Episode Title: 'Neal Simon's Lover's Retreat'
Writer: Carlos Jacott
Director: Brad Turner
Story:
Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and Shawn (James Roday) prepare to leave town for a romantic getaway and Gus (Dule Hill) prepares to spend the weekend without his best friend. Shawn pulls Gus aside to tell him something important, but with Jules anxious to leave, he doesn't get the chance. Afterwards, Gus runs into Lassy (Timothy Omundson) and Henry (Corbin Bernsen) in the supermarket and the trio decide to go to a club later that night.
At the resort, Shawn tries to call Gus but doesn't get an answer. Meanwhile, Juliet makes friends with another couple, named Barbie (Jennifer Finnigan) and Clive (Jason Priestley). Unbeknownst to her and Shawn, the couple recently pulled a scam on a nearby highway where they faked an accident and robbed a good Samaritan. Though hesitant at first, Shawn agrees to have dinner with the couple at Jules' urging.
Back in Santa Barbara, the boys hit the bar and make a bet to see who'll be the first to get a number. Gus and Lassy get nowhere while Henry quickly gets the digits of a young woman at the end of the bar. Losers Gus and Lassy agree to bring BBQ over to Henry's later in the weekend.
At dinner, Shawn bonds with Clive, who notices a wealthy Texan eating at a nearby table and bragging about his box wine business. He and Barbie then notice the man they robbed on the highway and make a quick exit, with Barbie claiming to have a terrible migraine. Later that night, Shawn and Jules return to their room to find it ransacked.
After getting their room number from the front desk, Shawn learns that Barbie and Clive were never registered guests at the resort. Back at home, Gus gets a call about credit card fraud. Shawn took his card, which was then stolen by the couple. At the resort, Shawn is panicked about his stolen Nintendo DS. When Gus tells him about the charges from a winery, Shawn suggests he and Jules check it out.
At the winery, Shawn overhears Jerry (Tony Hale), the man Barbie and Clive scammed, on his cellphone, talking about getting robbed. Shawn tells Jerry about what happened to him and Juliet. Just then, a woman screams and Shawn and Jules discover the wealthy Texan, dead in a wine barrel.
Lassy, Gus and Henry arrive at the winery to investigate. When Lassy identifies the bullet that killed the man, Shawn realizes it came from the Texan's own gun, which is now gone. Suspecting Barbie and Clive are the killers, the two rent a Corvette and find the couple pulling the same scam on the same highway. However, when confronted about the killing, the pair denies any involvement. Shawn realizes Clive's gun is not the Texan's and the two are arrested, but not for the murder.
Back at the winery, Shawn and Jules talk to the owner, who reveals that he's eager to get out of the wine business. In fact, he says he was ready to sell to an investor who lowballed him but then the Texan made a better offer. Shawn pieces together that Jerry is the man who made the initial offer and became desperate when the deal fell apart. Now cornered, Jerry holds Lassie, Gus and Henry and gunpoint, locks them in a steam room and flees. Shawn and Jules come to the rescue and the boys chase after Jerry in the Corvette. Meanwhile, he and Jules take to the sky in a hot air balloon to track Jerry from above.
After a high-speed chase, Lassy catches up with Jerry and arrests him. Back at the resort, Shawn and Jules discuss their relationship. Jules tells Shawn she isn't ready for marriage, to his relief. Meanwhile, Gus gets Shawn's recovered Nintendo DS from the front desk. Inside the battery compartment, he finds an engagement ring.
Breakdown:
The "Psych" fall season finale is brought to you by Autotrader.com, Omega watches, Nintendo and Capital One credit services. Seriously, there was an obscene amount of product placement in 'Neal Simon's Lover's Retreat.' Just sayin'…
On to the better facets of this episode, like Jason Priestley as the slimy male half of "Psych's" Bonnie and Clyde, or rather Barbie and Clive. Priestley and his partner in crime, fellow Canadian Jennifer Finnigan made for excellent foils to law enforcement love birds, Jules and Shawn. And it was great to see "Arrested Development's" Tony Hale as sun-burnt baddie, Jerry.
Back in Santa Barbara, things got a bit silly with Gus and Lassie haplessly attempting to pick up chicks at a club. The more cartoonish the antics, the less laughs "Psych" gets from me. But the boys' high speed chase in a yellow Corvette did make me chuckle, I'm not gonna lie.
A few additional observations on 'Neal Simon's Lover's Retreat:'
- "What's your damage?" Props to Jules for using a line from "Heathers."
- I feel like this episode isn't the first time Shawn's referenced "The Ice Storm"….or maybe I'm thinking of Jules.
- Aww, Shawn was going to propose to Jules. That's cute…and crazy. Gus did not look happy when he found a ring in the DS, instead of a Pokemon.
- As far as I can tell, Jason Priestley or anyone else involved in the making of this episode of "Psych" didn't work on "The Wild Stallion," but I'm sure Connie Sellecca is still a "real pro."
- So Lassy is serious about his inmate girlfriend, Marlowe Viccellio aka Kristy Swanson aka OG Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Makes sense, as Swanson is likely to drop in again in a future episode.
'Neal Simon's Lover's Retreat' was a fun finish to the first half of season six and we even got a bit of a cliffhanger, in Gus' discovery of the engagement ring. We learned that Shawn and Jules are ready to take their relationship to the next level, just not that level. All the main players were involved in the shenanigans and Jules and Shawn got to throw food out of a hot air balloon. I'm satisfied, how about you?
Crave Online Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
