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Psych: Santa Barbarian Candidate

"And this is my partner: Bill Ofrights."

If you're still burned out from the 2012 election, this episode may not be for you. Shawn and Gus get involved in local politics, in a completely nutty way only they could. Is that title a stretch as a Manchurian Candidate pun or what? Hey, lets us review.

So, the beloved Santa Barbara mayor -- who we've never seen or heard of before, but who Gus and Shawn and the whole town still loved -- is killed. Well, sure, the killer made it look like an accident, but, we know. The chief suspect is the guy about to take over as mayor, so Shawn and Gus and this wimpy sidekick of the dead mayor, use an old rule, Parks and Rec style -- and stop the new appointment by introducing a new candidate. That candidate is. Well, you don't really need to wait for it, do you?

There are some nice references to The West Wing here -- Dule Hill's old stomping ground. And an admirable twist when the chief suspect is not the killer. Though, even though I kind of believed it was that guy, I wasn't exactly surprised when it was the wimpy little assistant. I sure did enjoy the reveal wherein Shawn hijacked a city council meeting. I wonder sometimes how the real city of Santa Barbara feels about how Psych portrays them.

Also, Shawn and Jules had a bit of a thaw. Jules demanded Shawn tell Vick about his lack of special powers, but he refused, choosing his true ability -- to solve crimes -- over coming clean for the sake of his relationship. Jules eventually became convinced herself that stopping Shawn from doing his thing would be selfish and she'd go along with the ruse. As if Vick doesn't know. It never made a dang bit of sense that any of them actually thought he was psychic. And really, with his case-closing record, who cares?

Though, it could result in some overturned convictions. Probably not though since most of the criminals confess. Suckers.

2 comments:

  1. I still suspect at least Chief Vick knows Shawn isn't psychic and plays along for the sake of stopping crime. I'm thinking she's employing a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" method here. I agree with you on the overturned cases thing. It would be bedlam if Shawn was ever exposed.

    Woo! Parks and Rec!

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  2. While I liked this episode and I loved all the West Wing nods, the break up is now officially bothering me. I breathed a sigh of relief when Jules came rushing to Shawn's defense, getting herself into trouble in the meantime. But, to then drag on the break up irked me. I would like to see this part of the story wrapped up and watch the two of them try to live together. I think it would be a lot funnier.

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