First, I need to apologize that it took me so long to get this recap up. I had a hard time with this one, people! This was a really odd episode. There was precious little of the wacky hijinks we have come to expect from our favorite fake detectives. I wasn’t sure how to approach such a serious episode (something very abnormal for this show) and try to write a funny recap.  I guess the best I can do is try, and hope to get at least a little chuckle out of you!

I’m thrown off right from the beginning of this episode because they do NOT start with Little Shawn and Little Gus. Where are they!?! I’m concerned!

So instead of LS and LG, the episode starts with Shawn and Gus ordering lunch in a restaurant. I wish they had restaurants with nice outdoor seating like that where I live. And ocean views. Perhaps that’s something to add to the pro column of my West Coast move pro/con list? They seem to be everywhere out there, unless TV has been lying to me all these years.

Sorry, I need to get back on track… this episode is going to be hard enough to recap, I need to stay focused if I’m going to get anywhere. Gus leaves the table for a minute, giving Shawn an opportunity to flirt with the waitress. They discuss his breakfast-for-lunch proclivities, and he finds out she drives a black jeep (you’ll know why that’s worth mentioning later).

PCA!! (That’s “Pop Culture Alert” for those who did not read my last recap) Pinkberry

When Gus arrives back at the table from his potty break, he calls Shawn out on his shameless flirting. He’s certain Shawn will still be using the same tired lines when he’s 80. To prove him wrong, Shawn calls Abigail, who we met in the high school reunion episode at the beginning of this season. Remember her? She’s all that!! Shawn asks her out, and it seems no one is sure this is a good idea besides him. She warily agrees.

PCA!! Shawn calls Gus “Hitch” and says, “you want to see some Will Hunting action?

Meanwhile back at the police station, the chief receives an envelope with a Yin Yang symbol on the back.

Cut back to Shawn and Gus and another Good Will Hunting reference. The writer of this episode must have JUST seen that movie, because they reference it a lot. It makes me really want to watch that movie again. I haven’t seen it in ages. Shawn gets a call from the Chief, who orders him down to the station immediately.

Once everyone is gathered, the Chief shows them what arrived in the envelope we saw earlier. It’s a letter from the Yin Yang killer, done in classic ransom letter style (i.e. letters cut from magazines… which also, incidentally, is how I decorated my notebooks dedicated to New Kids back in the late 80’s/early 90’s). The letter reads, “Hey everybody I’m back for one night only. I’m going to kill someone tonight. Guess who, guess where, guess how. This is going to be so much fun. Mr. Yang.”

The Chief explains that the YY killer only comes out of hiding when he finds a challenger who is a worthy opponent, and it seems he has his sights set on Shawn. The police have absolutely no idea who the YY killer is, and the only choice they have is to play along with his game.

Right off the bat, Shawn says he knows who the killer is and points at a guy in the policy station that we’ve never seen before. What Shawn doesn’t know is that the man he has just accused is actually Mary Lightly, a serial killer profile they will be working with on the case. Man, is this actor capable of playing anything other than super creepy weird guys? First his character in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and now this. I don’t know how I’d feel about being typecast as a weirdo.

Mary (it’s a family name) fills us in on the YY Killer. He first appeared in 1995, when he killed six victims, and has resurfaced twice since, each time killing just one person. He gives the police clues in the forms of riddles, giving them the opportunity to possibly save the victims. Mary explains that the Yin Yang symbolizes the unity of opposites, such as “dark vs. light, killer vs. cop, Kramer vs. Kramer.” *hee* Creepy dude made a joke!

The first riddle is as follows:

SHE SERVES THE GENERAL WELL TODAY
WHOSE SOLDIERS WAIT TO DIE - -
IN A WHITE RIVER THEY SHALL PAY
FOR THEM SHE WILL NOT CRY - -
WHO IS SHE?

Each riddle comes with a stop watch already running, letting them know how much time they have to solve it. In this case, they have 1 hour and 10 minutes. Lassie assumes the victim must be in the military, but Mary points out that the riddle will relate to Shawn personally, since he is the chosen opponent.

Shawn’s father, Henry Spencer, bursts into Chief Vick’s office and demands that his son not be used “as a pawn” in this case. He remembers what happened the last time someone went up against the YY Killer, and he doesn’t want the same to happen to Shawn. Vick implores Henry to not interfere, insisting that he’s their only chance to beat the YY Killer, but Henry says that’s not his problem and storms out.

Henry tries to reason with Shawn, explaining that this killer knows everything about him, his friends, and his family. He says, “you don’t catch this son of a bitch, kid, you’re never going to sleep again.” I don’t know that I buy this scene. Henry has always been painted as the kind of guy who bleeds blue. A cop through and through. I don’t know that I believe he would try to pull his son off the case, especially knowing how good he is at what he does. But then again, I’m not a parent, and I assume the parental part of his brain, and the desire to protect his son, is really what is working here. I don’t know, it just didn’t seem quite right to me.

PCA!! After telling his father to leave, Shawn goes back into the station and says, “dad was just dropping my Zodiac DVD.”

Back to trying to solve the riddle. When Lassie tries to link something in the riddle to a past victim, Mary gets exasperated and says, “there’s never a repeat performance.” He tells Shawn to think back over the last 24 hours. A little too quickly to be believed, Shawn figures out that the “General” is General Mills, the “White River” is milk, and the “Soldiers” are cereal. The police rush to the restaurant where Shawn had his cute “breakfast for lunch” flirtation that afternoon, only to find that the waitress is missing. There they find another stop watch, with just 18 minutes on the timer, and a message, this time written out in Alpha-bits.

OH RATS SHAWN, SO CLOSE!
TOO BAD SHE HAS TO DIE BUT HOW?
AND WHEN AND WHERE?
DON’T BOTHER ASKING WHY.

Shawn once again jokes about breakfast for lunch (which I, personally, believe strongly in, btw), and Gus pulls him aside. He wants to know what’s going on – why he’s making jokes and acting like an ass when a girl’s life is on the line. Shawn explains that he has to treat this case like he does any other – with his “fanciful rhetoric” that helps to diffuse tense situations, even when no one else is laughing. And he needs Gus’ help to keep things light. And herein lies the difficulty in recapping this episode. Even when there is silliness, it is intensely awkward because of the situation. I like that they had this scene, or we would have just thought Shawn was being an ass. Kudos to the show for finding a way to keep some humor in an otherwise very dark episode, but it’s making my life awfully difficult! Don’t they know it’s all about me?

Lassie discovers the next clue:

LITTLE LEAGUE IS OVER
YOU JUST BECAME A PRO
SCORE A RUN WE’LL HAVE MORE FUN
BE SURE YOU BEAT THE THROW

With less than 18 minutes, they’re not going to have much time to solve this, and Shawn is feeling the tension. Gus makes his first attempt at lightening the mood with some talk of pancakes, which confuses everyone, but Shawn seems to appreciate it.

Shawn deduces that they need to go back to the police station, since that’s their “home plate,” and you need to touch home plate to score a run. When they arrive there, Shawn finds his mom, who tries to convince him to step away from this case. As a psychiatrist for the police department, she evaluated some of the officers involved in the last search for the YY Killer. Go back up and read the paragraph about Shawn and his dad’s conversation, and you’ll basically know what happens here.

Shawn heads to the conference room and finds everyone standing around a mysterious box. Mysterious in that it wasn’t delivered, but just appeared outside the file room. Mary opens the wrapping and finds a rat in a cage, along with another riddle:

MEET MY LITTLE BUDDY BEN
PITTER PATTER IS YOUR HINT
IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER WHEN
JUST READ THE FINE PRINT

PCA!! Ben!  Does this song still make anyone cry?  Just me?  Alrighty.

They have less than one hour. Juliet suggests that Shawn “speak to” the rat. Once again, Shawn is stumped and feeling the pressure. You just gotta love Gus here. He knows exactly what his friend needs – what anyone would need in this situation – a Michael Jackson impression. A really good Michael Jackson impression, in fact. Gus rocks.

The others aren’t quite as impressed with Gus’ mad improvisational skills, but Shawn (on the down low) loved it. And once again, the distraction has allowed Shawn to figure out a part of the riddle. “Fine print” refers to the newspaper lining Ben’s cage. Upon further investigation, they find that the classified ads are full of references to past cases.

PCA!! When Mary compliments Shawn and Gus on the success of a past case, Shawn says, “Thank you, Willard.”  I know I'm linking to the remake there, and not the original, but I find Crispin Glover kind of fascinating.  So suck it up.

One ad says, “SNARKY PSYCHIC seeks Ferroequinologist for help with killer smile.” Gus points out that a ferroequinologist is a train enthusiast (a fact he knows because he himself is a ferroquinologist). Other ads refer to a “tender” and a “black snake,” which leads them to the conclusion that they’re looking for the car right behind the engine of a coal train (just go with it… that’s what I’m doing).

The good news is that there is only one coal train in Santa Barbara. The bad news is, it doesn’t actually stop in the station, so Shawn and Gus have to pull a full on hobo and run after the train. Abigail picks that very moment to return Shawn’s call, and Shawn says he still wants to see her tonight, but he may have to push the time back a bit. Damn, that Shawn is ambitious! Catching a serial killer and getting the girl all in the same day. I can barely work up the energy to get off the couch after working at my considerably less taxing day job all day.

Poor damaged Abigail is sure she’s going to be stood up again, but Shawn insists he’ll be there.

When Shawn and Gus finally make it onto the train car, the find the following riddle:

A MOVING PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
SO READ THE STORY AND FOLLOW THE BIRDS.
ONCE YOU’RE THERE, YOU’LL HEAR A PHONE.
YOU HAVE EIGHT RINGS TO PICK UP OR THE GIRL IS DEAD.
SHAME ON ME THAT DIDN’T EVEN RHYME

They have 27 minutes. Inside an envelope, they find a stack of pictures. Mary comes trotting up to the train car.

PCA!! When Shawn mocks Mary for taking so long to catch up, Mary pulls up his pants leg, revealing ankle weights. He says “I always wear them, even when I sleep. I read about it in Men’s Fitness. It totally reinvigorated Ryan Reynolds’ career.”

So it seems that any silliness helps Shawn, whether it’s provided by Gus or not, because he has a brainstorm. He grabs several pictures, puts them in order, and flips through them like a flipbook. Ah, a MOVING picture! I get it! The pictures show Gus throwing away a gum wrapper in a garbage can earlier that morning. CREEPY! That means the killer was there, watching them!

Once they’re back at the trash can in front of Psych, the next clue of “follow the birds” leads them out on to the pier, where they hear a phone ringing. Shawn finds the phone on a homeless man who is sleeping under a blanket with the Yin Yang symbol on it. Man, the YY killer really thought ahead! Having special blankets made and everything. That’s impressive forethought.

Shawn realizes that the phone didn’t start ringing until they were close to it, deducing that the YY killer must be close by. He refuses to play the killer’s games anymore, and throws the phone into the water. Wow, I would not want to be that waitress right now.

While everyone is staring at him in disbelief, Shawn looks back toward Psych and sees a weird flash in the window. He leads them all back to the office, where (of course) the killer is now no where to be found. I think this may be the most intense scene ever of Psych, and certainly the most serious we’ve ever seen Shawn.

And you know what that means! Silly Gus! He grabs a plane, and pretends he’s King Kong, batting at it. That’s pretty funny. Well, to me anyway. Lassie asks him what the hell he’s doing, and Shawn says, “seriously, man, I need you to pull yourself together.” *wink* Awesome. He just winked at him. I love those two.

Juliet is glancing at pictures of the boys when she sees one of the waitress, bound, gagged and terrified. Either the boys have some seriously screwed up fetishes or that was not there before. Mary breaks the glass, and behind the picture he finds a message that begins with, “You are a naughty, naughty boy…” He doesn’t finish reading the message out loud, but says that the YY killer is giving them another chance.

An aside: I just used the word “fetish” and the phrase “naughty, naughty boy” in the same paragraph. I don’t even want to know what kind of internet searches this recap is going to show up in now. Move it along, pervs, nothing to see here.

Shawn cracks. He’s sick of being this killer’s puppet, just following instructions and playing along. He knows the killer is too good, and will probably just kill the girl no matter what happens. Juliet, Lassie and Mary storm out, disgusted that Shawn would give up.

PCA!! Shawn tells Mary he has a “fey name and [a] weird Ken Burns haircut.”  He may have funny hair, but the man makes a mean documentary.

PCA!! Shawn tells Gus not to be “the last of the famous international playboys.”  I assume this is the reference, right?  I don't see how it relates.

Once they’re gone, Shawn reveals the real plan to Gus. He just wanted to get rid of the cops, and drop off the killer’s radar. He wants YY to think that he’s given up, when in reality, they’re going to go back to the beginning and walk through it one step at a time.

Back at the police station, another riddle has arrived:

I’M NO DOUBTING THOMAS
I PUCKER UP TO FIGHT
FOR YOU TO SHAKE MY HAND
YOU’D HAVE TO USE YOUR RIGHT
WHO AM I?

Now that Shawn is gone, this clue could be directed at anyone. Lassie, a Civil War buff, tells this long story from ye olde days that helps lead them to The Stonewall Hotel. No, I’m not going to explain how. Just trust me, it made sense at the time.

PCA!! Mary cracked me up when he said, “hey, you guys remember that Pat Swayze mini-series North and South? Talk about Civil War buff, huh?” That creepy Mary is growing on me.

Shawn and Gus are back at the restaurant from this morning. Shawn notices that the waitress’ black jeep is missing (see, told you that was important). This means she and the killer must have taken her car. Just then, Lassie calls to tell Shawn that they found the jeep at the hotel, and that he needs to get down there. Well, them working on their own didn’t last long, did it?

They find the girl, alive but probably in need of some serious, intense therapy. Inside the girl’s mouth they find a crumpled up riddle:

SHAWN NO LONGER WANTS TO PLAY
STAKES TOO LOW TO MAKE YOU STAY?

When Shawn discovers his mom’s purse in the hotel room, he knows the YY Killer has upped the stakes significantly. His, “He’s got her, Gus. He’s got my mom” just breaks my cold, black heart.

On the bathroom mirror is written the following clue (in lipstick, natch):

YOU SHOULD BE MOVING,
AS MOST PEOPLE DO.
INSTEAD YOU SIT AND ENJOY THE VU.
PS MOMMY SAYS HI.
AND BYE.
JUST IN CASE.

Shawn flashes back to a newspaper (not really sure where this flashback is from… the paper in the rats cage, maybe?) and sees an ad for the local drive-in. Someone has crossed out the “e” in “Cinema Vue Drive In.”

Once they arrive at the theater, they set about looking for Shawn’s mom’s rental car, a blue sedan. I love how Shawn almost always addresses Gus, not the rest of the group. He clearly relies on him more than anyone else, especially when things are tough. The way they write this friendship is really quite nuanced for such an oddball show.

Shawn finds her first, sitting in her car with tape over her mouth and a sign around her neck that says, “Mommy says pretty please don’t squeeze.” Henry (Shawn’s dad) runs up. They notice a red laser dot on the back of her head, and the cops go running after the source. Shawn, genius that he is, knows it’s just a decoy. What’s not a decoy, however, is the flashing red light on a bomb in mommy dearest’s popcorn bucket. I know that stuff will kill you (seriously, do you know how much saturated fat is in that?), but come on.

James Roday really impressed me in this episode. I already loved him as a comedic actor, but he did a really good job with the serious stuff too. When he looks down at his dad and says, “dad, she’s strapped,” you could really sense the fear and despair. Well played, Roday.

Shawn asks his mom where the YY killer is, and she gestures toward the car next to them, where there’ a woman eating popcorn and watching the movie. Not just any woman, though. It’s Ally Sheedy! You gotta love Brat Pack cameos!! She glances over at Shawn, holds up the detonator, and nods him over to the car.

Once he’s in the car, Ally gushes about how he was her “most admirable foe.” Her Yin, if you will. Shawn frankly doesn’t give a crap what she thinks of him, he just wants her to let his mom go. He did beat her, after all. Fair’s fair. Oh, and by the way, they’re surrounded by cops.

Ally babbles for a bit about how she may be a killer, but she completes things, which is all people really want. She makes sure Shawn realizes she still has the power to blow up his mom (OT - I can’t type that without thinking, “Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky.”), and he gets the cops to stand down. Shawn pokes the bear by calling her “a cliché – a knock-off of a knock-off.” Not really sure what the game plan is here, but I assume he has one. Ally tells Shawn that she’s torn – she really wants to blow his mom up, but on the other hand, she needs Shawn to like her, because they’re “going to be working together again.” You see, she’s going to write a book! And she wants Shawn to write the forward.

He passes on the job offer.  She hands the detonator over to Shawn, who jumps out of the car, and the cops swarm. I have to assume this isn’t the last we’re going to see of Ally. There’s really no resolution here. It felt a bit rushed.

Shawn goes and finds his mom, who is being comforted by Henry. Sweet. Shawn says he’s going to cancel his date tonight to stay with her, but she says, “now it’s time to go see about a girl.” Seriously? Again with the Good Will Hunting?

Abigail comes to meet Shawn for their date… at the Drive-In. Wow, dinner, a movie, and a crime scene, all in one. Romantic.

Shawn is in the concession stand getting snacks. I guess catching a serial killer has some perks – free snacks! Totally worth it. That crap is expensive, yo! Juliet walks in and pours her heart out to him. It’s actually quite lovely, all about how the best things in life don’t come easily, and how much he impresses her. Finally she gets to the point and asks him out.

AWKWARD, considering he’s already on a date. This makes me sad! I like Abigail, she’s funny and cute and might be good for Shawn, with all of her vaguely quirky normalness. Then again, it’s Juliet! She and Shawn have been dancing around this for three years. I’m torn!!

I really don’t know how to do this scene justice in a recap. It’s touching and sad. I’ll just tell you, if you don’t remember it, go watch it again.

There’s a little more cuteness Gus Shawn tagging along on Shawn and Abigail’s date, but that’s pretty much it.

Oh, Psych, why did you have to leave me with such a dark episode? How am I going to make it through the Spring without your silly antics? And why did the Psych-Out have to be Lassie singing “Private Eyes?” I mean, it was hilarious, but now that song is going to be stuck in my head until you return this summer!!!!

Well, that’s it, folks. I promise to be better about getting these recaps up on time when the show comes back in a few months. Until then, check out the official Psych website for full episodes, and lots of fun time wasters. See you all this summer!

Psych 3.16 - "An Evening With Mr. Yang"