Psych - Feet Don't kill me now
Of all the shows I was looking forward to this summer, Psych was the top of my list. There is almost nothing better in my universe than Shawn and Gus bumping fists and making up names and hearing it both ways for 42 minutes. I've loved every season, though the second season is my least favorite, and I've rewatched the whole series countless times (ok, I can count them. I've rewatched 3 times. Geez, be pedantic why don't you). So I have some very high expectations
It's hard for me to give a quick conclusion about this episode. Many things didn't work as well as I would have expected. But then there were a couple moments of extreme awesomeness that almost made up for the unexciting mystery plot and the lack of Shawn and Gus fist bumps for most of the episode. Namely, Gus's amazing, stunning tap routine at the end, and Lassiter's brilliant concentration face as he performed with a group of 6 year olds.
Amusingly, the parts of the episode that worked least well for me were the earlier tap cameos, especially the artificial-feeling tap partnership between Gus and Lassie as they tried to clear Lassie's mind. Even though these bits set up the awesomeness at the end when Lassiter announced he knew who the Westside Rapist was, I'm not sure they were worth it.
The other problem was really the fact that Psych as a series relies on the witty banter and friendship dynamic between Shawn and Gus. They have been broken up before to great effect, but this time, there simply wasn't enough of a reason, nor were the replacement relationships (Gus+Lassie, Shawn+Jules) able to live up to the challenge. Without a real reason for them working apart for most of the episode, their reconciliation felt a bit silly and pointless, and overall the lackluster mystery of the week didn't help that situation at all.
But - and with Psych I don't think I'd ever be able to criticize an episode without a 'but' - I think that I'm willing to trade a not great rest of the episode for the 2 minutes and 30 seconds of Gus's dance routine and Lassiter dancing all spiffied up. It's just...how can you resist!
It's hard for me to give a quick conclusion about this episode. Many things didn't work as well as I would have expected. But then there were a couple moments of extreme awesomeness that almost made up for the unexciting mystery plot and the lack of Shawn and Gus fist bumps for most of the episode. Namely, Gus's amazing, stunning tap routine at the end, and Lassiter's brilliant concentration face as he performed with a group of 6 year olds.
Amusingly, the parts of the episode that worked least well for me were the earlier tap cameos, especially the artificial-feeling tap partnership between Gus and Lassie as they tried to clear Lassie's mind. Even though these bits set up the awesomeness at the end when Lassiter announced he knew who the Westside Rapist was, I'm not sure they were worth it.
The other problem was really the fact that Psych as a series relies on the witty banter and friendship dynamic between Shawn and Gus. They have been broken up before to great effect, but this time, there simply wasn't enough of a reason, nor were the replacement relationships (Gus+Lassie, Shawn+Jules) able to live up to the challenge. Without a real reason for them working apart for most of the episode, their reconciliation felt a bit silly and pointless, and overall the lackluster mystery of the week didn't help that situation at all.
But - and with Psych I don't think I'd ever be able to criticize an episode without a 'but' - I think that I'm willing to trade a not great rest of the episode for the 2 minutes and 30 seconds of Gus's dance routine and Lassiter dancing all spiffied up. It's just...how can you resist!