Season 5, Episode 5
Shawn and Gus in Drag (Racing)
"She may look like hell. She may sound like hell. She may run like hell. She may smell like hell... but she is fast as hell."
Directed by Mel Damski
Written by Tim Meltreger and Kell Cahoon
Late one night, a masked thief hijacks a white Lamborghini Murcielago and speeds away with it. Lassiter and Juliet manage to chase him for a few minutes, but he soon loses them. The thief is soon found a few blocks away with a bullet in his head. He is identified as Max Contreras, a major figure in underground street racing who has connections to a loan shark named Logan Paget. Logan - the Lamborghini's owner - never reported the vehicle being stolen, adding to the strangeness. Now, Shawn and Gus will have to infiltrate the dangerous world of underground street racing, figure out who killed Max, and see if they can catch up to who’s behind all this…Tropes:
- Affably Evil: Tommy and his crew. They’re carjackers and illegal street racers, and Tommy is the killer but they are amiable enough to Shawn and Gus, and Tommy even saves Shawn’s life from a thuggish racer.
- Badass Driver: Everyone in Tommy’s crew, particularly Tommy himself.
- Banana in the Tailpipe: How Shawn tampers with the Lamborghini after Tommy steals it and bails. Well, actually, more like a fistful of sturdier vegetables like zucchini. When Tommy floors it intending to slam through a police barricade, it kills the engine and forces it to roll to a stop right in front of them.
- Berserk Button: When Gina is arrested, Shawn has to think fast to keep it from being obvious he’s working with the cops. He quietly tells Lassiter Ronald Reagan was a terrible president, and Lassiter punches him to the floor on the spot.
- Call-Back: A couple. Turns out Gus got in big trouble when Shawn “pimped out” the blueberry in “Zero to Murder in Sixty Seconds”. Gus flatly forbids him from monkeying with it again, so Shawn goes for his dad’s truck, instead. Gus has also been using scalp oil since the events of “Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion“. And finally, when Shawn is found out by Tommy, he starts to mention the events of "The Head The Tail The Whole Damn Episode" before Gus cuts him off.
- Cool Car: A lot of them, but the white Lamborghini Murcielago is probably the best example.
- Corrupted Character Copy: The episode is a Whole-Plot Reference to The Fast and the Furious movies, with Tommy Nix (played by Adam Rodriguez) serving as the Dominic Toretto stand-in, being a Badass Driver who is the leader of a group of close-knit car thieves. However, it is ultimately revealed that Tommy has absolutely none of Dom's positive characteristics. While Dom treated his gang like family and hated betrayal, Tommy murdered one of his gang for trying to go independent and let another one take the fall for his crime.
- Disability Alibi: Shawn realizes Gina has an alibi because the fact that she can't use the index finger on her right hand means not only could she not have fired the right-handed shot that killed Max, but it also means that to kill Max, she'd effectively have to both drive a car at high speeds and shoot him in the head at the same time with the same left hand if she wanted to kill him.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Shawn and Gus try to get nicknames for “street cred” while infiltrating the racers. Gus briefly gets “Road Rash”, much to his dismay.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: How did Shawn get the Lamborghini out of the police impound?...He broke out the Rice Krispy Treats.
- I Was Beaten by a Girl: Gina almost kicks Shawn and Gus’s asses, and they’re teased quite a bit for it. The fact that she had pulled a gun on Shawn never seems to come up during the teasing.
- Kids Driving Cars: In the Cold Open, young Shawn tries to drive Henry's truck down to the end of the driveway while he's at work. Unfortunately, he can't quite reach the brake pedal. Disaster is averted when Henry runs out and stops it - turns out his hours changed.
- Loan Shark: Logan Paget, who doubles as an exotic car dealer. His connections to Max put him squarely in the investigation, especially since Max owed him a lot of money.
- Nitro Boost: Shawn hooks Henry’s truck up to some nitro canisters, letting him keep up with Tommy during their first street race. Tommy still wins, but by much less than anyone expected.
- Punk in the Trunk: Tommy stuffs Gus in his car trunk while taking him hostage.
- Scars Are Forever: Gina was in an accident that damaged her right hand. She can no longer use her pointer and middle finger, and some skin on that hand is clearly scar tissue.
- Thrill Seeker: Tommy’s whole crew, particularly Tommy himself. He wants to get to 200 mph at some point.
- True Companions: Gus knocks a gun out of Gina’s hand while she has it aimed at Shawn, probably saving his life. Later, when Tommy takes Gus hostage, Shawn steals the Lamborghini from police impound to return the favor.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: During the street race between Tommy’s specialized car, and Henry’s old, beat-up pickup truck. Tommy has this reaction when the truck actually roars up behind him and starts to pass.
