Season 2, Episode 11
There's Something About Mira
"Oh my God. And your best man was a goat?! Dude, I was supposed to be that goat!"
Directed by Joanna Kerns
Written by Josh Bycel and Daniel Hsia
After being followed by a fairly inept P.I. for a couple hours, Shawn and Gus confront the man. He admits that he was hired by Gus' wife, Mira, astonishing Shawn. Gus admits that he's married, but has been separated from Mira for a long time. He goes to meet Mira at her family's winery, and she reveals she's engaged to someone else – she just wants Gus to sign some papers to make their divorce official. Unfortunately, at the wedding the next day, the groom – a man named Jan – never shows up. Things get weirder when Mira's family reveals they never met Jan before the wedding, and quite a bit of Mira's relationship with him seems to have been fabricated. Jan shows up a couple days later and apologizes to Mira – claiming his work took him away - but when Jan turns up dead, the case takes a disturbing turn…Tropes:
- Always Someone Better: Lassiter is hit with this when he learns that Juliet got a better score than him on the detective's exam. Then both of them are hit with it when Shawn, unaware of their rivalry, blithely reveals he also took the exam at fifteen and scored 100% on it.
- Amicable Exes: A surprisingly unhealthy version. Gus left Mira after their marriage when he realized he couldn't ever say "no" to her, and she was leading him down a road he probably couldn't afford to follow. She threatened to burn down his apartment after he broke up with her. When they meet again, she's sweet and affectionate, and Gus still can't say no to her. Fortunately, this extends to her asking for him to sign the divorce papers.
- Becoming the Mask: Jan was willing to con Mira and her parents out of their best wine by getting in a relationship with her. However, he started to actually fall in love with her and went against his partner in the scheme.
- By "No", I Mean "Yes":Gus: Shawn, I've been there before with Mira. He's telling the truth.
Shawn: Yeah, but he's definitely lying. - Cold Open: In a a flashback, Henry takes Shawn and Gus to a fancy restaurant where they see a proposal. The kids don't see what's the big deal with marriage but Henry says they'll find out someday. Shawn just snarks "they're not gonna make it" when he sees the proposer oogling another woman.
- The Ditz: Mira is a bubbly girl who doesn't take anything seriously.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Mira and Jan met each other a couple of weeks before deciding to get married, and faked photos to make it look like they'd been together longer so her parents would approve.
- Gilligan Cut: When Gus is explaining to Shawn that he got together with Mira in 1997, Shawn asks if Gus was still "rocking the sweater-vest". Gus denies it… and then goes into a flashback showing that indeed, he was.
- Girls Have Cooties: Young Shawn and Gus witness a marriage proposal at a restaurant during the Cold Open. Both of the kids are disgusted at the idea of getting married.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Lassie and Jules try interrogating a suspect using this – except they’re competing to see who can make him crack first, resulting in "Good Cop VERSUS Bad Cop".
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Mira and her mother.
- In Love with the Mark: Jan and Rhoden were attempting to con Mira into a wedding, so that they could empty out the winery and steal over a million dollars of rare wine while everyone was distracted. However, Jan actually fell for Mira, complicating the plan. When he threatened to spill the beans, Rhoden shot him.
- In-Series Nickname: "Hurricane Mira" tends to suck people into her life and spin them out of control.
- Insistent Terminology: Shawn refuses to pronounce Jan's name correctly.
- Love at First Sight: Gus' reaction to meeting Mira in 1997. It resulted in them drunkenly getting married.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Gus' brain tends to shut down and restart at random moments when Mira's around.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Mira was this to Gus, getting him to come out of his shell somewhat in college. Deconstructed in that she's so spontaneous that it makes her an unstable partner, which is ultimately why her and Gus could never work.
- Mistaken for Badass: At the end, Mira's family and the police come across Mira and Mace Rhoden unconscious, the sprinkler system on, and Gus standing over both of them. Shawn immediately concocts a story where Gus came up with a clever plan to take out the thief, but Rhoden knocked Mira out before he finished. However, it turns out Rhoden's lighter turned the sprinklers on, Rhoden slipped and fell, and Gus shoved Mira out of the way while trying to run, but she hit her head on the way down and doesn't remember it.
- Mrs. Robinson: Mira's mother takes the time to hit on Shawn while he's investigating. Shawn is visibly uncomfortable.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently Mira is prevented from visiting her family's vineyard in Spain because she once punched the bull at Pamplona. This was presumably during the Bull Run, but no further elaboration is provided.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Mira's parents aren't exactly fond of Gus, since she told them he tricked her into marriage.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Shawn, who typically prefers talking to violence, demands a gun because Gus is in danger.Shawn: Somebody give me a gun!
O'Hara/Lassiter: No!
Shawn: Then drive faster, that's my best friend in there! - Redemption Equals Death: Jan's partner kills him when he falls for Mira and abandons the scheme.
- Runaway Groom: Jan seems to be this at first, leaving Mira at the altar. He reappears later, explaining that he got called away for work.
- Skewed Priorities: After learning that Gus once married someone, Shawn is upset at the fact that he was never invited to their wedding or was chosen as Gus' best man.
- Smile of Approval: Moments after Chief Vick learns that O'Hara and Lassiter have been having a childish competition over their detective exam scores, rendering her furious, their competition gets completely shut down when Shawn naively cuts them off at the knees by announcing he got a perfect score when he was fifteen. She quietly smiles and lets it play out.
- McNab gets one, too, what with them having stolen his watch for their stupid games. His is a a little more smug, though.
- Spoiled Sweet: Mira's parents own multiple wineries, and she's clearly used to getting what she wants without ever having to face consequences, but she's not an Alpha Bitch or anything.
- Title Drop: Shawn's only explanation for Jan falling for his mark within weeks of his con is simply "There's something about Mira".
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The episode's B-plot has Lassiter getting bent out of shape when he learns that Juliet got a better score than him on the detective's exam. He winds up using a new case – a missing refrigeration truck – to challenge her to a duel of detectives, with the first one to solve it being the better detective. It eventually ties into the Mira storyline, and Shawn solves it before either of them.
- Wine Is Classy: Mira's family runs a winery with such high-quality products that they're being put on display at another winery in Napa.
