Recap / Psych S 07 E 10 Santa Barbarian Candidate

Season 7, Episode 10

Santa Barbarian Candidate

"And so it is, with that same sense of pride and a renewed hope for unbound glory that I, Shawn Spencer, do hereby declare my candidacy for the office of mayor!... Gus, I'm not even sure this thing is on."

Directed by Richard Coleman

Written by Tim Meltreger

Santa Barbara Mayor Gavin Channing has called in a press conference to celebrate Psych and the SBPD keeping the streets safer than ever. Unfortunately, the very next morning, he's found dead in his wetsuit, the victim of a surfing accident. However, a number of things don't quite add up, and Shawn decides that Tom Swaggerty, the City Council Head – and the next mayor – bears looking into. Discovering that he can legally stall Swaggerty becoming mayor by running as an alternative candidate, Shawn announces his candidacy for mayor. Despite Channing's old right-hand man Jason Straub lending them his support, Psych will have their hands full running an election campaign while trying to figure out what really happened to Channing.

Tropes:

• Actor Allusion: It took almost eight seasons, but they finally worked in a reference to Dulé Hill's former role on The West Wing.
• Attack of the Political Ad: Inverted. After Shawn realizes that Swaggerty didn't do it, he asks Gus to intentionally sabotage his own campaign so that nobody will vote for him, since simply dropping out of the race while he's ahead in the polls will raise a lot of questions and public scrutiny. Gus takes the request and runs with it, creating and airing a number of frightening TV ads and putting up posters with unflattering pictures of Shawn all over town.
• Blackmail Backfire: Channing accidentally killed Swaggerty's fiancée while having an affair with her. He asked Straub to help him cover it up, and they did, but Channing's plumber witnessed the whole thing and took pictures. The plumber blackmailed him for money, and he got it. Years later, the plumber demanded more. Channing was ready to come clean, but Straub wasn't, and he killed Channing and the plumber to keep them both quiet.
• Bludgeoned to Death: Both Gavin Channing and Mike Plummer were killed by getting bashed in the head, with a decoration and an extendable baton respectively.
• Election Day Episode: Much of the plot revolves around Shawn's mayoral campaign against Swaggerty.
• Heel Realization: Juliet is still outraged at Shawn lying to her for so long, and demands that he tell Chief Vick the truth about being a fake psychic. Near the very end, he almost does it – and Juliet barges in to stop him, since she realizes how selfish it actually is.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Very close. Channing's plumber is actually named "Plummer".
• It's All About Me: Shawn actually walks up to the mic during the press conference at the beginning, and takes over from the mayor – without being asked to.
• Loophole Abuse: Gus stole the original copy of the city bylaws from Channing's office. He claims there's nothing in the bylaws about stealing the bylaws.
• Low Count Gag: When Shawn announces he's running for mayor in front of city hall as though in front of a large crowd, the camera reveals that the only witnesses are Gus and a random homeless woman.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: Whoever killed Channing put him in his wetsuit and threw him into the ocean to make it look like he'd died in a surfing accident.
• Missing Mom: Councilman Swaggerty has a young daughter and seems to have custody of her. Her mother is never mentioned and Swaggerty was recently engaged to another woman before her death.
• Our Slogan Is Terrible: Swaggerty's first order of business is to help come up with a new motto for Santa Barbara. Shawn suggests "Stop for a pee – stay for a lifetime".
• Really Gets Around: Channing and his wife Renee both sleep around quite a lot. They have a mutual understanding, and make no pretensions that theirs is not a Marriage of Convenience (he's mayor, she's financially loaded and has good connections).
• Red Herring:
  • The first half of the episode has Shawn and Gus scoping out a land development company that had been pestering Channing for years about building on a local wetland. Channing, an environmentalist, denied them the land. It eventually turns out the company had nothing to do with it.
  • Shawn initially suspects Swaggerty because Channing's death makes him the mayor right before the wetlands vote, but Swaggerty has an alibi for Channing's death and is also against developing the wetlands.
• Some of My Best Friends Are X: Shawn mentions on a TV interview – for no apparent reason – that he doesn't like black jellybeans. He then adds that some of his best friends are black jellybeans. Gus is dumbfounded.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Shawn's disastrous first TV interview involves him pledging to protect Santa Barbara – on the California coast – from "invaders from the north and the west". He gets a call from Woody afterwards, who's thrilled that someone is addressing the issues he cares about.
• Stylistic Suck: Shawn and Gus whip up a very simple and poorly-designed building model as a proof of concept to gain access to the land development company. They leave an apple core on it by mistake.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Mayor Channing was immensely charming and loved by everyone, which makes his murder that much more confusing.