Psych Season 7 Review - *SPOILERS*

Sums up my feelings exactly

This past Wednesday the 7th season of my beloved tv show Psych came to a "thrilling" conclusion and I think it's fair to say...I'm a little disappointed. This season began with such promise and then came to a close with 3-4 clunkers of episodes, not to mention the terrible handling of what should have been huge plot twists. Anyways...here goes...

Let's start with the good...the season opener...

Season 7 picked up right where Season 6's cliffhanger left off and the end product was fantastic. we saw Shawn's character be the most serious he's ever been, kind of on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, and it was awesome. The episode had drama and probably the most laughs I've ever gotten out of an episode of Psych in awhile (the destruction of Gus's car ranks in my Top 5 for best Psych moments ever). The next 6 episodes that followed were fantastic as well (Jeffrey Tambor's guest appearance in the 4th episode was pure gold.) Gus finally found a girlfriend who was likable (and not a murderer...big plus given his dating history). The 100th episode featured an awesome cast of guest stars and despite the really gimmicky "you get to vote for the killer" deal at the end was a landmark episode. Each episode provided laughs and provided mysteries that sucked the viewer in. It really felt like Psych was hitting it's stride...and then came episode 7...

The episode and reveal that (should have) changed everything

Ok where do I start...let's get one thing straight...episode 7 (titled Deez Nups) is a great episode, fantastic even. It starts out as a regular happy go lucky episode with typical Psych shenanigans and ending with Lassiter and Marlowe finally happily married. Not to mention the hilarious reveal that Officer McNabb had to take up stripping at the hotel the main cast was staying at. Everything looks like it's going to be ok until...Juliet finds damning evidence in Shawn's jacket that he's not a psychic. This leads to the most heartbreaking ending to a Psych episode as Juliet storms out of the wedding. Juliet finding out that Shawn wasn't a psychic was bound to happen at one point and when it does eventually happen it's sad as hell to watch Juliet dump Shawn on the spot. Especially since this season was the first in which we really saw them develop and spend time together as a couple. This moment was handled exactly the way it should have been and left every Psych fan with their jaws on the floor salivating for next week's episode.

So you're wondering; if Jake says episode 7 of Psych was so good than why was he so down on it before? Let's address that: my issues aren't with the episode itself but rather the poor handling of aftermath. Juliet finds out Shawn is a fake and has been lying to her for what adds up to 7 years at this point. Sure, they weren't dating until late Season 5 but still, thats a long time to lie to someone important  to you. So after this big revelation the fans were expecting lots of Shawn and Juliet in the next episode...and well they were disappointed. Instead we get a whole episode where they interact only about 4-5 times and we never really get Juliet's side of things. The writers put in a scene where Shawn and Juliet appear to be getting back together, only it's a just a dream and Shawn wakes up to the real Juliet telling him he has to move out and the episode ends on another sour note. In the words of my roommate "that was the opposite of what I wanted". The next two episodes feature more of same until at the end of episode 10, there seems to be a little reconciliation between the two. Juliet makes a point that they're starting from scratch again...which is then followed by the opening of the next episode where they show that Shawn and Juliet are SLEEPING TOGETHER AGAIN!!! Yea, real slow Juliet...

Don't worry Shawn, you and the other writers hate meaningful character development so you'll have Juliet back in no time.

It feels like the writers put themselves in position to have the characters grow or set the seeds for some really interesting plot points but that dance around them because they're too afraid of the consequences. Shawn and Juliet's breakup was a chance for Shawn to grow and mature a little (not too much obviously) instead after a few episodes of Juliet being a bitch, they get back together with no real change on Shawn's part. Not to mention them getting back together happens offscreen, told to us in a simple line of dialogue from Shawn right before he shameless plugs the new Psych product for sale on USA's web store. Juliet and Shawn officially getting back together would be something that you'd think that we'd all want to see. Though I guess the writers figured that ship sailed once it was revealed they were sleeping together again. A later episode in which Shawn and Gus tamper with a crime scene had the potential to be riveting. Instead the two were never implicated in the crime until the final five minutes and by then they had already found the actual killer. The fact that the SBPD took so long to figure it out is a disservice to Lassiter who has shown in the past that he is a lethally effective detective. Rachel seems to break up with Gus by way of care package at the end of the second to last episode only for it not to be brought up once in the season finale. I understand that Psych is not a serious show for the most part but it would be nice to see some actual drama for once rather than dancing around what would be great plots in order to squeeze out what are becoming stale jokes. It's not as if Psych can't handle character development. Each character has developed a bit over the course of the 6 previous seasons so it just seems strange that all of a sudden the writers are backing down because it would seem to affect the status quo. Shawn has to grow up at some point right?

Finally I'll finish with the season finale as this is getting to be a rather long review (thats what you signed up for...I think) After 3 not really noteworthy episodes, Anthony Michael Hall guest stars as a police consultant brought in to assess the effectiveness of SBPD after a disastrous case. His character's name isn't really necessary since he basically plays the same straight man, by the books, bureaucratic character that comes in every few episodes and berates the cast for their poor following of procedure. The episode produces it's share of laughs and the case is interesting, but it lacks the drama and quality of Psych season finales in the past. That being said, the bar is set pretty high from the Yin and Yang episodes and last seasons "Santabarbaratown Pt. 1). The episode plays out just like most Psych episodes do and the crew solves the case. Like any season finale there should be some shocks at the end...and Psych disappoints. Chief Vick gets a 6 month suspension, McNabb gets fired, and Hall's character is the new interim chief declaring that the SBPD will no longer be hiring psychics. These would be big plot points IF Chief Vick wasn't returning in 6 months. Once again, Psych can only go so far with plot twists. Then USA tries to make it up to us by introducing...Psych: THE MUSICAL. Maybe I'd be excited if the previews weren't so campy...

I'm still making up my mind as to whether this is going to be good or not...

The Verdict:

I'm not really sure what to make of Psych's 7th season. It seems like the show can't decide whether it wants to take a more serious route at the risk of pissing off the fans who love it's comedic nature. Every time a plot twist comes up it seems like the writers always seem to take the the route of preserving the status quo so that they don't offend fans who are there for the comedy. This leads to a lot of potentially interesting plots getting swept under the rug and resolved off screen. Regardless, I still love the show and I generally like every episode. It just can't be ignored that the second half of the season felt so unmemorable compared to the first half. Despite my grievances this was still a solid season and I'm looking forward to the next one. Though part of me does wonder if Psych is beginning to show it's age, perhaps Season 8 will be it's last.

My Grade: 3/5