As the Psych series comes to an end, big changes are happening at the Santa Barbara police department. Chief Vic finally comes back from suspension, only to announce that she is taking a job as Chief of a larger department in San Francisco. Juliet decides to make the move with Chief Vic to become head detective, leaving Lassiter as Chief in Santa Barbara—his dream job. But this leaves psychic detective Shawn Spencer and Burton ‘Gus’ Guster in a tough spot—what will Shawn do now that his girlfriend Juliet has moved north? Can he say goodbye to his best friend Gus? Is this the end of the Psych detective agency?
The murder mystery in this episode somewhat reflects Shawn and Gus’s relationship—two best friends (Billy Zane), partners, and one ends up dead, a fact not lost on Shawn who is struggling to make a decision with what move to make next. The new head detective for the department, a spunky blonde (Mira Sorvino), seems to have made Shawn’s services obsolete—she is herself a master of observation and investigation and has things well in hand. Shawn has to struggle to get ahead of her—and he and Gus have to be extra sneaky to do it. I think my favorite part of this episode (besides finally learning who Dobson is) comes when Shawn and Gus steal a driver’s education car, complete with two steering wheels, during a high-speed chase and fight over who has the wheel.
Although the mystery itself is somewhat weak, this episode was truly less about solving crime than it was about wrapping up eight fun-and-pineapple-filled seasons of a great show, and saying good-bye. Fans will be pleased, I think, with the ending—it wraps up in the best way possible, and with a not very high-speed car chase to boot. This episode aired on March 26th.
