Joint Fruit Loops. Review: Psych - “Juliet Wears the Pantsuit”

Season 7, Episode 9

Air Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“I’m not just going to give up on us.” – Shawn

Still working things out

Season seven has really been Juliet’s (Maggie Lawson) year, from entire episodes that focused on her and her character growth, to her kicking ass and saving the day. “Juliet Wears the Pantsuit” is no exception, especially since we get what looks like not only one Juliet, but two.

Over the last few episodes of Psych, I think the writers have lost their way. It wasn’t because of the Juliet and Shawn (James Roday) breakup, but rather how they handled it. By the end of “Right Turn or Left for Dead,” I felt as if the writers were mocking me for having certain emotions. These concerns continue into the beginning of “Juliet Wears the Pantsuit.” Breakups are always tough especially if you are living with the person. We have all had to watch a friend go through the collapse of a relationship where their behavior gets a little unusual, but Shawn rubbing his nipples and asking a stranger in a scary voice, “Where does the lotion go?” was not only creepy and dragged out, it made me feel uncomfortable.

Things settled down and a decent story started to unfold as Kimberly (Priscilla Faia), the woman Juliet interviews as a possible roommate, is found dead. Juliet’s second attempt to find a roommate seems to go much smoother with Laura/Laynie (Rachel Blanchard) until Juliet’s entire wardrobe goes missing, except for the ugly shirt Shawn gave her as a gift. Alarmingly, Laura slowly evolves into dressing and looking like Juliet.

Shawn and Gus meeting Juliet number two

I still believe the Shawn-Gus (Dule Hill) dynamic is off. Psych is built on their friendship; it’s why almost every episode for the past six seasons began with a flashback to a life lesson learned between the two friends as boys, and is something they no longer do this season. Gus has been reduced to more of a bit character lately; I first thought it was because of the addition of his girlfriend, Rachael (Parminder Nagra), but we haven’t seen her in the last few episodes. Woody (Kurt Fuller) seems to be picking up the slack, or at least trying to. Woody has his moments and I think I am most likely in the minority in saying I am not a fan of his. Shawn is the crazy one who is so unconventional, he can throw out a wild claim that someone was killed by a dinosaur and actually be right about it. Woody is now so over the top in every scene, it makes Shawn’s antics appear almost normal.

It would have been nice if the brief exchange between Henry (Corbin Bernsen) and Juliet at the club had been longer. I enjoyed the heart-to-heart Henry had with Gus about Shawn in “Cirque Du Soul,” and think it would have been touching to see a similar situation play out between Henry and Juliet.

Once again, it comes down to the final few minutes of the episode where things really happen emotionally, and thankfully, it’s not a shocker. Instead, we are treated to a heartfelt exchange between Shawn, who is still trying to avoid moving out, and Juliet, who is still trying to figure out which direction she sees things heading. Juliet clearly is still in love Shawn; you see it in her eyes. It is touching to watch her as she quietly waves goodbye as Shawn walks away at the end.

On a related note, USA Network has announced that an additional five episodes have been added to season eight, bringing the total to thirteen. No clue whether this will affect Maggie Lawson who signed up to film a pilot for a new show on ABC after the original eight episodes of Psych were done. I hope this shows a renewed faith in Psych by the studio rather than just giving the show an additional five episodes to wind up the series.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.