#henrys analysis is coming later cause ohboy was he dad of the year in this ep

[pinazee]

So, to be honest, spelling bee is an ep that had to grow on me. It just always seemed too outlandish of a crime i think, idk. But the ep does show us more about shawns dysfunctional relationship with his father and Gus’s motivation to participate in Psych. Not to mention Juliet.

Gus is highly intelligent but in a way that feels he never utilized it properly. He has the mental fortitude to become a doctor if he wanted, he has the drive and the willpower it takes to become invested (as shown with how deep his knowledge of the bee and other subjects goes), yet he never did. We see in the pilot how little he actually cares for his “real” job. It pays the bills, thats it. At the end of the day, Gus plays it safe, and you get the feeling in the pilot that he’s not happy with where he’s at. He’s stagnant. Unfulfilled. Just as lost as Shawn.

In a lot of ways, they’re similar with that aspect. Both him and shawn have a variety of interests and skills, yet neither seemed to pursue a career in those fields. In shawns case, in his own words “he mastered it and moved on.” He got bored (ahem, ADHD). But i think in Gus’s case, he was too afraid to try. Or maybe nothing quite gave him enough of a spark to want to. As everyone later points out, Gus has a shit ton of potential that never seemed properly used.

Until Shawn comes around. And he needs him. He needs all of Gus’s knowledge and skills. He even finds the clues that the doctor was fake and Jari was sitting next to the kid with the inhaler. And its fun. He’s excited. Psych brings him joy.

As for our intro to Juliet- fantastic. We learn so much from so little screen time. She can banter with Shawn easily, and isn’t afraid to give pushback or to give Lassiter pointers (which considering she’s like brand new and he’s a bit of a prick is saying something), and she trusts her instincts to follow through with Shawns advice. Shes a good cop. Almost the antithesis to Lassiter. Shes warm, friendly, and trusting to his cold, distant, and weary.

Side note:

James motorcycle face makes me lol every goddamn time