PSYCH: “Neil Simon’s Lover’s Retreat” Concludes Fall Season

Even though we know Shawn and Juliet have been a couple for a while now, it’s usually portrayed subtly on the show. Little mentions here and there, maybe a quiet moment between every now and then. This episode is the Psych fall finale, and it is full of romance, yet also manages to keep the humor, weekly mystery and bromance that regular viewers can always expect in this show.

We open with a guy driving a Beemer down a country road, arguing with someone on the phone. He spies two people on the ground beside a motorcycle, apparently having been in an accident. The man plays the good Samaritan, and stops to see if they are okay. It was all a ruse, they were faking it so they could rob him.

Shawn and Juliet are packing Juliet’s car for a weekend getaway. Shawn and Gus say a difficult goodbye, it’s hard for them to let go. Shawn wants Gus to read his thoughts. Gus stares intently into his eyes. He sees…waffles. Juliet wants to know why they are gazing into each others eyes. She is one very patient girlfriend. Really. She’s a keeper, Shawn. Eventually Shawn and Gus manage to part and the couple are off for their retreat. Juliet thinks it’s important for them, it’s the first time they’ve been away from the SBPD and their everyday lives. Shawn knows Juliet has some very specific expectations for this trip. She sent him an email that told him so.

Gus looks sad and lonely as he watches Shawn and Juliet drive away. He goes to the market, all by himself, and runs into Lassiter. Henry‘s there too. They’re all sad and lonely. They end up having a guys weekend and hit a club together. What a trio. They make a wager over who can strike first with the ladies.

Shawn checks in at the hotel…with Gus’s credit card. You would think Gus would be more cautious where he puts it by now, but Shawn still seems to have free access. Juliet is very excited about the weekend, and insists on no work distractions. Of course, as soon as she says this we see the couple from the fake motorcycle accident walk into the hotel. Shawn doesn’t have to look for trouble, it always comes to him.

Shawn can’t handle being away from Gus, he’s calling him every chance he gets. He returns to Juliet by the pool, and she’s in a conversation with the two previous mentioned scam artists, Clyde and Barbie Noble. Shawn isn’t happy to be mingling, but Juliet is enjoying having a normal life for a change and doing normal couple things. The Nobles play up the happy couple stuff, and Juliet loves it…but Shawn hates them. He feels something is off.

Shawn and Juliet have dinner with the Nobles, and Shawn is warming up. He and Clyde share desserts. Across the room, a wealthy looking cowboy with a gun is ordering. Shawn and Mr. Noble are noticing the mans expensive watch, and Shawn notes a very unique looking pistol in his holster. The man that the Noble’s robbed on that country road also walks into the restaurant….Barbie fakes a headache so they can make a hasty exit.

Back at the club, Lassie has the best pickup line ever, “My girlfriend’s in prison”. Surprisingly, it isn’t getting him anywhere with the ladies. He and Gus are both striking out, but Henry scores digits! A cute blond named Chelsea. Henry wins. Gus and Lassiter have to provide food for a barbecue at Henry’s place.

Shawn and Juliet return to their room, blissful after a lovely evening. They turn on the light and the room has been ransacked. They were robbed. At the front desk, Shawn is very upset with their security, all their valuables were taken and he‘s particularly upset about the loss of his NintendoDS. Juliet is a bit upset that Shawn brought the NintendoDS on their romantic retreat. He admits he’s in love with it. The desk clerk tells Shawn there were several thefts reported.

Shawn is also upset they will be late for breakfast with Barbie and Clive. He remembers seeing Clive sign their room number on the dinner bill the previous night. He calls the room, but the person who answers is not Clive. Front desk doesn’t have anyone by Clive’s name registered. Shawn realizes they were played.

Henry, Gus, and Lassiter have their barbecue. They all brought beef, no vegetables. This is a mans barbecue. The credit card company calls Gus to tell him there was suspicious activity on his card. While he’s preoccupied with that, the blond from the bar shows up unexpectedly. She did a reverse search on the internet to find where Henry lives.

Juliet tries to calm Shawn’s fury over the Noble’s betraying them. She forbids him to investigate, though, let the local authorities do it. Gus calls Shawn, he’s also furious. He reads Shawn the riot act over all the charges on his card. The transactions Gus names provide Shawn clues to the Noble’s activities. They went to a vineyard. Shawn doesn’t tell Juliet about that part, he just suggests they do something romantic…go wine tasting.

Chelsea loves her barbecue. She’s chowing down at the guy party she wasn’t invited to. Gus must leave to kill his best friend in the world. Lassiter must go with him to help bury the body. Henry begs them not to leave him there alone with her, but they go anyway, Henry sneaks away and meets them on the street. He stays low to the ground as he sneaks into the back seat.

At the wine tasting Shawn and Juliet encounter the Beemer guy who was robbed, Jerry. While they talk to him they hear a scream from another room and run to see what happened. The rich cowboy from the night before is dead. Juliet laments that the vacation is over.

Gus, Henry, and Lassiter arrive on the scene before the body is even removed. They find bullet casings, and Lassie instinctively knows what type of gun it was from. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t. Shawn remembers the cowboy had a rather special looking handgun the night before. He’s sure Clive and Barbie are responsible. Juliet is determined to spend couple time together, so she and Shawn are going to investigate together.

Clive and Barbie are playing at business as usual. They run the same motorcycle accident scam, only this time it’s Shawn and Juliet who come upon them…and Jules has a gun! Shawn still wants to know where his Nintendo is. When Clive says he pitched it, Shawn looks like he may be suffering a heart attack. Juliet reminds him these two killed someone. Clive seems genuinely surprised to hear about the murder. Barbie admits they are dirty thieves, but insists they are very nice people. When police arrive to take them away, Clive and Barbie beg Shawn and Juliet for help. Shawn believes them. He and Juliet set off to find out who really killed the cowboy.

Back at the vineyard, Shawn sees paperwork on the owners desk that suggests he’s struggling financially. Shawn speculates that the cowboy was there for a business deal, and the owner confirms that he needed that deal. The cowboy was his ticket out of trouble. He almost took a lower offer from another guy, he was so desperate. The description of this other guy sounds suspiciously like Jerry, the guy in the Beemer.

Henry makes the mistake of answering Chelsea’s text and telling her where they are. She follows him there. Henry does his best to hide from her. He, Gus, and Lassiter go to search Jerry’s room, but unfortunately for them Jerry is there with the cowboy’s gun. When Shawn and Juliet arrive, there is no one there. Jerry wanted to buy the winery, but Cowboy ruined the deal for him. There was a confrontation and Jerry shot him. While Shawn rambles on about how he thinks it happened, Juliet wanders around and finds the other guys locked in the steam room.

They all go after Jerry in the sports car Shawn and Juliet rented to go after the Noble’s. Gus tells Henry and Lassie that after this weekend, he can go without seeing them for a while. Shawn and Juliet have taken a balloon ride, so they can have a romantic afternoon while also having a clear view of the valley. Shawn directs Lassie, who is driving, by phone. Lassie is in hot pursuit. Lassie is a also little crazy when he’s in hot pursuit. Henry and Gus think they’re going to die. They catch up with Jerry and order him out of the car. Shawn is still rambling on the phone, and Lassie hangs up on him. Juliet and Shawn decide to stay in the balloon and take a romantic little side trip before going back.

The trip comes to an end, and Shawn feels he let Juliet down. He knows she had expectations for their weekend, and feels he didn‘t come through. He wants to be what Juliet wants. He knows she’s looking for commitment. Juliet tries to sooth things over. She’s not ready for marriage, she just wanted to make sure they are heading down the right path. Shawn says he isn’t ready for that either. It’s on his bucket list, but not now. They see Henry’s stalker Chelsea leaving the hotel, with a man probably twice Henry’s age. Shawn hopes Juliet still looks that good when he’s 140.

Gus is still trying to sort out the charges on his charge card. The front desk returns Shawn’s found NintendoDS that had been reported stolen. Gus can’t get it to work and it rattles. He opens the battery compartment and finds an engagement ring, explaining why Shawn was so desperate to retrieve it. Shawn had apparently been prepared to propose to Juliet. Gus seems taken by surprise, as all he can do is stand there and stare at Shawn and Juliet across the room.

It was such a sweet, unexpected ending. I may or may not have even teared up just a bit. Shawn covered very well, letting Juliet think he wasn’t ready either. I can’t help but wonder how Gus will handle this going forward, whether it will go without mention, or if Gus will press the matter with Shawn. It was difficult enough for him to let Shawn go away for a weekend. How would he react to the possibility of Shawn getting married and leaving him to spend all his weekends with the likes of Lassiter and Henry?

Psych returns with new episodes on February 29.