microphone and inevitably asks the question; “How did the Pineapple thing start?”  I groan from home, and I hear people in the crowd laugh or groan, thinking why is this person here, this is supposed to be for true and loyal Psych fans.  The cast usually nicely answers the question, although this year they asked the audience to answer for them. So in case any of you are wondering, the pineapple was started in the Pilot episode as an improve by James.  Shawn has broken into Gus's apartment and has woken him up with news of the case.  Shawn finally convinces him that he has some good leads and Gus goes to get changed, and tells Gus to grab his keys, then tells him never mind he has them.  Then he pulls a pineapple from off of the top of the fridge and asks if he should slice it up for the road.

The main points of this episode in relation to the relationship are that Shawn has a lot of growing up to do, he hates his father and his father isn't a huge fan of his right now as well, but plays along with the charade. But the skills he thought him as a child are proving to be very useful.  Lassie and Lucinda are dating and other members of the department know about it and Shawn is the one who that relationship out of the bag. Shawn is an excellent marksman. And he opened up a Psychic detective agency, called Psych.