| 1 | The cast of ''Series/{{Psych}}'' are a colorful and strange collection of crimefighters with memorable personalities. |
| 2 | ---- |
| 3 | |
| 4 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | !Main |
| 7 | [[folder:Shawn Spencer]] |
| 8 | !!Shawn Spencer |
| 9 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shawn_spencer_2.jpg]] |
| 10 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I wouldn’t say crazy. Maybe an eccentric who looks good in jeans."'']] |
| 11 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/JamesRodayRodriguez (Adult), Liam James and Creator/SkylerGisondo (Child) |
| 12 | -->''"The best way to convince people you're not lying to them is to tell them you are."'' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | The main character, a BrilliantButLazy PhonyPsychic running the eponymous detective agency. |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | * AgentScully: Downplayed. On cases that have a hint of the supernatural (such as a client who believes he's a werewolf [[spoiler: he's just troubled and his mental issues exploited by his psychologist, the real criminal]] or a girl who believes her best friend was possessed before being possessed herself [[spoiler: she fakes it and her friend was drugged by her]]), Shawn shows skepticism toward it while Gus ends up buying into it wholeheartedly. On the other hand, he does genuinely believe in extraterrestrials along with Gus, and the episodes "This Episode Sucks" and "Heeeeere's Lassie" show how he's perfectly willing to believe in vampires, and haunted buildings respectively (albeit temporarily in the latter's case). |
| 17 | * AlliterativeName: '''S'''hawn '''S'''pencer. |
| 18 | * AmbiguouslyBi: Frequently quite flirty with ... pretty much everyone. Plus many (many, ''many'') other behaviors. |
| 19 | -->'''Shawn:''' Hey, this guy has a ticket to a Michael Damian concert!\ |
| 20 | '''Gus:''' Why would you take that?\ |
| 21 | '''Shawn:''' Because it has a picture of Michael Damian on it. |
| 22 | ** He once unironically told Lassiter "You are so sexy right now!" when the latter decided to buck protocol to help out Gus. |
| 23 | * AmbiguouslyJewish: One episode has him claiming that he played football in the Israeli League, and another episode shows him getting wedded by parachute; the wedding is being officiated by a rabbi. |
| 24 | * AttentionDeficitOohShiny: It is all but outright spelled out throughout the series that Shawn has some kind of ADD / ADHD-style behavioral disorder. He demonstrates many of the symptoms, including inattentiveness, hyperactivity and -- ironically considering his ability to pick up and memorise tiny details -- a general inability to focus or concentrate on a given situation. He claims at one point in ''Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark'' that his inability to concentrate may be due to his ADD, although in this particular case it may also be [[spoiler: a sarcastic comment because he's both been shot and one of the of the men he's talking to is pointing a gun in his face]]. |
| 25 | * AttentionWhore: Shawn is not exactly shy and retiring from the spotlight. In some episodes he gets salty when other people steal (what he thinks is) his thunder. |
| 26 | * AwesomeByAnalysis: His analytical skills have been honed to a frightening art by his father and was able to solve cases just by minute evidence around the start of the show. They even have their own sound effects. |
| 27 | * TheBarnum: Charismatic and charming, he is quite capable of fooling people in a somewhat showman-esque fashion and often applies it in his case when undercover work is needed. |
| 28 | * BavarianFireDrill: Frequently gets access to things that he wants/needs by fast-talking a witness or a low-level employee. He's quite successful at it. |
| 29 | * BerserkButton: In the 11th episode of Season One, he delivers a furious TheReasonYouSuck speech to the scammers for exploiting the speed dating service, as it indirectly led to their victims losing an opportunity to find love. This is one of the only times in the series where he does this. |
| 30 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: Shawn Spencer may be a {{Manchild}} who has a tendency for acting silly and relying on unorthodox means, but he is still a very brilliant detective with a powerful analytical mind and eidetic memory. In fact, his silly nature and odd tactics mean he's often underestimated... and then he proceeds to pull the rug from out of them. He has sent many dangerous, insane, and notorious criminals to jail. |
| 31 | * BookDumb: He's never been much for academia, being more of an active learner. Usually PlayedForLaughs since his ignorance will often lead to Gus, who is academically gifted, to correct him. |
| 32 | * BrilliantButLazy: Spelled out pretty well by Declan Rand, who profiles him as highly intelligent but shameful of that fact, so he downplays it using immature behavior. |
| 33 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: Loud, dramatic, snarky and outright childish on every case. Expertly solves each one. |
| 34 | * TheCasanova: Shawn's [[EstablishingCharacterMoment first scene as an adult]] has him in the middle of an intimate moment with a girl, who is never seen again and it's suggested he uses his HyperAwareness to seduce woman. The trait is downplayed in the main series, but he is shown flirting with various waitresses and "pretty girls of the week." He does eventually have long committed relationships with Abigail and Juliet by the end. |
| 35 | * CharacterCatchphrase: Has several. |
| 36 | ** "I've heard it both ways." |
| 37 | ** "Wait for 'iiiiiiiiiit'." |
| 38 | ** "Gus, don't be _____________." |
| 39 | ** "Suck it!" |
| 40 | ** "You know that's right." |
| 41 | ** "My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner [ridiculous name for Gus]." |
| 42 | ** "I can't do this with you right now." |
| 43 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: |
| 44 | ** His earliest appearances had him much more of an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist and his relationship with Gus a lot more [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic]]. Later episodes took note of his nicer traits and flaws. |
| 45 | ** It should be noted that the pilot shows shades of his nicer traits such as: using his ability to figure out the positive CharacterDepth of the girl he has a crush on, feeling guilty when he thinks his psychic act may have led to murder, trying to stop a police officer from listening to another fake psychic, and both young and adult Shawn referring to older women and authority figures as "ma'am." |
| 46 | ** In earlier episodes he would immediately rule out any supernatural phenomena usually dragging Gus back down to earth, yet later on, most notably in "This Episode Sucks", he is perfectly accepting of the culprit being a vampire. He's also more than willing to believe in spirits haunting buildings in the episode "Heeeeere's Lassie", though he changes his mind on the matter halfway through the episode. |
| 47 | * CharacterizingSittingPose: In one of the posters, he is crouching on a table-like structure while fist-bumping Gus, which perfectly showcases his off the wall personality. |
| 48 | * TheCharmer: One of Shawn's greatest assets is his ability to charm people. This is likely the result of analyzing them to know how he should approach them to get what he wants along with his easygoing nature. Hilariously enough, he also has a singular talent for being tactless and irritating (though this is often on purpose). |
| 49 | * ChildhoodFriends: He and Gus have been best friends together since elementary school and Henry himself mentions Gus has been one of the few constants in Shawn's life. |
| 50 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's goofy, makes a lot of pop culture references, and uses his "psychic power" as a excuse to act as [[LargeHam over the top as possible]]. |
| 51 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Shawn isn't really a serious threat, but people ''do'' seriously underestimate him due to his ManChild antics. He's able to hold his own long enough that he can survive until help arrives. One time he drew out a fight with a Federal Marshal for several minutes. He managed to keep from being completely and immediately curb stomped by a martial arts expert. He escaped a pursuer in the woods with a bullet wound in his shoulder. We never see any real coaching in martial arts, but since Henry taught him how to escape if locked in the trunk of a car by a bad guy, we can assume he at least got some basic instruction in personal violence. |
| 52 | * DeadpanSnarker: He is not afraid to dish some hilarious snark, often at his dad or Lassiter. |
| 53 | * DefectiveDetective: Played with; he's not defective in the typical "brooding, tormented and socially withdrawn" sense that this trope is often used to describe, as he's generally very upbeat and outgoing, if somewhat obnoxious. However, it is heavily implied throughout the series that he has some kind of behavioural disorder such as ADD or ADHD. |
| 54 | * DistractedByTheSexy: If there's a young woman involved in the case, Shawn can't keep his eyes off her, at least until he gets serious with Abby and, later, Jules. |
| 55 | * DistressedDude: [[spoiler: In ''Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark'']], and in any situation where he confronts the murderer or gets caught without backup. It's usually Jules bailing him out. |
| 56 | * DramaticallyMissingThePoint: In season 7, thanks to a clue in the jacket he lent her, [[spoiler:Juliet finally figures out Shawn is a fake psychic. After an episode of mulling it over, Shawn says that "if I just hadn't given you my jacket, it would all be okay." Shawn believes that it's the way Juliet found out that made her upset, not grasping that the reason she's mad is because he's been lying to her all this time.]] |
| 57 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: Downplayed. Shawn's unorthodox methods have been the deciding factor in arresting murderers, thieves, con artists, and even serial killers. Many times over the course of the series the Santa Barbara police would have imprisoned the wrong person, and many people would be dead, without Shawn's help. Despite this, every week the police force say they don't have time for his "hunches," his help is not needed, and please get out of the way so the "real" cops can do their jobs. Granted, it's really Lassiter that does this and most of the police are pretty okay with Shawn. Heck, while drunk, Lassiter confesses he's impressed by Shawn's detective work and he's really only annoyed by his flippant behavior (though Lassiter's insecurities and issues play a big part). |
| 58 | * EveryoneHasStandards: |
| 59 | ** He is willing to put Gus in many an embarrassing situation, but he draws the line somewhere, as seen in the Civil War Re-enactment episode. He also would never deliberately put Gus in a situation where his life would be at risk. |
| 60 | ** For all his cavalier attitude towards everything, he takes women seriously and looks down on sexist behavior. He also dislikes CasanovaWannabe behaviour. |
| 61 | ** Shawn is usually quick to dismiss supernatural occurrences, and episodes centered around such are the only episodes where he is saner than Gus. |
| 62 | ** He is willing to let other people take credit for solving his cases if its highly important for them. He has done this twice with Lassie (the first time was to give him a confidence boost, the second time was to help him regain the respect of his sister) and once with Gus (When his uncle thought that ''Gus'' was the psychic). |
| 63 | ** In the pilot episode, while he is willing to pretend to be a psychic to get himself out of a jam with the police and clearly enjoys the performative aspects surrounding it, he makes a point of persuading a particularly credulous police officer to stop spending money on (obviously phony) psychics, heavily suggesting that he disapproves of confidence trickery and taking advantage of people. |
| 64 | ** He enjoys trolling and annoying Lassie, but he is genuinely offended when Lassie asks him if he stole his car in "Zero to Murder in 60 Seconds", saying that he would never do anything that could taint the reputation of the SBPD and its officers. |
| 65 | * ExpansionPackPast: Shawn, in partial rebellion to his father, has had fifty-seven prior jobs and has spent time in Argentina and Thailand among many other places. |
| 66 | * ExtremelyProtectiveChild: Shawn may sometimes have a vitriolic relationship with his father, but when he learns that [[spoiler: he was shot, by a family friend and former partner no less]] in the Season 7 premiere, he goes on a rampage for the man. To a lesser extent with his mom since a large reason for his and his father's relationship issues in the first two seasons was because he viewed Henry at fault for the divorce (though it's later revealed Henry purposefully took the blame so Shawn wouldn't resent his mother for leaving). |
| 67 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: As a manic talker, extroverted charmer, and huge egotist, Sanguine. |
| 68 | * FreezeFrameBonus: In "Bounty Hunters," two old piercing holes in his left earlobe are visible. |
| 69 | ** Similarly, there's occasionally a hint of a scar visible on his chest. [[note]] James Roday's real scar from an open heart surgery in his teens [[/note]] |
| 70 | * FreudianExcuse: Everything about him, from his PhotographicMemory to his [[{{Manchild}} immature personality]] comes from his ControlFreak father forcing him to grow up at the expense of a normal childhood, the rebellion in his teen years onward to spite him. |
| 71 | * GeniusDitz: He's an eccentric manchild whose behavior wavers between that of a 7-year-old and a 20-something, but he's an utterly brilliant sleuth who has put away many dangerous criminals and solved seemingly unsolvable crimes. |
| 72 | * GoodFeelsGood: Despite having purposefully sabotaged his chances of becoming a cop, Shawn legitimately enjoys his detective work because of being able to help people, especially if in unorthodox cases or situations. |
| 73 | * GuileHero: Solves cases, apprehends criminals, and gets out of prickly situations using only his fast thinking and his wits. |
| 74 | * TheHeart: Thanks to his ability to analyze people, Shawn is able to form get people to bond with him very quickly. Fortunately, he's also very definitely TheHero, and also uses this to help those people (even when it means he, for example, will ''not'' be getting laid, because he's reconnecting a woman with her fiancé). |
| 75 | -->'''O'Hara:''' ''How'' does he make friends so easily? |
| 76 | * TheHero: Our main character, everyone! |
| 77 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: He has been best friends with Gus since elementary school, their bromance has been lampshaded more than a few times, and when he proposes to Jules, it's with the caveat that Gus is pretty much part of the deal (which both she and Gus exchange a humorous nod in agreement to Shawn's statement). |
| 78 | * HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Usually seen via flashback. |
| 79 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: In the pilot, he quickly fires five rounds that hit so close to Detective Barry's that she initially thinks that he missed entirely. |
| 80 | ** The next time we see him use a gun (which isn't until season 4's "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark"), he shoots out the engine block of his kidnapper's pickup truck--left-handed, while clinging to the hood of a speeding car, with a bullet hole in his other shoulder, and the sun in his eyes to boot. It's so impressive that even Lassiter compliments him. |
| 81 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Not even his inner ego manages to change his delusion that he is the greatest gift to everyone around him except Lassiter. Granted he may be playing this up just for comical value. |
| 82 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Downplayed in regards to the jerk part, as the 'jerk' part tends to be him being silly, annoying or obnoxious more than anything truly mean-spirited or unkind (except with Lassiter or, at their worst, Henry). Nevertheless, for all his erratic, impulsive, and selfish tendencies, he cares deeply about all of his friends and genuinely loves using his talents to help people. His entire reason for having become a detective in the first place is because he loves to help others out and doing good. |
| 83 | * KarmaHoudini: PlayedWith. While he often does many unscrupulous things, they are either for the sake of the case or he does pay for them in some form later. |
| 84 | * LargeHam: He is quite possibly the hammiest PhonyPsychic in all of network television. |
| 85 | * LikeFatherLikeSon: Shawn hates the idea, but people ''frequently'' point out many similarities between him and Henry. Usually traits they find annoying. |
| 86 | * LovableRogue: Sure he's a trickster with a penchant for being annoying, but it's hard to stay mad at him and he does a lot of good for a lot of people. |
| 87 | * MagicianDetective: While he's a fake psychic, his theatrics and guile give him the air of this. |
| 88 | * {{Malaproper}}: He's [[CharacterCatchphrase heard it both ways]]: his weak excuse for totally misusing parts of the English language. |
| 89 | * ManChild: He's a big silly goofball often coming up with catchphrases and indulging in childish behaviors like snacking, watching cartoons, and napping. It's implied that some of his childishess is a backlash from his father's often strict and controlling parenting. |
| 90 | * MissingMom: His parents divorced when he was an adolescent and his dad maintained custody. This divorce was what led to the hidden tensions toward his dad to come out and for him to act out. |
| 91 | * {{Narcissist}}: [[DownplayedTrope To an extent]]. Shawn needs to be the center of attention--the funniest, cleverest and most inscrutable guy in the room--or else he's off his game. While he's not [[LackOfEmpathy callous]], he's so self-centered and pushy that you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. All that said, he'll also [[InvokedTrope play this up]] as part of his PhonyPsychic act. |
| 92 | -->'''Dr. Elliot:''' Your departmental profile suggests that the closest psychological identification for you would be narcissistic personality disorder.\ |
| 93 | '''Shawn:''' That's handsome disease. |
| 94 | * NiceToTheWaiter: Shawn shows a lot of goodwill and respect toward people doing basic and common jobs, contrasting how he tends to flaunt authority figures. While this is often to give him a way in, it's worth noting that he spent several years abroad and working at odd jobs so he probably has a good idea of what they go through. |
| 95 | * TheNicknamer: Once per episode Gus is saddled with a ridiculous nickname by Shawn. Jules and Lassie are nicknames Shawn gives and actually sticks with. |
| 96 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: Underneath the exterior of a clownish and somewhat clueless fun-loving guy is a very well-trained sharp mind and a drive to succeed when the chips are down. People who underestimate him pay for it. |
| 97 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Shawn tends to be cavalier at inappropriate times, so when he drops his attitude and becomes fully serious, you ''know'' things are ''serious''. Bonus points if he is yelling at Lassie and Jules. |
| 98 | * OutOfCharacterMoment: In-universe example, Shawn accidentally breaks his psychic shtick by admitting he scored 100% on the detective's exam when he was 15. Lassiter and Juliet are too taken aback to notice. |
| 99 | * PermaStubble: Usually seen with it. Develops a proper beard during the movies |
| 100 | * PhonyPsychic: Cannot reveal the 'phony' part without serious legal consequences. |
| 101 | * PhotographicMemory: He was able to look back on something that happened while he was ''in elementary school'' and remember a new detail that he'd missed before. This is standard procedure for him gaining evidence and was inherited from his mother. He was even able to recreate scenes with this, such as the military model map of Lassiter's Civil War battle reenactment (Gus notes his surprise since Shawn only had a minute) or able to recreate his elementary classroom in trying to find out if he may have accidentally framed their elementary school bully for a spitwad incident. |
| 102 | * PolicePsychic: Invoked. Shawn Spencer is a consultant to his local police department as a 'psychic', because he has helped them crack difficult cases on more than one occasion. However, he doesn't actually have psychic powers, but instead a PhotographicMemory and supreme deductive reasoning skills. He does not really try to shed the psychic label, however, as he does enjoy crime solving but couldn't make himself become a police officer. |
| 103 | * PopCulturedBadass: Always sprinkles references to movies, TV shows, and music, to the annoyance of others (besides Gus). |
| 104 | * PrivateDetective: Currently the main private detective of his business. |
| 105 | * PstandardPsychicPstance: Puts his hand to his head even when he's alone with people who know better. Both Gus and Henry get very annoyed when he does this around them. |
| 106 | * RedOniBlueOni: Usually the Red Oni to Gus' or Juliet's Blue Oni. |
| 107 | * RefugeInAudacity: How he gets away with anything: make every scheme ballsy and over-the-top and act with utter conviction. It works. |
| 108 | * SadClown: A lot of his antics stem from his unique childhood and his offbeat humor, especially during cases, serves as a coping mechanism. Shawn actually mentions that he needs to do this to function and keep his cool, best exemplified in the first part of the Yin-Yang trilogy, where the sick game of cat-and-mouse begins to get to Shawn, so Gus has to play the clown to keep Shawn from losing it. |
| 109 | * TheScully: Usually whenever a supernatural case comes up. |
| 110 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Partly why he goes above and beyond police protocol when he thinks the wrong person is being prosecuted. While Shawn is naturally rebellious, he does also take cases that the police won't because he wants to do right. |
| 111 | * ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Usually done at the same time with Gus, when faced with the baddie of the week or horror-movie situation. |
| 112 | * SherlockScan: His way of gaining information. |
| 113 | * TheSlacker: Somewhat; he doesn't have a traditional job and may act like one, but he's a highly competent detective with an impressive record. |
| 114 | * SweetTooth: He and Gus frequently take breaks from their investigations for cakes, cookies, ice creams... |
| 115 | * TookALevelInDumbass: Makes some really stupid mistakes in later seasons. Henry notes this as him not being challenged enough by the work that he does and getting sloppy. Shawn does realizes this and proceeds to get himself back up to snuff. |
| 116 | * TookALevelInJerkass: Occurred in the later seasons before evening out and going back to his nicer one. |
| 117 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Pineapples. |
| 118 | * TrainingFromHell: A watered-down version to be sure, but Shawn's father Henry relentlessly drilled Shawn from very early in his childhood (to the exclusion of a normal childhood, save Gus — which isn't saying much) to be hyper aware of his surroundings with a powerful eye for detail and supreme deductive reasoning, combined with his natural eidetic memory (inherited from his mom). |
| 119 | * UndyingLoyalty: Most of all to Gus, but also to Juliet, Lassiter, and Vick. |
| 120 | * UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the writer]], Shawn's antics can easily qualify. |
| 121 | * UnusualEuphemism: Frequently, as part of his antics. |
| 122 | * VitriolicBestBuds: |
| 123 | ** He and Gus argue and mock each other over pretty much everything, especially during the earlier seasons. From relationships, to personal interests, to how to handle a case. But they've been best friends since childhood and when matters get serious, always have each other's back. |
| 124 | ** He and Lassiter may snipe at each other a lot, but when push comes to shove they do respect each other and are willing to rely on each other if they're forced to. It helps that Shawn is more willing to acknowledge they are friends and help him out (in the first season, he took on a case for free and without credit all to help build Lassiter's confidence back up after seeing how Lassiter's marital troubles have been weighing him down). |
| 125 | * WellDoneSonGuy: Henry isn't the easiest guy to impress and doesn't exactly conceal when he's disappointed, meaning that Shawn has spent most of his life either trying to impress his father or actively rebelling against him. Combine this with how alike they are and a lot of Shawn's problems are seen. |
| 126 | * WouldntHitAGirl: He doesn't really have to hit ''anyone'' most of the time, but whenever the culprit is female and he's pushed to it, he makes specific mention of this. |
| 127 | * WorthyOpponent: To many criminals, but Despereaux calls him this. Yin calls him his "most admirable foe." |
| 128 | [[/folder]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[folder:Burton "Gus" Guster]] |
| 131 | !!Burton "Gus" Guster |
| 132 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gus_guster.jpg]] |
| 133 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"You hear about Pluto? That's messed up, right?"'']] |
| 134 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/DuleHill (Adult) and Carlos Mc Culler II (Child) |
| 135 | -->''"I'm nobody’s pawn, Shawn. I'm a queen."'' |
| 136 | |
| 137 | Shawn's best friend since elementary school, Gus is a pharmaceutical salesman who has his life turned upside down by the return of his best friend to town, who convinces him to become a private detective. |
| 138 | ---- |
| 139 | * AgentMulder: Whenever he and Shawn encounter what seem to be supernatural cases, Gus is the one who believes in the supernatural explanation and has to be proven wrong by [[AgentScully Shawn]]. |
| 140 | * BadassDriver: He and Shawn get around with Gus' car ([[CharacterCatchphrase "It's a company car!"]]), so Gus always drives it for the cases that require it. |
| 141 | * BeleagueredAssistant: Frequently exasperated with the things that Shawn makes him go along with. |
| 142 | * BerserkButton: Never ''ever'' steal food from his plate. Shawn has gotten the back of his hand slapped many times trying. |
| 143 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Like Shawn, he can be dangerous when provoked, especially when he starts getting used to the new action. |
| 144 | * BigEater: Reaching {{Flanderization}} levels in season six. Though the season finale drops a line about Gus trying to do a cleanse so it may have been the result of an unsuccessful lifestyle change. |
| 145 | * BlackAndNerdy: Gus is a pharmaceutical sales rep who has a passion for spelling bees, comic books, and tap dancing. His knowledge of medicines also comes in handy from time to time. |
| 146 | * CasanovaWannabe: If there is a readily available young woman that is somehow involved with the case, expect Gus to [[DistractedByTheSexy throw away caution or reason]] and put the moves on her. While Shawn isn't above flirting with every woman he sees, Gus will ''genuinely'' try to act smooth around them and it will always end with him failing to woo them by the end. This happens so often that Shawn can identify the moment it happens and will try to end it before it starts. |
| 147 | * CharacterCatchphrase: Like Shawn, Gus also has a few. |
| 148 | ** "You hear about Pluto? That's messed up, right?" |
| 149 | ** "You must be out of your damn mind!" |
| 150 | ** "I hear that." |
| 151 | ** "Suck it!" |
| 152 | ** "You know that's right." |
| 153 | ** "It's a company car, Shawn." |
| 154 | ** "I'm a sympathetic crier." |
| 155 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: In earlier episodes, he was firmly the StraightMan to Shawn, and frequently protested his inane behavior. As the series progressed, while he still acts as the voice of reason on several occasions, he became nearly as goofy as Shawn, if not moreso at times, and far more willing to be involved in his antics. |
| 156 | * ChildhoodFriends: With Shawn. They've been best friends since elementary school and remains strong to this day. |
| 157 | * CompanionCube: The Blueberry. Gus is ''very'' defensive of his car. |
| 158 | * ConspiracyTheorist: "Romeo and Juliet and Juliet" reveals that he believes the deaths of both Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley were fabricated, and that Elvis hid his identity as a shoe shop cashier until dying in 2008. |
| 159 | * CowardlyLion: Gus is utterly terrified of corpses and doesn't react well to blood. However, he can be brave when the time calls for it and has had some genuine moments of badassery in the show, such as carrying an arsonist out of a burning building, saving Jules from a death trap by holding the long hand of a clock, and tackling a killer who was threatening his girlfriend. |
| 160 | * CowardlySidekick: He usually screams and runs away when he and Shawn find a corpse. |
| 161 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Related to his CasanovaWannabe status, this was exploited in "Last Night Gus" and it's this flaw that forces Shawn to play straight man several times. |
| 162 | * DistressedDude: Alongside Shawn in some of the case wrap-ups, though Shawn's had to pull him out of the fire a couple of times. |
| 163 | * TheDragAlong: Reluctantly goes along with Shawn's wild plans, but will make sarcastic comments about how dangerous or stupid Shawn's ideas are. He is more receptive in later seasons. |
| 164 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic, although he's really much more emotional than the temperament is. But he's also willing to let Shawn take charge, while being an absolute sweetie. |
| 165 | * {{Flanderization}}: In earlier seasons, while he certainly displayed interest in a few women here and there, he was nowhere near as flirtatious as Shawn. Starting around Season 5 however, Gus will try and hit on nearly any attractive woman involved with a case, even during very inappropriate times such as when said woman is reporting a murder that she witnessed. |
| 166 | * GenreSavvy: Usually [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] by his catchphrase "You must be outta your damn mind." |
| 167 | * GrammarNazi: In "Disco Didn't Die. It Was Murdered!", Gus says "Now, that's the one that bothers me. Why do people say, 'I could care less' when they really mean, 'I couldn't care less?'" This characteristic is also displayed in other instances throughout the series. |
| 168 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: Very much so with Shawn. To the point where Gus' nightmares in the penultimate episode were caused by fear of being without Shawn. Their relationship is often commented on and even Juliet knows that marrying Shawn means that Gus will be part of the deal. |
| 169 | * ICouldaBeenAContender: While Gus has always been smart, the depths of his intelligence were never touched upon until the episode "If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead?" Said episode has Shawn and Gus investigate the murder of a teacher at Meitner School for Gifted Students, an elite private school, when two students suspect that the murderer was actually another teacher. Shawn suspects Gus applied there and during the investigation of paperwork, Gus discovers that he ''actually'' got accepted into the school. The end of the episode has him complain to his parents in regards to the fact that he could've gotten much further ahead in his life and was pretty shocked the main reason was because of the commute. |
| 170 | * InelegantBlubbering: When provoked to tears, he is not a graceful weeper. |
| 171 | * InterdisciplinarySleuth: Gus's day job as a pharmaceutical rep occasionally helps solve the MysteryOfTheWeek. He also has [[WorkplaceAcquiredAbilities various dorky and esoteric interests]] (such as his interest in safes in "Speak Now And Forever Hold Your Piece") that at times come in handy. |
| 172 | * KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Very few people ever call him Burton. Apparently, he was named after his uncle and said uncle was annoyed with Gus never really going by Burton. |
| 173 | * LastNameBasis: The nickname "Gus" is derivative of his last name, and those that don't use it refer to him as Guster. |
| 174 | * MySisterIsOffLimits: A sentiment shared with his family. |
| 175 | * TheNoseKnows: He has a very keen sense of smell. He calls his nose the Super Sniffer. |
| 176 | * NotSoAboveItAll: Despite being the saner member of the Psych duo, there are times where he is as nutty and excitable as Shawn (They are best friends after all). In fact, there are episodes where he does something that Shawn would normally do, such as a BavarianFireDrill in the season 5 premier, and going after the killer himself when Shawn is hospitalized (for unrelated reasons). |
| 177 | * OnlySaneMan: At least when compared to Shawn, though there are times it has switched, usually when Gus is distracted by a woman or swept up in a seemingly supernatural case. |
| 178 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Gus is normally the cautious and skeptical one of the pair. However, in "COG Blocked" Gus becomes ''very'' invested in proving that a man's supposed suicide was actually a murder to the point of obsession. Gus even starts doing things Shawn would normally do like stealing an employee's security card to get into the building the victim worked in. This also causes Shawn to take the role of the cautious one, concerned over how out of it Gus is acting. It's implied that this is the result of projection; the victim and Gus shared a surprising amount of similarities and saw himself in it (with Lassiter's comments about the supposed suicide and not being memorable setting him off.) It also serves as a moment of CharacterDevelopment as it has Gus reevaluated the kind of life he wants to leave and finally leaves his job in a slow-mo spectacular fashion. |
| 179 | * PlutoIsExpendable: His standard pick-up line is "Have you heard about Pluto? That's messed up right?" referencing Pluto being declassified as a planet. |
| 180 | * PrivateDetective: Usually juggles this job with his other job as a pharmaceutical rep. |
| 181 | * RedOniBlueOni: Zig-zagged between him and Shawn. He's far more prone to losing his cool than Shawn is, but he's also smarter, coherent and (occasionally) less childish. |
| 182 | * {{Safecracking}}: In "Dis-Lodged", it is revealed that Gus is subscribed to a magazine for amateur safecrackers. |
| 183 | * ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: He often does this when faced with the killer of the week or if he just sees something that scares him. |
| 184 | * SecretKeeper: To Shawn. Along with Henry, one of the only people to know the secret starting from the pilot. |
| 185 | * TheSmartGuy: Provides much of the book smart knowledge that Shawn needs, particularly in regards to pharmaceuticals, law, the business world, and spelling. |
| 186 | * TheStraightMan: Played straight in most episodes. However, the title goes to ''Shawn'' when Gus is under the belief of supernatural cases or distracted by women. |
| 187 | * SweetTooth: He and Shawn frequently take breaks from their investigations for cakes, cookies, ice creams... |
| 188 | * TookALevelInBadass: Well not "badass," but Gus manages to pull off a Shawn-style "cover" on his own in the season 5 opener. |
| 189 | * VitriolicBestBuds: He and Shawn argue and mock each other over pretty much everything, especially during the earlier seasons. From relationships, to personal interests, to how to handle a case. But they've been best friends since childhood and when matters get serious, always have each other's back. |
| 190 | * VomitingCop: Usually mentioned at a crime scene or at the autopsy. |
| 191 | * TheWatson: A surprisingly classic example. Rather than just follow along Shawn’s investigations, Gus much like the original Watson is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects on which Shawn is ignorant, mostly medicine but also other technical topics, and thus while he rarely take point his role is usually to make conclusions and provide context that Shawn can’t yet. |
| 192 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He scares easily but he does not want to be near corpses. Mummies and ghosts are even worse. |
| 193 | * WouldHurtAChild: Attempts to beat up a {{bratty|HalfPint}} kid named Mason in "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader", but Shawn stops him. |
| 194 | %%* WouldntHitAGirl |
| 195 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Uses a camel clutch and a fail tombstone on Shawn at one point. Given how they appear to be wrestling fans, he probably learned it there. |
| 196 | * WrongGenreSavvy: One gets the feeling that Gus operates under the mentality that he's the cool and calm-headed lead of a show where he is dragged into antics by his zany best friend who he constantly needs to keep in check. While not entirely wrong, he's more the easily stressed [[TheLancer lancer]] to Shawn who's very often NotSoAboveItAll. |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Henry Spencer]] |
| 200 | !!Henry William Spencer, Jr. |
| 201 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henry_william_spencer_jr.jpg]] |
| 202 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Don't be an idiot. I'm not one of your fans. I barely even like you."'']] |
| 203 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/CorbinBernsen |
| 204 | -->''"Shawn, these things are a fantasy. Real heroes do not wear a cape and they don’t wear their underwear on the outside. The guys who wear capes? They’re on angel dust."'' |
| 205 | |
| 206 | Shawn's father and a retired policeman. He devoted Shawn's childhood to sharpening his skills to a powerful degree though it did lead to a strained relationship. He's well-meaning, but a bit of a control freak. |
| 207 | ---- |
| 208 | * AmicableExes: With Shawn's mother. |
| 209 | * ControlFreak: Not just with Shawn, he once drove Lassiter to frustration critiquing his fishing technique. A psychologist who was sent to talk to Shawn actually said he was there for Henry for his control issues. |
| 210 | * CrazyPrepared: What drove him to prepare Shawn for police work. |
| 211 | * DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: He starts out the series retired from police work and it's implied that he becomes bored during that time. Best seen in the episode regarding possession where he actually gets hooked into playing a cop game on Shawn's [=Xbox=] to deal with his ennui. Shawn points out Henry's behavior about it. It's implied this is a reason why he rejoins the police (albeit in an office position), specifically overseeing the police's outside consulting (basically taking the job to keep a better eye on Shawn and Gus). The end of Season 6 has him retire after returning to field duty to solve an old case, likely when [[spoiler: he discovered that his partners were all DirtyCops.]] He ends up going to teaching into the series finale. |
| 212 | * {{Expy}}: While Shawn can be seen as an expy of Literature/SherlockHolmes, his father can be scene as one of Holmes' older brother, Mycroft Holmes. |
| 213 | * FantasyForbiddingFather: In one flashback, he refuses to allow Shawn to read comic books because they depict police officers as [[PoliceAreUseless useless, inept and dependent on vigilantes]]. In general, he seems to disapprove of Shawn's more creative and eccentric tendencies. |
| 214 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic, having extremely high standards for Shawn, still being hung up on Shawn's mother, and being a very stern but principled and excellent leader who misses policing. |
| 215 | * HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Has hair in all the flashbacks. Doesn't in the present. |
| 216 | * HeCleansUpNicely: Downplayed, but present. For the first few seasons he's rarely seen outside of casual everyday wear, mostly Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts. However, once he takes Chief Vick's offer to rejoin the force, he switches to [[BadassInANiceSuit tailored business suits]], and becomes quite the SilverFox. |
| 217 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He does genuinely love Shawn and is committed to doing the right thing, but he can be cold, distant, unyielding and very hard to please. Between that and his SinkOrSwimMentor tendencies, it's not hard to see why Shawn grew up equally resenting and trying to please him. The divorce between him and his wife was just what finally caused all the issues to boil over. |
| 218 | %%* TheLancer |
| 219 | * TheMentor: To Shawn, both as he was growing up and in his career as a "psychic" detective. He even gave advice to Gus on several occasions. |
| 220 | * ObstructiveBureaucrat: When put in charge of hiring consultants for the SBPD, though this is downplayed. |
| 221 | * PapaWolf: Played with. He cares for Shawn deeply when Shawn isn't costing Henry too much money. However, when the matter is personal, this trope comes into full effect. He gives Shawn [[AngerBornOfWorry an angry rant]] about the motorcycle a few episodes after Shawn's accident, but the biggest example came during the Yin-Yang trilogy when he was against Shawn facing Mr. Yang and then coming to assist with Mr. Yin. |
| 222 | ** In "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark," Henry showed more fear and concern than any of the other characters, including Gus. |
| 223 | ---> '''Henry:''' If Shawn has been shot, there's no room I won't bust open to find my son! |
| 224 | * ParentsAsPeople: He took a ToughLove approach to raising Shawn, and continues to do so in the present day. But it's made clear in the various flashbacks to Shawn's childhood that he was indeed trying to raise Shawn right and teach him to use his superb observational abilities responsibly. |
| 225 | * RealMenWearPink: Believes he qualifies for this, such as when Shawn gives him crap about taking a bubble bath and trying to take care of his hygiene. He claims that John Wayne took baths as a defense. |
| 226 | * RetiredBadass: Starts out as such in the series before becoming hired by the SBPD once more. He was offered to go back into full-time duty, but given the case saw him learn his team was corrupt, it sucked the wind out of his sails. |
| 227 | * {{Retirony}}: [[spoiler:Happens in the season six finale, as he retires once more out of police life after working on a last case, only to be shot almost immediately afterwards by an old friend of his. Subverted, as he survives it.]] |
| 228 | * TheScapegoat: Henry took the blame for his divorce so Shawn wouldn't resent his mother (since it was her choice). This did cause Shawn's bottled up resentment of his dad's ControlFreak tendencies to spill into the open and have him openly rebel against the path his dad was guiding him on in life. |
| 229 | * SecretKeeper: The only person other than Gus to know Shawn's secret for most of the series. |
| 230 | * SinkOrSwimMentor: To teach his son to escape a locked trunk, ''he actually locked him in a trunk.'' Somewhat justified as Henry's police work made him ProperlyParanoid about the dangers a young boy could get into. |
| 231 | * TokenGoodCop: While the present day Santa Barbara [=PD=] is efficiently and honestly run, the Season 6 finale reveals [[spoiler:he was the only detective on his team who wasn't taking bribes from a drug lord.]] |
| 232 | * ToughLove: He was pretty rough on Shawn, but everything he did was out of love for him. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter]] |
| 236 | !!Detective Carlton Jebediah "Lassie" Lassiter |
| 237 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_1643.JPG]] [[caption-width-right:350:''"I've got guts and cellulite. I don't even need a warrant."'']] |
| 238 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/TimothyOmundson |
| 239 | -->''"Unlike everyone else around here, I'm not fooled by the fact that you wear grownup clothes, have mastered the rudimentary levels of communication, and somehow manage to feed yourselves. I see you for what you are: children. So do me a favor and let the grownups do their work."'' |
| 240 | |
| 241 | Shawn's most vocal critic on the police force, Detective Lassiter is the show's resident InspectorLestrade. While a perfectly competent and efficient detective in his own right, Lassiter's rigid demeanor means he often needs the more intuitive Shawn to complete the case for him. |
| 242 | ---- |
| 243 | * ActuallyPrettyFunny: Downplayed, but on the occasions he ''isn't'' the butt of Shawn's jokes, he does show some amusement at the antics and snark. ''Especially'' if the target is someone he dislikes. |
| 244 | * AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Played with. A villain doses him with chloroform at one point, but while it knocks him out, he wakes up well ahead of schedule, revealing he's spent years building up a resistance to the chemical. |
| 245 | * AmazonChaser: In a way. He and Marlowe originally connected over their shared loneliness, protectiveness of others, and love of Clint Eastwood. Then, Marlowe punched him to help him out with a case, and he was so adorably grateful. In a later episode, she escaped from some men who kidnapped her, and thinking he might be one of the kidnappers, punched him again when he showed up to rescue her. He happily bragged their children would be SEAL Team 6 members. |
| 246 | * AgentScully: Initially the most vocal opponent of using a psychic in police work, as he (rightly) believes Shawn is a phony. |
| 247 | * BerserkButton: He doesn't take kindly to people saying UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was a bad president. |
| 248 | * TheBigGuy: When compared to the rest of the main cast, Lassiter's the go-to guy for subduing crooks and smashing down barriers. Not to mention his TriggerHappy tendencies... bottom line, the guy's the most battle-ready of the gang. |
| 249 | * ButtMonkey: Shawn, and occasionally other officers, enjoy teasing him. For example, one Christmas, everyone gifted him snow globes, due to Shawn telling the department to do so (since Shawn learned Lassiter has a fear of snow globes). |
| 250 | * CarpetOfVirility - On the infrequent occasion that Lassie’s not wearing a shirt buttoned up to his neck, he sports fairly prominent chest hair. In-universe, this trait apparently adds to his attractiveness; a Season 1 episode sees Shawn encouraging him to show off his “sternum bush,” and the woman who eventually becomes his wife mentions in her debut episode that she really likes “a man with hair on his chest.” |
| 251 | * CharacterCatchphrase: "I would rather [strange, Lassie-specific unpleasant scenario]." |
| 252 | * CharacterDevelopment: He opens up quite a bit over the course of the series. He remains a grumpy stoic, but is more trusting and caring. |
| 253 | * CloudcuckoolandersMinder: He is usually reduced to a frazzled babysitter to two out of control boys in his interactions with Shawn and Gus. |
| 254 | * TheComicallySerious: Part of what makes him so lovable is that his stoicism, grumpiness and humorlessness is often played for laughs (or at least is often used to make him the butt of the joke). |
| 255 | * TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Lassiter is consistently dismissive of Shawn and Gus despite their frequently proven track record as valuable assets to the police department. |
| 256 | * ControlFreak: He needs to be in charge and it plays into his ego. It's caused him a fair bit of problems. |
| 257 | * CowboyCop: While internal affairs seem to think Lassiter is one, he is actually pretty by-the-book (or, at least, just takes his work seriously), except for being quick to claim a piece of the action. |
| 258 | ** The episode "High Noon-ish" reveals that a father figure of his was a faux sheriff in a faux Wild West park. |
| 259 | ** In "Let's Get Hairy", he pulls his gun on a stonewalling receptionist. |
| 260 | ** Lampshaded and subverted when Lassiter is paired up with an ''actual'' CowboyCop recruit (who has many other issues besides this). He's frustrated by the recruit's actions (which include firing a gun she's not ready to use--and trashing it when the recoil tosses it out of her hand--and being rough with a victim on the mistaken assumption that he's the ''suspect'', even after she's been told otherwise). When he's finally rid of her ([[spoiler:she has a heart attack, and is told to retire for health reasons--not that she would have gotten in anyways; she had myriad other health problems that would have made doing the job well quite difficult for her]]) and told that DaChief thinks they're similar, he's ''horrified'' by the thought that this is what Internal Affairs and the rest of the department thinks of him. At least for that episode, he's shown making efforts to try and improve his image (if not actually reform). |
| 261 | * CrazyPrepared: He keeps guns everywhere in his house, including in a ''bowl of almonds''. And that's just the start. |
| 262 | * DefectiveDetective: You'd think the head detective would be less quirky than fake psychic Shawn Spencer, but... as detailed under InspectorLestrade, Lassiter has enough personality flaws and [[NoSocialSkills lack of cooperation skills]] that it's somewhat amazing that he got to where he was at the beginning of the series, not to mention his HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood. He actually works past a lot of these issues as the series goes on and by the series finale [[spoiler: he's taken over Karen's position as Chief of Police]]. |
| 263 | * EntertaininglyWrong: No matter how logical Lassiter's conclusions about a cause of death will be it will always end up proven wrong by Shawn. Subverted in one episode when he tries proposing an outlandish reason for a victim's death and ends up a laughing stock in the media. It turns he was actually right, but his need to be taken seriously means he doesn't follow through on it and thus Shawn and Gus save the day. |
| 264 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric, being grumpy, stoic, and a very condescending, rude, but confident workaholic. |
| 265 | * {{Flanderization}}: Definitely a case of Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, but he does go through this over time. |
| 266 | * FootDraggingDivorcee: Lassiter was in denial about his separation from his wife, and thought they were getting back together when she asked for dinner at their first-date restaurant. She confronted him with divorce papers and he gave a long, foot-dragging speech, but eventually admits he was aware he'd never been good for her. Having gotten that off his chest, he immediately signs the papers. It's also played a bit more seriously as it was impeding his work. |
| 267 | %%* {{Foil}}: To Shawn. |
| 268 | * FreudianTrio: The aggressive, gun-toting id among the police officers, to Juliet's superego and Vick's ego. |
| 269 | * FriendToAllChildren: Subverted. He ''thinks'' he's good with kids. He's ''terrible'' with them. |
| 270 | * GlorySeeker: Lassiter is occasionally depicted this way. |
| 271 | * HappilyMarried: As of season seven's "Deez Nups". |
| 272 | * HiddenDepths: He's a film buff. He just doesn't usually appreciate Shawn's references. When they're references he gets or likes, he's usually far more receptive than otherwise. |
| 273 | * IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: Concerning Shawn dating Juliet, Lassiter threatens to shoot him ''repeatedly'' if he doesn't treat her right, and connects himself to the polygraph machine just to prove how dead serious he is. |
| 274 | * InformedFlaw: Shawn constantly remarks on what a bad detective Lassiter is, but there are numerous indications that he solved plenty of crimes off-screen, and tends to fail only on the types of cases that require Shawn. One episode actually has Lassiter on such a roll clearing cases that Shawn and Gus are desperate for a case that he ''can't'' solve...so that they can make some money. |
| 275 | * InspectorLestrade: PlayedWith. He is actually a very competent and skilled detective, deserving of his title as Head Detective and usually can keep up with Shawn. However, his deductive reasoning and investigation skills are impeded due to his attitude, personality and approach: |
| 276 | ** He has a rigid and inflexible perspective. He's admitted on not being able to function without the facts. He usually refuses to go on hunches or instinct, unlike Henry and Shawn. A good example is in the episode "Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Episode," where he had a hunch telling him the shark was set up. However, public pressure and his ego made him retract the statement, despite ultimately being right (Shawn lampshades this near the end when he and Gus solve the case.) The comparison of this to the Spencers was seen in "Nip and Suck It," where he bashes Henry and Shawn's feeling on the suspect's innocence (of course they end up being right). Interestingly enough, in the Season 1 episode, "From the Earth to the Starbucks," his hunch on the suspect being murdered is right (although Shawn had to secretly help him get the evidence he needs, in order to build up his confidence). |
| 277 | ** Furthermore, he tends to go toward the simplest solution and not consider alternate possibilities. When his younger sister came to visit, she pointed out that Lassiter tends to ignore ideas or hunches that aren't his. His ego in his competency means that he refuses to look foolish, which is why he goes with the simplest solutions and why he doesn't go on his hunches or whims a lot (or those of his colleagues for that matter). |
| 278 | ** Lastly, his mild misanthropic streak makes him suspect the wrong people and his tendencies as a jerk influence his reasoning decisions quite a bit. Juliet points that she was disturbed by him and his theory (and him again) in regards that an older woman killed off her rich husband to date a younger man and killed him too when he supposedly realized this. He was of course wrong and serves as an example of his negative attitude and perspective hindering him several times. |
| 279 | * InformedAttribute: Lassiter is mentioned on at least two occasions to have fired his gun more than is expected of an officer but he is rarely if ever actually seen firing his gun throughout the show. |
| 280 | %%As stated on SuperTrope, JerkWithAHeartOfGold is a SubTrope of {{Jerkass}}. |
| 281 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lassiter has a large ego and few social skills, coupled with his mild misanthropic moments and serious demeanor along with being ungrateful, especially to Shawn and Gus. However, he's pretty nice when he wants to be and when the chips are down, he shows he cares about his friends and loved ones. |
| 282 | * JerkassHasAPoint: While he's not exactly tactful about it he's not wrong that Shawn is both (a) not a psychic and (b) very immature and flippant. |
| 283 | * LastNameBasis: He's usually called Lassiter and very few call him Carlton. |
| 284 | ** He also usually refers to everyone by their last name. Which causes some confusion when he's around both Shawn and Henry seeing as the two are father and son. |
| 285 | *** Though he does call Shawn by his first name for the first half of “Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark”, partially to differentiate him from Henry, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness but also out of worry]]. |
| 286 | * LetsGetDangerous: While he is usually inept and awkward with social interactions, he jumps at the chance to do field work, and is frequently successful at it. |
| 287 | * NoodleIncident: The specific circumstances behind the Great Secret Santa Debacle of 2005 that Chief Vick tries to use to convince Juliet not to try and throw a birthday surprise for him. |
| 288 | * NoSocialSkills: He once gave Jules a friendly speech about how other people were only sources of misery to be avoided at all costs-''and he meant every word of it'', thinking it would actually help her. |
| 289 | * NotSoAboveItAll: In "Bollywood Homicide" he pranks Shawn by making him think the victim is a dangerous and unstable killer. |
| 290 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: |
| 291 | ** Given his vocal disdain for Shawn and Gus, people tend to be surprised when he does ask them for help. |
| 292 | ** After learning that he will be a father, he becomes extremely cautious and downright terrified of death. Shawn, Gus and Jules even assume that he is dying. |
| 293 | * OutOfFocus: He only appears for a small amount of time in the movie as a result of [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Omundson suffering from a stroke]] and being forced to take time away from acting to recover. |
| 294 | * PhraseCatcher: "You disturb me", usually said when Lassie reveals a quirk of his that creeps people out. |
| 295 | * TheRival: To Shawn. He's a very competent detective, such that when he's doing his job very well, Shawn tends to get less work. |
| 296 | * SourSupporter: ''Very'' vocal in his distaste for Shawn's methods and general demeanor, but when push comes to shove he acknowledges his efficiency and always follows through on his leads. In the series finale, he watches the DVD Shawn left for him as a goodbye and [[spoiler:ejects it just before Shawn can confess he's not a psychic, then breaks it in half.]] |
| 297 | * SupportingLeader: Sometimes. Being Head Detective makes him the highest ranking member of the team (excluding Chief Vick). This means he technically should be in charge and everyone ''should'' be reporting to him. But more often than not, everyone disobeys him, goes behind his back, and then just go over his head to Chief Vick so he can't really enforce his authority. While the police do respect him, they also find him difficult to deal with due to his problems. |
| 298 | * SweetTooth: His standard coffee order is four creams and three sugars. |
| 299 | * TookALevelInBadass: In season 1, Shawn needed to set up Lassiter solving a case to boost his confidence. By season 5, he's had many notable moments of awesome and can outpace Shawn for the majority of an episode. [[JustifiedTrope Justified since the early seasons had him endure]] [[FootDraggingDivorcee the end of his marriage; specifcially, he was trying to salvage it while his soon-to-be ex-wife was ready to move on]]. He drunkenly confesses this to Shawn in the beginning of the episode where Shawn helps him on his case. So it's less taking a level in badass and more going back to his normal level after resolving his emotional turmoil. |
| 300 | * TriggerHappy: So much so that the department eventually had to send him to a psychiatrist (Shawn's mother). Internal Affairs also has quite the file on him. |
| 301 | * UnknownRival: He spent years using his free time hunting down Pierre Despereaux, convinced they were in a grand cat-and-mouse game and considered Pierre his top rival. Naturally, he was stunned when, upon meeting, Pierre revealed he had no idea who Lassiter was. |
| 302 | * VitriolicBestBuds: He and Shawn may snipe at each other a lot, but when push comes to shove they do respect each other and are willing to rely on each other if they're forced to. |
| 303 | ** Heck, Season 1 has Lassiter drunkenly confess to Shawn he admires his deductive work and reasoning skills while Shawn clearly has Lassiter's best interests in mind. |
| 304 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He is afraid of snow globes, related to nightmares of being trapped in a dome with burning snow melting his flesh. Shawn doesn't hesitate to exploit this during the episode "Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" when he has the department give Lassiter snow globes for Christmas. |
| 305 | * WrongGenreSavvy: Tries too often to play cases either as simple affairs that aren't or massive conspiracies when they really are as open and shut as they seem. It's a big part in why he's an InspectorLestrade. |
| 306 | [[/folder]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | [[folder:Juliet O'Hara]] |
| 309 | !!Detective Juliet Lynn "Jules" O'Hara |
| 310 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jules_o_hara.jpg]] |
| 311 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"God I used to be a detective, now I'm a babysitter!"'']] |
| 312 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/MaggieLawson |
| 313 | -->''"Honesty is everything to me, Shawn. It's the only thing."'' |
| 314 | |
| 315 | A kind-hearted, dependable detective who has some UnresolvedSexualTension with Shawn throughout the series. |
| 316 | ---- |
| 317 | * ActionGirl: She doesn't always get to show her chops, because Lassiter is so action-happy, but when she does she kicks ass. |
| 318 | * BadBadActing: When Lassiter's sister was filming a case, Juliet hit this hard. |
| 319 | * BadassAdorable: People can't hate her; she claims to get Christmas cards from people she arrests. She can also hold her own in the notoriously harsh sport of the Roller Derby. |
| 320 | * BadassInDistress: After getting kidnapped by Yang, she finds herself BoundAndGagged to a chair, dangling precariously from the top of a clock tower. |
| 321 | * BecomingTheMask: Juliet runs into this problem when going undercover. PlayedForLaughs when she gets into too much character when helping Shawn and Gus on how to dance. |
| 322 | * BerserkButton: Her main one is lying to her, due to her father being a bit of a con man. She was also furious when Shawn accused her brother [[spoiler: even though he was ultimately proven to be right, much to the sorrow of both Shawn and Juliet]]. |
| 323 | * CallingParentsByTheirName: Because her father is a con man who was never there for his family, Juliet repeatedly calls him “Frank” instead of “Dad”. |
| 324 | * CharacterDevelopment: In the first few seasons, she develops from a wide-eyed, perky and almost GirlFriday-esque attache to Lassiter to a sharp and levelheaded (if not the OnlySaneMan) officer in her own right as she gains more experience. |
| 325 | * ClingyJealousGirl: A mild example, she never seems comfortable when another girl is interested in Shawn by season 3 (though Shawn also acts the same). |
| 326 | * CuteBruiser: She's the tiniest of the main cast, but must know UsefulNotes/MuayThai or UsefulNotes/KravMaga or something because she is also the most physically active when she needs to be. |
| 327 | * DamselOutOfDistress: Commonly; for instance, she overpowers the killers that have their eyes on her in "Scary Sherry, Bianca's Toast", "Juliet Takes a Luvvah", and "Juliet Wears the Pantsuit". |
| 328 | * DeclarationOfProtection: [[spoiler:To Shawn during the season 5 finale.]] |
| 329 | * DirtyCop: While she is a fundamentally good, honest person, "Psych: The Movie" reveals that she has occasionally [[FramingTheGuiltyParty Framed The Guilty Party]] and broken protocol to catch the bad guys. The manifesto spelling out her crimes (the truth of which she confirms to Shawn) include things like "Illegal search" and "Planted weapon." |
| 330 | * DisappearedDad: As her father was a con man. [[spoiler: When we see him (played by Creator/WilliamShatner no less), he points out several of her childhood moments in vivid details. He confesses that he was there, but did not reveal himself after seeing her step-dad make a good home for him and out of fear she was ashamed of him.]] |
| 331 | * FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:When Yin was going to have her fall off a clock tower, instead of freaking out. She just keeps quiet and closes her eyes. Luckily Gus and Lassiter save her.]] |
| 332 | * FacialDialogue: Displays this on many occasions, usually in the form of funny expressions whenever Shawn or Gus make asinine comments. |
| 333 | * FairCop: And without being stripperific! There's a reason Lawson and Roday have been going out since day one. Well, probably like a dozen reasons, but this is one of them. |
| 334 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: Being the most balanced out of the cast, she's Leukine, although being more neutral and able to follow the situation rather than being apathetic. |
| 335 | * FreudianTrio: Among the police officers, the sweet, hopeful, optimistic superego. |
| 336 | * GirlyGirl: On the outside; she's pretty darn girly and the tiniest of the cast. Also an ActionGirl and CuteBruiser; beware the girly one. |
| 337 | * HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Juliet is blonde and very kind and sweet, although also very strong. |
| 338 | * {{Hypocrite}}: Juliet is furious when Shawn [[spoiler: rightly]] suspects her brother might not be fully honest with them about the case he is helping them with. Gus reminds her that she and Lassiter once arrested his parents (on Christmas no less) when they believed they'd committed a murder. |
| 339 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: In the Tuesday the Seventeenth episode. She shoots the bad guy in the hand, disarming him. |
| 340 | * IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: A non-romantic example, in 1967: A Psych Odyssey. She decides to [[spoiler:join Karen in San Francisco so Lassiter will take the chief job.]] |
| 341 | * LostInCharacter: Has a tendency to let herself get carried away in her roles while she's undercover. She forgets that she's not actually part of the sorority she's investigating for the majority of "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast", and Chief Vick outright expresses concern for this happening in "Talk Derby to Me". |
| 342 | * MasterOfTheMixedMessage: She, herself lampshades this in the season 3 finale. |
| 343 | * MistakenForGay: She tried to be nice to a new girl on the force. It ended with said girl suing Juliet for sexual harassment. |
| 344 | * MoreHeroThanThou: [[spoiler: When Yin has kidnapped both her and Abigail and forces Shawn to choice between the two of them. Juliet tells Shawn to rescue Abigail before the loss of connection.]] |
| 345 | * NaiveNewcomer: When we met her in the second episode, Shawn noticed she had trouble drawing her gun. She grew out of it. |
| 346 | * NiceGirl: She is kind, polite, and sensitive. |
| 347 | * OfficialCouple: She and Shawn finally get together in "Extradition II: The Actual Extradition Part". |
| 348 | * OnlySaneMan: Sometimes, but notably in "This Episode Sucks:" While the rest of the cast is convinced that they are hunting a vampire, she doesn't buy it. The subversion would be that she may be the only member of the main cast to genuinely buy into Shawn's psychic powers. [[spoiler: Though Shawn eventually tells her the truth.]] |
| 349 | * PlatonicLifePartners: She and Lassiter become this. |
| 350 | * PluckyGirl: [[spoiler: Although the first meeting with Yin traumatized her for a while. She picked herself up.]] |
| 351 | * {{Scotireland}}: Despite the Irish last name she's actually Scottish, with the family hailing from Inverness. |
| 352 | * RefusalOfTheCall: In the Season 5 premier, she would rather do desk work in the City Hall, than help Lassie, Shawn and Gus solve the Case of the Week. This is obviously due to the trauma brought about by Mr. Yang dangling her from a clock-tower in the Season 4 finale. She does get better by the end of the episode, even pulling of a BigDamnHeroes moment. |
| 353 | * SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Is brought in when Lassie's old partner is relocated because Shawn outed their affair. |
| 354 | * SecretKeeper: As of Season 7. |
| 355 | * TookALevelInBadass: When she started, she was new. As we know, she is pretty badass. |
| 356 | * TookALevelInJerkass: She is noticeably colder towards Shawn and Gus in Season 4, leaning towards outright hostility in "High Top Fade Out" and "You Can't Handle This Episode." Her attitude is due to Shawn rejecting her at the end of Season 3 (though she claims this [[BlatantLies isn't true]]) and she becomes much friendlier after Shawn and Abigail break up at the end of Season 4. |
| 357 | * ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Don’t harm Shawn or else. |
| 358 | * WhenYouComingHomeDad: When her father started missing her birthdays all the time, she eventually stopped waiting for him to come. |
| 359 | * WillTheyOrWontThey: With Shawn. They do, [[spoiler:eventually for good.]] |
| 360 | * UnresolvedSexualTension: SO much between her and Shawn. |
| 361 | [[/folder]] |
| 362 | |
| 363 | [[folder:Karen Vick]] |
| 364 | !!Chief Karen Vick |
| 365 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/karen_vick.jpg]] |
| 366 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I can sit here all night, Betty. I have a six-month-old who still has colic. I consider this a repreive."'']] |
| 367 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/KirstenNelson |
| 368 | -->''“It's just that laws keep changing. It's getting very challenging to keep up with them all. For example, did you know that it is now illegal to give a possum a perm?”'' |
| 369 | |
| 370 | The Police Chief of Santa Barbara. Like Lassiter, she's often distrustful of Shawn's methods, though she's less outright belligerent than he is. |
| 371 | ---- |
| 372 | * CouldSayItBut: |
| 373 | ** In "Santabarbratown 2", she acts like she's forbidding Shawn to investigate [[spoiler:Henry's shooting]] due to Shawn being too emotionally involved, but clarifies to Shawn through her tone and by [[IWasNeverHere saying this conversation never happened]] that she's fully willing to allow Shawn to get involved. |
| 374 | ** She does so again in ''This Is Gus'' when Shawn wants to investigate Selene's then current husband. When Shawn brings up that he might be dangerous if they don't know anything about him, Vick again says no to Shawn... before saying that she's leaving her office unattended and to do with that information as he will. |
| 375 | * DaChief: [[spoiler: Until season 7, and the end of season 8]] |
| 376 | * FreudianTrio: The ego balancing out Lassiter's id and Juliet's superego. |
| 377 | * MamaBear: Don't mess with her daughter or she will bring her force on you. Best seen in TheMovie. |
| 378 | * NotSoAboveItAll: Constantly. Especially in the earlier seasons, the show had her appear just as much as a friendly, human character with her own quirks as she did as the hardline chief. |
| 379 | * OutOfCharacterMoment: In "Psych: The Movie", she complains about the lack of action that comes as a result of being the Chief of the San Francisco Police Deparment, and eagerly tells Shawn and Gus that she's going to shoot some bad guys when they believe criminals broke into her home. Vick was never one to complain about desk work, and it was unlikely for her to get involved in shoot-outs unless as a last resort, let alone be so excited to shoot someone. It's likely that this scene was intended for Lassiter, only for the last minute rewrite of the script due to Timmothy Omundson's stroke resulting in it being given to Vick instead. |
| 380 | * PutOnABus: For most of Season 8, after she makes a HeroicSacrifice in Season 7 to save everyone else's jobs. |
| 381 | * PregnantBadass: Early in season 1, she entered a hostage situation, and held a perp at gunpoint, while pregnant. |
| 382 | * PromotionToOpeningTitles: Starts appearing in the opening credits during season 2. |
| 383 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She'd have to be to deal with Shawn and Gus. She's not only very accepting of their eccentricities, she's also totally fine with following up on seemingly vague hunches and wild tangents if it helps solve the case. |
| 384 | * ScreamingBirth: Averted, when she gives birth over the course of several hours, without screaming, on a properly angled table. |
| 385 | * SecretSecretKeeper: It's been implied a few times she may know more than she lets on, and just doesn't say anything so Shawn's cases won't get thrown out. |
| 386 | * SiblingRivalry: Has this with her sister, a member of the Coast Guard. They even fight over Shawn in her debut episode though they do patch things up. |
| 387 | [[/folder]] |
| 388 | |
| 389 | !Santa Barbara Police Department |
| 390 | [[folder:[=McNab=]]] |
| 391 | !!Officer/ Junior Detective Buzz [=McNab=] |
| 392 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buzz_mcnab.jpg]] |
| 393 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/SageBrocklebank |
| 394 | |
| 395 | A normal officer that Shawn and Gus befriend and often a supporting character.[[labelnote:Click here to see spoilers]]The series finale has him move up to become Junior Detective.[[/labelnote]] |
| 396 | ---- |
| 397 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He's a pretty competent cop, enough to where [[spoiler: new Head Detective Betsy Brannigan chooses him as her partner]], but he's always quite chipper and in a good mood. |
| 398 | * FairCop: In "Deez Nups", it was revealed that [=McNab=] is working as a stripper at a hotel so he can have extra money to buy himself and his wife a new condo. In "No Trout About It", interim SBPD Chief Harris Trout fired [=McNab=] after he heard about his job as a stripper. When Trout is ousted out and Lassiter is restored to head detective, one of the first things he does is rehire [=McNab=]. |
| 399 | %%* HappilyMarried |
| 400 | * MeaningfulName: He's a police officer called '''[=McNab=]'''. |
| 401 | * NiceGuy: While on crutches, and in response to Shawn saying that he was slightly thirsty. It wasn’t even SarcasmMode - he really was [[SincerityMode being genuine]]. |
| 402 | -->'''[=McNab=]''': I’m sorry Shawn, here I am going on about being blown up and here you are dying of thirst. |
| 403 | * ShipperOnDeck: He ships Shawn and Juliet. |
| 404 | [[/folder]] |
| 405 | |
| 406 | [[folder:Dr. Woody Strode]] |
| 407 | !!Dr. Woodrow Juniper "Woody" Strode |
| 408 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woodrow_strode.jpg]] |
| 409 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/KurtFuller |
| 410 | The mortician of the Santa Barbara police department and quite an odd friend. He's also a UsefulNotes/{{furry|Fandom}}, at least according to [[http://www.fictionurl.com/pleasureguide-net/ his choice of websites]] and the furry head he left in the morgue. |
| 411 | ---- |
| 412 | * AbhorrentAdmirer: He's hit on Chief Vick (his ''boss'', not to mention a married woman) a few times, and pretty brazenly. It irritates her, but she's always gracious enough to let him off with a warning. |
| 413 | --> '''Woody''': I guess it'll just be in my dreams that you are the Chief of doing me! |
| 414 | * AmbiguouslyBi: He's married, but in "Last Night Gus" he seems perfectly unfazed by the possibility that he and Lassiter got up to something during their blackout drinking, and is in fact mildly offended by Lassiter freaking out over the subject ("I have ''feelings'', detective."). |
| 415 | * AscendedExtra: He quickly went from being a guest star to a recurring character and the only non-regular cast member to have a major role in the reunion films. |
| 416 | * AutopsySnackTime: Probably more due to being a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} than being jaded. |
| 417 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: He's more than fairly eccentric, but he is apparently quite good at his job. |
| 418 | %%* CannotKeepASecret: By his own admission in "Office Space". |
| 419 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He does things most coroners wouldn't dare to do, such as eating during an autopsy and being somewhat irresponsible with the bodies, [[BunnyEarsLawyer but is good enough at his job to keep his bosses happy.]] |
| 420 | * CreepyMortician |
| 421 | -->'''Woodrow:''' ''[to Shawn]'' I'd be honored to saw through your chest and remove your good-natured heart from its cavity. |
| 422 | * EveryoneHasStandards: Despite doing quite a few weird and somewhat unprofessional things around the bodies in the morgue, he seems to draw the line at defacing them - in the shark episode, he starts drawing a jagged blade on the shark attack victim before realizing that "this was a living person", and later tries rubbing it off. |
| 423 | * ExpansionPackPast: See NoodleIncident. His past is full of bizarre incidents. |
| 424 | * FakeGuestStar: He appeared in far more episodes in the final season than Chief Vick or Juliet, but was still billed as a guest star while they were in the main credits. |
| 425 | * GeniusDitz: His status as a [=Cloudcuckoolander=] is undeniable... but he is a mortician, which requires some intelligence. Hell, he was apparently near the top of his class. |
| 426 | * KavorkaMan: Apparently he is a ''[[SexGod demon in the sack]]'' and has seduced any number of wildly differing women. |
| 427 | * NoodleIncident: When Lassie's sister starts recording the police procedure for a case, Woody expresses some concern that it might air in the Philippines. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments And then starts trying to distort his voice for legal reasons.]] |
| 428 | ** In the episode "Last Night Gus," he awoke to white powder on his mouth (assuming it to be cocaine when it was actually powdered sugar), he asked if there was a small Colombian with a hook for a hand. |
| 429 | ** In the same episode where he, Lassiter, Shawn and Gus tested their urine for drugs, Woody first points out that he didn't know peyote (a cactus native to southwest Texas and Mexico with hallucinogenic properties) remained in the system for ''that'' long (implying he may have been a teenager or near the age when took it), blaming himself and his "then-girlfriend, Lollipop." |
| 430 | [[/folder]] |
| 431 | |
| 432 | [[folder:Betsy Brannigan]] |
| 433 | !!Head Detective Betsy Brannigan |
| 434 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/betsy_brannigan.jpg]] |
| 435 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/MiraSorvino |
| 436 | |
| 437 | Introduced in the last third of the final season, she's the new Head Detective after Lassiter is promoted. |
| 438 | ---- |
| 439 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: She is very competant as her job, being able to keep up with Shawn, but she is also very bubbly and loves crafting. Her second episode even had her knitting on the job (something for her young nephew specifically.) She also likes to roll with Shawn and Gus' antics. |
| 440 | * EleventhHourRanger: Besty is forcibly hired by Lassiter as the new Head Detective in the final season and only shown in the last three episodes. |
| 441 | * GirlyBruiser: She's basically an adult version of this While she does display a very bubbly personality and indulges in arts and crafts like scrapbooking and knitting, she is also as ruthless, persistant and threatening as Lassiter can be and once even nabbed the perp before Shawn and Gus did (though that the time, Gus was undergoing a psychological crisis). |
| 442 | * IWorkAlone: A variation. She is perfectly all right with working with Gus and Shawn and treats them amicably, but she insists on working without a partner. Ironically enough, '''Lassiter''' of all people is the one to convince her to get a partner, showing the CharacterDevelopment he has gotten with Jules. She decides to do so... choosing ''[=McNab=]'' much to everyone's surprise. |
| 443 | [[/folder]] |
| 444 | |
| 445 | !Criminals |
| 446 | [[folder:Marlowe Lassiter]] |
| 447 | !!Marlowe Lassiter (née Viccellio) |
| 448 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marlowe_lassiter.jpg]] |
| 449 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/KristySwanson |
| 450 | ---- |
| 451 | * CommutingOnABus: In her first episode, she was sent to prison and afterwards was only shown when Lassiter visited her. |
| 452 | * FemmeFatale: Appears to be one to Lassiter at first, acting mysterious and flirty with a hint of danger and implied connection to a murder. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Then he tracks her down at her house to make sure she's not a criminal and the facade breaks down.]]]] |
| 453 | * FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:She helped attack a man and stole from a blood bank in order to steal blood for her brother Adrian Viccellio, who has a rare blood type - O negative, which only a dozen people in Santa Barbara (including Lassiter) have - and a rare blood disease which makes him have to replenish his blood every week. Plus, because of the disease, he lost his insurance.]] |
| 454 | * HappilyMarried: To Carlton Lassiter. |
| 455 | * ScreamingBirth: Played straight, in the back of a food truck of all places. |
| 456 | * SickeninglySweethearts: With Lassiter. |
| 457 | [[/folder]] |
| 458 | |
| 459 | [[folder:Mr. Yang]] |
| 460 | !!Ms. Rotmensen aka Mr. Yang |
| 461 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yang_psych.jpg]] |
| 462 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/AllySheedy |
| 463 | ---- |
| 464 | * AffablyEvil: Genuinely likes Shawn and later tells him not to feel bad [[spoiler: for Mary's death.]] |
| 465 | %%* AxCrazy |
| 466 | * BigBadDuumvirate: She's the Mr. Yang to her father, Mr. Yin. |
| 467 | * CloudCuckooLander: Gives off this vibe in brighter moments, [[spoiler: especially when it's revealed she's not quite as Ax Crazy as initially believed.]] |
| 468 | * CriminalMindGames: Deeply enjoys challenging opponents with long strings of riddles and clues - the price for failure being the death of whichever victim held hostage. This seems to extend even to being a personal obsession [[spoiler: as she prefer to speak to Shawn in riddles and obscure clues for fun even when genuinely trying to help him save someone she was relatively close to in "Psych: The Musical," and in situations where being clear would be more helpful to her in general.]] |
| 469 | * DepravedBisexual: Implied, hitting on both men and women. [[spoiler:Though she's not quite depraved so much as severely troubled.]] |
| 470 | * DaddysLittleVillain: But ultimately subverted. Not only does she save Shawn and Gus from her father, but it's also implied some, if not all the murders attributed to her were done by Yin. Nevertheless she still believes that she could have done more to stop her father. |
| 471 | * EvilCounterpart: To Shawn. Both have a tendency to snark, flirt, and act childishly, and[[spoiler: both have a complicated relationship with their fathers who raised them to follow in their footsteps.]] |
| 472 | -->'''Shawn''': He raised you. You never had a chance. |
| 473 | * FreudianExcuse: Was raised by a murderous sociopath. |
| 474 | * HeelFaceTurn: Saves Shawn and Gus from her father in her third appearance. |
| 475 | * KilledOffForReal: Dies from a knife wound in "Psych: The Musical". As per her request, her ashes are released over her Chief Psychiatrist's car. |
| 476 | * KnightOfCerebus: Every appearance is marked by a massive shift in tone towards the darker side. |
| 477 | * {{Leitmotif}}: A short, eerie flute-and-drum combination shared with Mr. Yin, but a little heavier on the flute in her case. |
| 478 | * SamusIsAGirl: She's ''Mr'' Yang. |
| 479 | * SelfMadeOrphan: Ended up killing said sociopath. |
| 480 | * TricksterMentor: An interpretation of her actions post-HeelFaceTurn. It's more of a hassle for everyone and generally portrayed as another part of her instabilities. |
| 481 | * WildHair: Even before she went to an asylum, her long hair was a total mess. |
| 482 | [[/folder]] |
| 483 | |
| 484 | [[folder:Mr. Yin]] |
| 485 | !!Karl Rotmensen aka Mr. Yin |
| 486 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_yin.jpg]] |
| 487 | ->'''Played by:''' Christopher Turner and Creator/PeterWeller |
| 488 | ----- |
| 489 | * AbusiveParent: He's Yang's father. |
| 490 | * BondVillainStupidity: Is fooled into ranting about his motive. |
| 491 | * ContractualGenreBlindness: Is able to be stalled after his prize victim insists on a JustBetweenYouAndMe speech, pointing out that it's in his nature to do so, otherwise he wouldn't be satisfied. |
| 492 | * CriminalMindGames: Same as Yang, though his methods are different (despite being implied to have actually done all of Yang's crimes) - he prefers to fool adversaries into walking into deadly traps and sadistic choices, rather than focus primarily on the chains of clues themselves. |
| 493 | * DeathByIrony: Yang gets Yin to drop his guard by pretending to be contrite for betraying him. This mirrors how his new apprentice Alison pretended to be a victim to get to Shawn |
| 494 | * DisproportionateRetribution: He went out of his way to torment Shawn by kidnapping his mother and two women Shawn was in love with simply because Yang developed an obsession with the Spencers whom she saw as the perfect family. |
| 495 | %%* EvilCounterpart: To Henry. |
| 496 | * EvilerThanThou: To Yang, who is until he appears, the biggest villain Shawn has ever seen. He raised her to be a killer. It's also hinted that Yang never actually killed anyone and it was all Yin. |
| 497 | * EvilIsPetty: Hates Shawn for turning Yang against him, even though by his own admission he never cared for them (it's more "how dare you take my tool away from me".) |
| 498 | * EvilOldFolks: Fairly old and ''very'' evil. |
| 499 | * EvilSoundsDeep: Both of his actors give him a low, creepy voice that goes well with his utterly sociopathic personality. |
| 500 | * FauxAffablyEvil: When he and Shawn come face to face in their final confrontation, he acts polite, but it's plainly obvious that he's pure malice. |
| 501 | * FinalBoss: Of Season 4 and Season 5 (Season 4 technically ends in a draw) |
| 502 | * ForTheEvulz: He admits that there's no reason that he kills people other he wants to and he could have been perfectly normal if he wanted to. |
| 503 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Utterly selfish to the point of even raising his own daughter to be a tool in his murder spree. |
| 504 | * KarmicDeath: Yin is killed by the woman he tried (and failed) to turn into a murderer. She even does it using the very poison he was going to kill Gus with. |
| 505 | * KilledOffForReal: Rather than being taken in alive like Yang. |
| 506 | * KnightOfCerebus: Like Mr. Yang, the show gets much darker when he makes appearances. Also one of the few villains Shawn is genuinely scared of. |
| 507 | * {{Leitmotif}}: A short, eerie flute-and-drum combination shared with Mr. Yang, but with more emphasis on the drum in his case. |
| 508 | * TheSociopath: Doesn't even care about his own daughter. |
| 509 | * WickedCultured: He's a very intelligent professor...and a serial killer. |
| 510 | [[/folder]] |
| 511 | |
| 512 | [[folder:Pierre Despereaux]] |
| 513 | !!Pierre Despereaux aka Royston Cornwallis Staley |
| 514 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pierre_despereaux.jpg]] |
| 515 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/CaryElwes |
| 516 | ---- |
| 517 | * TheAce: Makes himself appear to be a master thief who can pull of any heist, do anything and get anywhere he wants to whenever, wherever. In his first appearance, it's an act. In his later appearances, it's genuine. |
| 518 | * AffablyEvil: Pleasant, friendly, polite and an actually fairly nice guy when he's not playing you for a fool or robbing you blind. Most of the time, he even treats our heroes like friends - even when they're supposed to be hunting him down. |
| 519 | * BecomingTheMask: The last episode he was in revealed that he is actually a government agent who once held a desk job. However, he was chosen to go undercover as a criminal to be able to catch the bad guys easier. While he has proven very effective, it's implied that he may have committed legitimate crimes during his time as Pierre. |
| 520 | ** [[spoiler: The ending of the episode, however, leaves it ambiguous as to whether he was ever really an agent or if this too was simply a very elaborate ruse.]] |
| 521 | * BrokenPedestal: After Shawn deduces that he's a fraudster rather than a thief, he's very disappointed. Surprisingly enough, this actually inspires him to become a real thief. |
| 522 | * ConMenHateGuns: He hates all forms of physical violence, and won't touch guns if he can help it. He'll use them as props, certainly, but not for their intended purpose. |
| 523 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: He hates killing, and even mentions to Gus that if he were to attack him or Shawn he would so as painlessly as possible with minimal lasting damage. As it is, he tends to limit dealing with his enemies to merely humiliating them. |
| 524 | * EvilIsCool: InUniverse - Shawn thinks Despereaux, as a real-life gentleman thief, is one of the coolest people he's ever met. Despereaux is surprisingly appreciative of that. |
| 525 | * FriendlyEnemy: He and Shawn are very close, much to Gus' chagrin. They even send each other birthday presents. |
| 526 | * GentlemanThief: Though in his first appearance it's mostly an act, he does become a more traditional one in his subsequent appearances. |
| 527 | * ManipulativeBastard: Easily uses Shawn and Gus as patsies in some way or another in every appearance he has, and tends to do so with his enemies in general. When the tables gets turned on him, he's remarkably surprised. |
| 528 | --> '''Despereaux:''' I'm the ''pawn?'' I can't be the pawn! |
| 529 | * WorthyOpponent: Considers Shawn to be one, and actually invites Shawn to try and solve his crimes because of it. |
| 530 | ** Played with in how Lassiter is convinced ''he's'' Pierre's arch-rival as he's been hunting the man down for years. However, when they finally meet, Pierre reveals [[UnknownRival he has no idea who Lassiter is]]. |
| 531 | [[/folder]] |
| 532 | |
| 533 | [[folder:Allison Cowley]] |
| 534 | !!Allison Cowley |
| 535 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/allison_cowley.jpg]] |
| 536 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/MenaSuvari |
| 537 | ---- |
| 538 | * TheApprentice: After Yang's capture and HeelFaceTurn, she takes on the role of Mr Yin's prodigy. |
| 539 | * ArchEnemy: She developed an intense hatred of Juliet for besting her in "Yang 3 in 2D" . She teamed with Goldrick to gain revenge. |
| 540 | %%* AxCrazy: OH, YES. |
| 541 | * BadBoss: She kills her right-hand man partly because she didn't like his accent. |
| 542 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: She pretended to have been a victim of Mr Yin's to lure Shawn and Gus to him. |
| 543 | * DesignatedGirlFight: With Juliet. Twice. |
| 544 | * DragonAscendant: [[spoiler: She becomes the BigBad of ''Psych: The Movie''.]] |
| 545 | * FauxAffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Her politeness and friendliness towards the heroes in the movie is laced with venom and malice]]. |
| 546 | * ItsAllAboutMe: Unless you're Allison Cowley, don't expect her to care about you. |
| 547 | * LaughablyEvil: In the movie, she has a much stronger sense of humor than she shown in her debut appearance, regularly making wise cracks, and sharing Shawn and Gus' habit for movie references. |
| 548 | * TheResenter: Her dialogue after her true colors are revealed indicates she hates that Shawn was seen as a WorthyOpponent by Yin. |
| 549 | * SmugSnake: Is not as competent as she thinks, which leads to Juliet beating her twice. |
| 550 | * TheSociopath: Much like her mentor, Allison care for no one but herself. |
| 551 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: The other reason she kills Goldrick is because she no longer has any use for him.]] |
| 552 | [[/folder]] |
| 553 | |
| 554 | [[folder:William Goldrick]] |
| 555 | !!William Goldrick aka The Thin White Duke |
| 556 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_mcgoldrick.jpg]] |
| 557 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/ZacharyLevi |
| 558 | ---- |
| 559 | * EvilBrit: Subverted. He isn't actually British but is using a fake accent to imitate David Bowie. The "Evil" part is definitely genuine though. |
| 560 | %%* FauxAffablyEvil |
| 561 | * TheHeavy: He is the villain for the first two thirds of the movie before Allison reveals herself. |
| 562 | * TheInformant: He was this to Juliet before she sent him to jail. |
| 563 | [[/folder]] |
| 564 | |
| 565 | !Others |
| 566 | [[folder:Mary Lightly]] |
| 567 | !!Dr. Marion "Mary" Lightly III |
| 568 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mary_lightly.jpg]] |
| 569 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/JimmiSimpson |
| 570 | ---- |
| 571 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: Despite being pretty creepy and strange, he was quite useful in the episodes he appeared and Juliet even called him a genius. |
| 572 | * CreepyGood: No doubt one of the good guys, but has plenty of bizarre habits and strange mannerisms that creep people out. |
| 573 | * FriendlessBackground: When Shawn and Gus attend [[spoiler: his funeral]], his mother is the only other person to show up. |
| 574 | * GenderBlenderName: Like his father and grandfather before him. |
| 575 | * KilledOffForReal: By Mr. Yin. |
| 576 | * MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: He's one of the good guys, but his utter lack of social skills and very intense personality make the other characters very suspicious of him. He even has the dark, creepy, poorly-kept house to go along with the trope. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, by the time his heart of gold is discovered, it's too late.]] |
| 577 | * {{Psychopomp}}: [[spoiler: After Yang's death, Mary appears as an angel to escort her to the afterlife. ''Which'' afterlife this is isn't entirely clear.]] |
| 578 | * RedHerring: Shawn suspects on two events Mary is the killer. With Mr. Yang, it was PlayedForLaughs while he was serious with Mr. Yin, especially when Shawn and Gus investigate his house. [[spoiler: He was actually tracing the killer on his own and ended up dying trying to confront Mr. Yin]] |
| 579 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Canned sardines with olive oil. When Shawn and Gus enter his house, his sink has ''a lot'' of opened cans along with some unopened ones. |
| 580 | [[/folder]] |
| 581 | |
| 582 | [[folder:Father Westley]] |
| 583 | !!Father Peter Westley |
| 584 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peter_westley_0.jpg]] |
| 585 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/RayWise |
| 586 | |
| 587 | A Catholic priest that Shawn and Gus knew since when they were young. Became involved in their lives again when he returns to Santa Barbara just in time to get involved in a murder / exorcism case. |
| 588 | ---- |
| 589 | * AsTheGoodBookSays: He often does this. |
| 590 | * BadassPreacher: Was well-known before his return for performing exorcisms. In his second appearance he saves both Shawn and Gus from a burning building. Made more awesome because Shawn and Gus were in another town and the only reason Wesley knows to look for them is the hint of a two-rider bike. |
| 591 | * CastingGag: Played by Creator/RayWise, he also appears again in their ''Series/TwinPeaks'' episode. |
| 592 | * ConfessInConfidence: Shawn has his first confession in over fifteen years and uses it to promote a jingle he's working on. Father Westley takes it in relative stride. |
| 593 | * FriendlyEnemy: While he did accidentally lead to a girl's death via a suicide, he and Shawn and Gus seem to genuinely like each other. |
| 594 | * HollywoodExorcism: Performs one on a girl he believes to be possessed [[spoiler: She's covering up her accidental murder of a fellow Catholic schoolgirl.]] |
| 595 | * PreacherMan: He especially likes to be an active one. |
| 596 | [[/folder]] |
| 597 | |
| 598 | [[folder:Declan Rand]] |
| 599 | !Declan Rand |
| 600 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/declan_rand.jpg]] |
| 601 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/NestorCarbonell |
| 602 | |
| 603 | A criminal profiler who uses psychology to solve cases. He made investments after the housing crisis which made him a multi-millionaire. He's developed his skills by studying and reading but lies about his credentials because he was bored and thought profiling looked fun. |
| 604 | ---- |
| 605 | * {{Foil}}: To Shawn. Declan is lying about his abilities but uses profiling instead of psychic visions. He's more than a little narcissistic, if the giant painting of himself over his fireplace is any indication. Also becomes romantically interested in Juliet but unlike Shawn, comes clean about his past. |
| 606 | * NonIdleRich: He does criminal profiling ''for fun.'' |
| 607 | * PutOnABus: Doesn't last very long and last the show mentions, he was going to take Juliet to Barcelona for a vacation. |
| 608 | * WholePlotReference: A profiler who works with the police department and is lying about his abilities and is kind of a jerk. Yes, it's basically the main character and TakeThat of ''Series/TheMentalist''. |
| 609 | [[/folder]] |
| 610 | |
| 611 | [[folder:Curt Smith]] |
| 612 | !!Curt Smith |
| 613 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/curt_smith.jpg]] |
| 614 | ->'''Played by:''' Curt Smith |
| 615 | |
| 616 | One of the members of ''Music/TearsForFears'', hired on by Declan Rand for private entertainment. And then randomly appears again in later episodes. |
| 617 | ---- |
| 618 | * CantHoldHisLiquor: And is an angry morose drunk at that. |
| 619 | * CharacterAsHimself: Curt Smith is playing AsHimself. |
| 620 | * TheChewToy Gets browbeaten by Declan in his first episode. In his next appearance he's shot ''and'' attacked by a wild panther. His third involves him turning into a ''zombie''. |
| 621 | [[/folder]] |
| 622 | |
| 623 | [[folder:Rachael]] |
| 624 | !Rachael |
| 625 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rachael_psych.jpg]] |
| 626 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/ParminderNagra |
| 627 | |
| 628 | Gus's one and only long-term girlfriend throughout the show starting in Season 7. She turns out to also have a son named Max. |
| 629 | ---- |
| 630 | * GenreSavvy: Almost as much as Shawn. |
| 631 | * LoveInterest: For Gus. |
| 632 | * OnlyOneName: Her last name is never known. |
| 633 | * PutOnABus: Needed to go to England for six months. While she's briefly mentioned afterwards, she never comes back. It's implied that she got back together with her ex-husband, Max's father. |
| 634 | [[/folder]] |
| 635 | |
| 636 | [[folder:Selene]] |
| 637 | !Selene |
| 638 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/selene_psych.png]] |
| 639 | ->'''Played by:''' Jazmyn Simon |
| 640 | |
| 641 | Gus's new love interest introduced in the movies. |
| 642 | ----- |
| 643 | * DistaffCounterpart: Selene comes off as a counterpart to Gus. Both are into astronomy, do their research, and have the same kind of pick-up moves as one another. |
| 644 | * GeekyTurnOn: She and Gus first bond over a shared interest in astronomy. |
| 645 | * ItsPronouncedTropay: Her name is pronounced "suh-luh-nay". |
| 646 | * MeaningfulName: Selene == "moon". She loves astronomy. |
| 647 | * MysteriousPast: The core of the plot of ''This Is Gus''. |
| 648 | * PromotionToOpeningTitles: Is included in the opening credits as of ''This Is Gus''. |
| 649 | [[/folder]] |
| 650 | |
| 651 | [[folder:Abigail Lytar]] |
| 652 | !Abigail Lytar |
| 653 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/RachaelLeighCook |
| 654 | |
| 655 | Shawn's high school fling turned girlfriend during seasons three and four. |
| 656 | ----- |
| 657 | * HighSchoolSweethearts: Shawn had a crush on Abigail during high school and actually once set a date with her, but he was very nervous, so he bailed out on it. By the time of the reunion she still didn't completely get over it, being unimpressed by either his excuse (that he was a midwife) or his psychic abilities. After he impresses her by solving a crime and telling her the real reason she bailed out on their date, they both share a kiss. They officially start dating after Gus convinces him to call her by stating that that he will be eighty years old and still hitting on waitresses and that his game is tired. |
| 658 | * LongDistanceRelationship: In "You Can't Handle This Episode" she leaves for Uganda in order to teach and they start one of these, which is over by "Mr. Yin Presents..." because she wants to get away from the danger of being killed (she was kidnapped and Shawn was almost killed by Mr. Yin) in order to do more with her life. |
| 659 | * LoveTriangle: After Juliet ended things with Luntz, she tried to go on a date with Shawn, but he already met Abigail back at his high school reunion and rekindled his love. Juliet and Shawn eventually date after Abigail breaks with him. |
| 660 | * PutOnABus: |
| 661 | ** In "You Can't Handle This Episode", for Uganda. |
| 662 | ** In "Mr. Yin Presents...", when she breaks with Shawn and never shows again ([[TheBusCameBack except for "Psych After Pshow"]]). |
| 663 | * SatelliteLoveInterest: Abigail was Shawn's girlfriend and all her plots were centred around that fact. |
| 664 | * WillTheyOrWontThey: At first, after Gus convinces him to call Abigail, they do (even though he was then solving the Mr. Yang case, which caused disruptions on their first official date). However, after she goes to Uganda and their relationship starts fraying (due to Shawn's still latent feelings for Juliet and Abigail's fear of being killed and wasting her life), she breaks up with him. |
| 665 | [[/folder]] |
| 666 |
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