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Wet Toilet Paper. Review: Psych – “Right Turn or Left for Dead”

Season 7, Episode 8

Air Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“I have never lied about the way I feel for you, not ever. Gus, on the other hand, I lie to daily.” – Shawn

Will Juliet reveal Shawn’s secret?

Psych pays homage to the 1998 movie Sliding Doors where Gwyneth Paltrow’s character’s life splits into two parallel universes and shows how differently her life plays out in each scenario. In “Right Turn or Left for Dead,” Shawn’s (James Roday) life splits into Juliet (Maggie Lawson) knowing his secret and Juliet not knowing his secret. This impacts not only Shawn and Juliet’s life but the lives of everyone around them, as well as the case Shawn and Gus (Dulé Hill) are working on.

Visually, I like this episode and how it uses a split screen and several other visual tricks to tell two different stories simultaneously. I assume a special camera filter was used to create what seems to be two unique lighting styles to help the audience better follow each individual story. It is an interesting idea and with the right story, it would work out great. The problem is “Right Turn or Left for Dead” isn’t the right episode for this technique.

The first problem is, even with the different lighting styles and other methods, it still is confusing at times. At one point, Shawn shows up at Mary Pasternak’s (Rose Abdoo) house to ask her some questions regarding his investigation, and when he tells her he is a psychic, she asks, “Can you tell me where my kid left his jacket?” My first reaction was to think, “Did he lose it again?” But then I remembered it was found in the other version. Several times, there is a sense of déjá vu as different versions of the same scene play out, which only add to the confusion.

Shawn and Gus taking a break to watch the game

Second, in many ways, I think the reason “Right Turn or Left for Dead” isn’t the right episode to do this homage is because it comes across as teasing. You know that person who thinks it’s amusing to pull forward five feet and then laugh when you approach the car door to get in? And then they do it a second time, continuing to laugh? That’s how I feel about the way various situations play out in this episode. My emotions were being toyed with, but after a bit, the story would ease up, only to do something else that messed with me. By the end, I was more annoyed and upset that my feelings had been toyed with and become such an amusing game for the Psych writers that I lost interest in the rest of the story.

Then, just as you’re about to lose it with all the games, there is a wonderful, beautiful scene between Shawn and Juliet. It is the scene that fans have been waiting a week, if not seven years, for as Juliet tells Shawn, “I understand why you had to keep it a secret; what choice did you have? Maybe you were protecting me. And if you’re not psychic, then you are a really good cop, like maybe one of the best, next to me.” Juliet goes on to tell Shawn she loves him as they embrace. I don’t deny I started to tear up at these heartfelt emotions only to have those feelings ripped away as Shawn wakes up from what we suddenly realize is only a dream.

Lassiter’s dog is on the case

“Right Turn or Left for Dead” is a somewhat confusing episode, and I think linking this split timeline to Shawn and Juliet’s breakup is the wrong story to do this with. I would rather see a “What if Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) did and didn’t get married” timeline. I think several parts—like the murder and attack on Elin (Lauriane Gillieron)—work but because everyone’s emotions are being tossed around like a rag doll, we don’t appreciate the rest of the episode.

“Deez Nups” shocked fans when Juliet learned Shawn’s secret, only to follow that up with this discombobulated episode that pulls fans’ emotions all over the place. As fans, we invest our time and energy into liking these characters; we care about Shawn and Juliet, and I feel like the writers took those emotions and spent this episode mocking us for being foolish enough to have them. The one thing everyone seemed to love, based on the tweets I read on Twitter, is Lassiter’s new puppy. How quickly we forget that the puppy was in the other timeline and not the real one. Will fans continue to allow their emotions to be toyed with? I think this tweet sums up perfectly what other fans are feeling:

“@CJKnuth Watching last night’s #Psych and I’m deeply confused and incredibly depressed. They better fix this.”

 

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All photos © 2013 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.