Recap / Psych S 08 E 10 The Breakup

Season 8, Episode 10

The Break-Up

"Shawn, let go of the wheel!"

Directed by Steve Franks

Written by Steve Franks

Gus has finally found a new job – a much better one, with incredible employee benefits and pay. He’s truly happy with his life for the first time in a long while. Shawn realizes he wants to close Psych for good and move north to be with Juliet in San Francisco. He starts recording a tape to send Gus explaining everything, but has a very hard time telling his best friend that he’s ending “Psych” and leaving Santa Barbara for good. However, before he can finish, Lassiter asks for help on one final murder mystery.

A man named Warren Dern has been found dead on his living room floor. While investigating, the hypercompetent new head Detective, Betsy Brannigan, keeps right up with Shawn, and finds that Dern had a mysterious and potentially dangerous partner named Klaus Godecke before Shawn can get a word in edgewise. Unfortunately, what looks like a simple case proves more complicated when Godecke is also found murdered.

Now, Shawn has to figure out a way to tell Gus everything, and wrap up one last case – preferably before Brannigan - before he can leave Santa Barbara for good.

Tropes:

• A Handful for an Eye: Shawn has stolen quite a bit of the spiced flaxseed from Gus’ office kitchen throughout the episode. It becomes a Chekhov's Gag when he throws some in the killer’s face to blind him so he and Gus can escape.
• And the Adventure Continues: Shawn’s largely ad-libbed Wacky Marriage Proposal to Juliet is interrupted by a thief grabbing the engagement ring and running off with it. Shawn, Gus, and Juliet pile into the stolen Drivers’ Ed car and the last shot of the show has them in pursuit down the street.
• Blatant Lies: While trying to screw himself up to explain everything to Gus, Shawn claims that “someone” ate all the food in Gus’ barrel of emergency supplies and stole the blankets to make a fort. But it wasn’t him. Gus isn’t fooled for an instant, and we later see Shawn has stolen the entire restocked barrel.
• Call-Back: One of the ways Henry tries to teach the criminology students is to ask one how many hats there are in the room.
• Crossover Punchline: It seems the SFPD already has a special consultant of their own… He’s mentioned as currently alphabetizing a murder victim’s spice cabinet.
• Destroy the Evidence: In his farewell DVD to Lassiter at the end, it looks like Shawn is about to finally admit that he has no psychic powers… but before he can finish the sentence, Lassiter stops the recording, snaps the DVD in half, and throws it in the trash without a word.
• Framing Device: The bulk of the episode is told in flashback, with Shawn explaining the case through his farewell video to Gus.
• Grand Finale: The series finally ends here, with everyone going their own ways… sort of.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Shawn almost bursts into tears on Gus’ farewell DVD, claiming Gus might have had greater advances in his own life were it not for Shawn bursting into his office eight years prior.
• Hidden Depths: Lassiter figures out why Shawn is acting belligerent and obnoxious at the crime scene in a matter of seconds, startling Shawn.
• It Gets Easier: When Ian Collins threatens to kill Shawn and Gus if they don’t tell him where the gun is, Shawn tries appealing to his better nature. Collins responds that killing people is a lot easier than it used to be, for him.
• I Work Alone: Brannigan insists on doing this. Judging by her skill, Shawn doubts she needs a partner – or a police department. That said, she eventually chooses McNab as her new partner, to everyone’s shock.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Shawn starts acting jumpy and twitchy around Gus, because he has to break the news that he’s moving away. Everyone catches on surprisingly quickly – except Gus.
• Screaming at Squick: While searching for whatever the victims were looking for, Gus digs up a corpse. He flees into the woods, showing he still Screams Like a Little Girl.
• Stalker with a Crush: Gus falls hard for a coworker with the middle name “Love”, and quietly stalks her to find out more about her without ever talking to her. Shawn calls Gus out for acting “A little creepy”. At the end, he decides to take a bold approach, introduces himself to her, and leans in for a kiss… whereupon she leans back to avoid him and promptly maces him.
• Stern Teacher: Henry gets roped into teaching a law enforcement course at the local college, and quickly proves to be one to his grand total of three students.
• We Were Your Team: Shawn leaves for San Francisco, leaving Santa Barbara behind forever. He leaves everyone farewell DVDs with recordings of him saying goodbye. Then Gus flatly defies the trope, quitting his job and driving to San Francisco to be with Shawn.
• Where It All Began: Shawn takes Gus to their old high school to break the news to him. While there, they’re confronted by the killer, and escape when Shawn steals the same Student Driver car that he had stolen back when he was a teenager.
• With Catlike Tread: After sneaking into Gus’ workplace to pick him up for the case, Shawn spies on him a minute, learns that Gus is really getting his life in order lately… and then knocks an entire shelf of snack food over before casually walking out with an I Meant to Do That attitude.
• "X" Marks the Spot: Shawn and Gus find a topographic map of the area at one point, and sees an “X” on the map somewhere in the woods. Turns out it’s where a third body was buried.