PSYCH Recap – 1967: A Psych Odyssey

This week on Psych, the team is happy to see Chief Vick back in her office, but it turns bittersweet as they learn that she has taken a job in San Francisco. Lassie’s first thought is that the Chief job is now up for grabs, and Vick has arranged an interview for him. After a sweet group hug, everyone says their goodbyes. Except for Juliet with whom Vick wants to discuss some things.

Lassiter arrives for his interview, admiring a spot where the busts of former Chiefs is displayed in the entry and noting where his would go. The interview doesn’t go well, however, as it’s clear the mayor doesn’t really respect him and only agreed to the interview because Vick begged him. He doesn’t think highly of the history of SBPD, telling Lassie about his uncle’s unsolved murder from the 1960’s. His name was Archie Baxter, and he was an investigative reporter. There was much corruption in the department in those days, and crime in the city was rampant. His uncle dug too deeply and was killed for it. Police Chief Olson Watt did nothing. Lassie sees that his only chance at his dream job is to solve the cold case. He calls in Juliet, Shawn, Gus, and even Woody. After so many years, he will need all the help he can get.

While digging through a box of Baxter’s things at the newspaper where he worked, they find a photo of an old club run by then crime lord Rodney Caruso. It was the last place Baxter was seen before his death, and was closed down shortly thereafter. Members of the police force seemed to frequent the place, including Chief Watt. There are photos on the wall of many of the key players in the mystery…Watt, Caruso, his hot girlfriend Scarlet Jones, and singer Myles Velour Jr., of whom Gus is a huge fan.

After they split up to search for clues in the club, Juliet wants to know why Shawn is so anxious to help Lassiter. He figures it’s good for both of them, and she is a shoo-in to be head detective if Lassie is Chief. They need more than old files, they need someone to talk to. Most of those involved are now dead. Gus suggests they might try Melba Birdsong, one of Myles Velour’s backup singers. They find her, but she claims to not remember much. They put her at ease by reminding her that Caruso is dead and can’t hurt her, and she opens up. She tells them that she remembers the Chief being one of the good guys, but Myles did have some problems. He had a gambling habit, and it resulted in problems between he and Caruso. When they notice a photo of Myles and his singers in front of a blue Cadillac, Lassiter realizes it was seen at the scene of the accident. He thinks Myles killed Baxter, but unfortunately tunes out Melba’s attempts to tell him something important about that night.

Lassie barges in on the Mayor interviewing another candidate. He’s excited to announce that he solved the case. Problem is, he didn’t really solve it. The mayor reveals to him that Myles was arrested that very night in a bar fight in Kansas. He couldn’t have been the killer. Lassie retreats back to the department, defeated. The rest of the crew feels badly for him, lying with his head down on his desk. Shawn finds something to perk him up, though, when he notices that Scarlet Jones is behind the wheel of a car in the photo Baxter was keeping in his file. They can’t make out who was with her, only a chain that can be seen around the person’s neck. Scarlet is the only person involved still living, so they bring her in for questioning.

Scarlet tells them that Baxter was a deadbeat drunk who had a thing for Melba. It was unrequited though, and Scarlet insinuates Melba is a lesbian. She claims Baxter stumbled out of the club drunk that night and drove himself off a cliff. Lassiter ignores Scarlet coming on to him, he’s devastated that the case boils down to a crush gone wrong.

At home later, Juliet tells Shawn that Vick asked her to be her head detective. She admits Lassie has practically said he wants her for that job as well, so she would be looking at the same job in both locations. She assures Shawn she’s not considering Vick’s offer, that there are many reasons for her to stay in Santa Barbara. While they talk about the future, Lassiter is tucked in his own bed having nightmares of Baxter interrogating him. Scarlet lied to him, and he knows it. Lassiter awakens and is immediately back on the hunt with a new clarity.

Lassie’s first stop is Woody’s office in the middle of the night. Woody is there, doing who knows what with who knows whom. There is a bear head on a table, so it’s best not to ask more. Lassiter just wants to know about the autopsy and whether Baxter was an alcoholic. Woody reveals that Baxter had a sexy liver, nothing wrong it, but there were barbiturates in his system. The next stop is back at the closed club, where he has the gang meet him at 6 am. There has to be something there they missed. Shawn finds a hidden room, and once inside it doesn’t take Lassie long to find that there was a tap on Caruso’s phone. If Baxter was the one responsible, he had to have tapes somewhere. They go to the mayor and ask to see Baxter’s belongings. He’s reluctant at first, but he wants to learn what happened to his uncle, so he gives them access.

They find two copies of the same Myles Velour cassette in Baxter’s things, which seems odd. One looks tampered with. Shawn plays it, and it reveals that Myles was having an affair with Scarlet and that they planned on Scarlet killing Baxter because of the photo he had of them. If Caruso had found out, he would have killed them. Shawn realizes that it was Myles in the photo wearing the gold chain; he saw the exact same chain in another photo. With this information, they piece together that Scarlet had drugged Baxter when he came into the club that night, then followed him in Myles car and ran him off the road. After Baxter’s death, Olson Watt had used Baxter’s findings about police corruption to rid the city of organized crime. He was a good guy after all.

Lassiter’s dreams come true, sort of, when he is made Chief of Police. It comes with strings, however, and the mayor wants him surrounded with a staff of the mayor’s choosing. He insists Juliet be transferred. Lassie is hesitant, his bond with Juliet is strong, but she tells him it’s fine and he has to take this job. She will be okay, she will go with Vick. The partners share an emotional hug, and Juliet later feels guilty over not consulting Shawn before deciding to go with Vick. He’s supportive, though, and assures her they will make it work. She wants him to wait until he is ready to come to San Francisco. He’s supposed to drive her the next morning, but when he wakes he finds her side of the bed empty…Juliet is gone. Tears stream down her face as Juliet drives north alone.

Psych airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.