Psych – Shawn meets his match, and it’s The Single Guy

by Brett Love

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Jonathan Silverman is uniquely qualified to appear on Psych as either a guest star, or an off the wall reference. He’s a funny guy, which covers the first bit. And his acting resume includes things like the short lived The Single Guy, Weekend At Bernie’s, and Gimme A Break, which are all right in the Shawn and Gus reference wheelhouse. He was particularly well cast as Lyin’ Ryan, bringing just the right amount of crazy to the role, and more importantly, turning the tables on Shawn.

I was on board with Ryan right from the start. His elaborate tale during the interrogation scene was so random, and had such odd details that you just had to know more. Lassiter’s reaction was just what you would expect, and not unlike how we have seen him when dealing with Shawn. The interrogation also set the stage nicely for the investigation as the pieces of Ryan’s crazy puzzle fell into place.

That’s all well and good, but the status quo for Psych says that Shawn is usually the nuttiest guy in the room. He’s bouncing from joke to tangent as everyone around him tries to keep up and deal with him. It was fun to see him on the other side of it this week, because Ryan was a whole new kind of crazy. And that set Shawn’s world askew. It could also explain why he was late to making the connection between all the various clues. Have a look, as Shawn is finally fed up with it.

I’m guessing I will be in the vast minority on this one, but the episode also featured my favorite bit of casting so far in the new year. Did you recognize Anne, the waitress serving up the fries quatro queso dos fritos? That was the lovely and talented Tanja Reichert. She’s been in a ton of stuff, but I always think of her as Karen Petrusky from Relic Hunter. That was a great show. Her appearance in Broken Lizard’s Club Dread is also highly recommended.

Finally, a few of my favorite gags this week:

“I gave you Vin Diesel. You’re not claiming Grimace as a brother.” – Shawn, after Gus refers to Grimace as a brother. The entire Grimace conversation was great.
“Are you part of Treadstone?” – Shawn, questioning Tom Lieber.
“That guy with the great hair… and the white guy.” – Ryan, describing Shawn and Gus. Funny because Gus has almost no hair, but also because it’s the kind of thing that will just eat at Shawn.