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Every Psych-O knows Shawn Spencer, the hyper, loveable fake psychic for the SBPD. He certainly isn’t perfect, but that is part of the reason we find him so relatable, funny, and an overall good guy. But who is the real Shawn Spencer (please stand up)? Why does he do what he does, choose whom he chooses, and say what he says? If you asked him, he probably would not have a good answer; he would deflect left and right before ever admitting anything, so don’t be a bird-colored sponge! This character analysis will attempt to find and answer on our pseudo-psychic’s behalf, using primarily the Laingian approach (normally used for literary analysis, but in this case applicable). This psychological probing shows that Shawn Spencer, for all his bubbly confidence, does not have the strong sense of self he exudes. In other words, it’s all an act to protect his fragile inner self.
Being the subject of this analysis, a general overview of Shawn’s notable personality traits and behaviors is in order. First is his apparent narcissism, particularly in regards to his hair. Although in “Shawn, Interrupted” he is admitted undercover with this diagnosis, it is never explicitly proven that he is afflicted with this disorder; rather, he is portrayed as having a very high self-esteem. But has he really? Let’s take a look at that glorious mane. Of course, spiky hair is a valid style for someone to have, but every stylistic choice represents an inner feeling. Messy hair symbolizes thoughts or emotions of insecurity—the messier the hair, the more self-critique. But letting one’s inner self leak out is not the only reason to display a style, and that’s where the pineapple comes in. Yes, you read that right. The pineapple is directly related to Shawn’s hairstyle. Shawn’s spiked hair is in emulation of the leaves.
Say whaaaaaat?
Just as we see Shawn’s hair in every episode, we are also privy to a delicious (though sometimes hidden) pineapple. The pineapple represents confidence and success, so it comes as no surprise that the fruit is often present during Shawn’s revelations. To someone unversed in the arts of critical analysis, his borderline unhealthy obsession with piñas may seem to just be a funny motif; however, if we look at the fruit in light of what it stands for, we find that Shawn’s near-constant imbibing of pineapple is actually his gorging himself with sheer confidence. In the same way that some people drink alcoholic beverages for courage, Shawn eats pineapple by the truckload to turn up the charm. This unhealthy amount can not only lead to manganese poisoning, but to an excess of esteem, which is interpreted by others as narcissism. The whole point of the pineapple discussion here is that Shawn has very little confidence of his own; he has to find it elsewhere!
So it seems that Shawn is not really narcissistic—he’s just a big fan of delicious flavor.
Another obvious trait of his is happiness, or, more aptly, overexcitement. Nowadays, more people understand that often the saddest people appear the happiest, but is that the case for Shawn Spencer? Could there be another food he frequently imbibes that gives him that boundless energy? We probably can’t say for sure, but hazarding a guess, he likely saps all the happiness from people around him. Though we have little information on how Shawn lived during his decade of traveling, we have evidence that he returned to Gus at least twice before deciding to stay in Santa Barbara. Every once in a while, he has to replenish his fuel, and Gus’ companionship is the pump.
More seriously, happiness—especially over-the-top happiness—usually indicates that someone is compensating for a lack of inward feeling, or that their happiness is a form of wish fulfillment. That is, Shawn wants so badly to be happy that he acts the part in the hopes it will no longer be an act. It is also a means to avoid painful truths. For example, someone who has received bad news might pretend that nothing is wrong, and go about as happily (or happier) as ever. We can also speculate on this happiness in light of Shawn’s childhood. Having a psychologist for a mother meant that she was an empathetic problem-solver; being happy was a way to avoid her all-seeing eye and those undesirable, impromptu therapy sessions.
On that note, we can hardly have a conversation about why Shawn is Shawn without bringing his parents into it. The way in which his parents raised him has had a dramatic impact on his behavior. Some manifestations come as no surprise, given that the personalities of Henry and Maddie are a sort of dichotomy. Both have very different ideas about childrearing. Although the show reveals little of Maddie in Shawn’s life, we can easily draw conclusions by observing what we do see and hear.
Because Henry is by far more the more prominent figure, we will look at him first. Shawn’s father is an authoritarian parent. In the episodic flashbacks, we most often see Henry either preventing Shawn from or forcing his son into doing an action. Many people have observed that children with a strict parent can develop behavioral problems, as well as an increased ability to lie. If anyone has issues pertaining to these, it’s Shawn Spencer. Here follows a basic rundown: resentment builds up between Henry and Shawn and damages their relationship to the point that Shawn runs away; Shawn exhibits self-destructive tendencies, which normally children would act on (like parachuting off the roof), but he rarely had the occasion to learn for himself how bad his ideas are; his extreme behavior is his playing catch-up for a feeling of missed childhood; Shawn feels like he’ll never live life enough, which results in his jumping from job to job and place to place in order to experience as much as possible; a common side effect of a strict parent is developing anxiety over simple activities—perhaps in Shawn’s case, such as paying a cashier; Shawn also has massive issues with authority, especially in the form of a police officer; and, last but not least, his fear of commitment really means that he is afraid of losing the freedom he gained with the purchase of his Norton.
To compound all this, Henry is not only a strict father, but one with high expectations. Shawn always seems to be falling short of them, disappointing Henry. When Henry does praise Shawn, it is usually something along the lines of “Nice try, kid,” rather than “Good job,” or “I’m proud of you.” After trying and failing repeatedly, one might decide that it is not worth trying at all. Shawn learns that in giving up, Henry becomes angry at him, not disappointed—and most children might agree that anger hurts less than disappointment.
Of course, strictness has nothing to do with the degree of love and protectiveness a father feels for his child. In fact, no one is debating whether Henry loves Shawn, because it is obvious he does (and vice-versa). He also wants his son to succeed, apparent by the fact that he plays along with Shawn’s circus act and even helps him on numerous difficult cases. Part of reason Shawn sticks with Psych in the beginning is because he spots the newspaper clippings in his dad’s truck, which indicates Henry’s pride. This affirmation of Shawn’s do-goodery is what prompts him to continue trying, as well as attempt to repair the rift driven between them.
As for Shawn’s mother, the psychologist, we can safely assume that she has a better grasp on feelings. Her approach with Shawn vastly differs from her ex-husband’s. It is unlikely that Maddie allowed Shawn free rein, but it is equally unlikely that she was as strict as Henry. Even so, compared to him she is an indulgent parent.
Many children are aware of and exploit the mom-said-no-dad-said-yes or dad-said-no-mom-said-yes phenomena caused by a lack of unity and communication on the parents’ parts. Shawn’s case was likely filled with more of his dad saying no and his mom saying yes. This could possibly be an origin for his catchphrase, “I’ve heard it both ways.” That is, if one parent says the opposite of the other in a given situation, then he has indeed heard it both ways—yes and no. For children, this can be confusing. If Maddie affirms Shawn for actions and behaviors that cause disapproval with Henry (such as when she encourages him to go after Yang, which Henry tries to stop Shawn from doing), the line between what is good and bad, right and wrong, can become smudged. Shawn is pulled in both directions—yes and no, no and yes. In fact, Henry and Maddie have separate lines of morality, and Shawn is caught between them. In between the lines there’s a lot of obscurity!
(Occasionally, Shawn’s confusion manifests in situations that have nothing to do with morality. A favorite example: “My humidifier looks nothing like a coffee maker, Shawn.”)
Furthermore, though Maddie was probably around a lot more when Shawn was a child, what we see of her in the show is very limited, making her a distant figure. The argument can be made that her work took her out of the house a few times when Shawn was younger. Then we look at her nickname for her son, “Goose.” Most mothers do have nicknames for their children—dear, sweetheart, booker, honey, etc. It is normal. The nickname is meant to draw Shawn closer, because no one else calls him Goose. It is her special name, a bond. But, as we will see later, it is also a form of depersonalization, turning someone into a thing or a non-human, as a means to distance them.
In the same way she does not mean to push her son away by calling him Goose, she also does not mean to be the catalyst of the breaking of the relationship between Shawn and Henry. Her leaving creates a misunderstanding: Shawn, believing that Henry kicked her out of the house, finally rejects his father. He breaks away, and Henry does nothing to stop it. When Maddie reveals the truth to Shawn later, it stirs Shawn to try harder at healing the rift that had come between them. Shawn is reflected in Maddie in that he does not quite think of consequences in the long-term. Both mother and son pursue their own happiness, expecting others to do the same, only to later be surprised when things do not go the way they assumed it would.
Shawn’s relationship with his parents is both reversed and reflected in his friendships. First we’ll take a brief look at Gus, Shawn’s oldest and blackest friend.
Gus is often seen as the more mature of the two, though we all have to admit that Gus has his silly moments. Overall, however, he is the voice of reason where Henry cannot be. This makes Gus Shawn’s conscience, his frontal lobe (that part of the brain that’s responsible for impulse control). Shawn is known for disregarding practical advice, which usually comes from Gus’ mouth.
Let’s explore this in one of the early scenes. Upon being discovered by Shawn in his office playing games instead of working, Gus tells him: “Make no mistake, Shawn. I will kill you.” If we see Gus in the role of Shawn’s superego (to put it in Freudian terms), then we can suppose the “I” to be the personification of guilt or regret when things go wrong. But Shawn disagrees with Gus’ statement, recalling their “last scupple,” in which Gus was small and had a cast—suggesting that Shawn’s ability to emphasize is damaged. And sure enough, throughout the series there are plenty of occurrences where Shawn’s reactions may seem crass and heartless, where he treats cases like games, though we know he does care.
Looking at this in another light, or a more scientific one, Gus could be seen as a drug. Hear me out! The frontal lobe has already been mentioned. To recap, that is the front part of the brain, which is responsible for impulse control—and we know that Shawn has very little of that. For people with AD(H)D who are medicated, the traces of amphetamines are meant to jog the frontal lobe awake, giving them a better ability to control themselves. (As an aside, it seems that Shawn may or may not have ADD because when he accidentally ingests amphetamines from the water bottle in “Dead Man’s Curveball,” his brain goes into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE.) If Gus is some kind of Adderall (his job as a pharmaceutical salesman is oddly fitting), then he is meant to wake Shawn up enough that he doesn’t do something to get himself killed, to rein him in. Prolonged exposure to drugs means that the doses have to be upped every once in a while, which forcing Gus into the Psych business does. Whether this is effective in the long run is debatable.
We’ve talked somewhat about Gus’ effects on Shawn, but what about the other way around?
Ignoring consciences is what usually gets people into trouble. And, since a conscience is essentially a part of a person, it gets dragged along for the ride—just like Gus. But although Shawn virtually always gets Gus into dangerous predicaments, he is also the one who gets him out safely. Arguably, rescuing Gus serves to save his own hide as well. Two of the more prominent examples off the top of my head are from “Gus Walks into a Bank” and “Ghosts.”
Gus does walk, of his own volition, into the bank where he is taken hostage. But Shawn had declined to go in with him, and had not noticed anything wrong until the arrival of the SBPD. We can assume that Shawn has gone with Gus to the bank before, and knows how long it takes to make a deposit, withdrawal, and other banky activities, despite it not being a two man job. He would also have been able to deduce how many people were inside, accounting for how long the wait in line would be for Gus. Shawn would surely have also been able to see the robber enter—his dress was conspicuous, considering he was going into a bank. But Shawn was not paying attention, which trapped Gus inside. Yet he manages to get Gus out safely enough, as well as himself, once he gets involved. As for “Ghosts,” due to Shawn forcing Gus into moonlighting at Psych, the VP of the pharmaceutical company at which he works is all for firing him. But, as the end of the episode reveals, Shawn is also responsible for convincing Ogletree to keep Gus on the payroll, as well as allow him to continue as his business partner.
So we know that Shawn always comes through for his friend. This extends to other friends and coworkers who are like his brothers—stepbrother? weird kid who lives down the street and eats nothing but mayo on Saltines? Whatever, the point is, Head Det. Carlton Lassiter is one of them.
Lassiter and Shawn most definitely get off on the wrong foot. It is worth noting that when Shawn is first detained in the pilot, he is rather good-natured until Lassiter disbelieves his claim to be able to read guilt. Spencer bristles at the insinuation that he is lying, goes on the defensive. This is reminiscent of how Shawn reacts to Henry’s (not always wrong) accusations. Considering that Lassiter and Henry have similar tactics and stances, it is unsurprising that the detective becomes a father figure—but without the high expectations and disappointment that come with Henry. Because there is no obligatory parental love with Lassiter, Shawn can more easily manipulate the man and get under his skin. Lassiter can be manipulated in ways that Henry cannot, and oftentimes coerced into physical violence. This outwardly visible manifestation of anger reflects how Shawn feels: abused. Whenever Lassiter reacts badly and engages Shawn in an altercation, it reveals how easily Henry could have been physically abusive rather than just emotionally so.
But there’s a deeper reason that Shawn eggs Lassiter on. Jealousy and resentment, especially when Henry and Lassiter “bond” by fishing together, play a huge factor. For Shawn, Lassiter is not only another Henry, but what he himself might have been. Lassiter is the man that Henry wanted Shawn to be. He represents a crucial element of the disintegration of the father-son relationship: the by-the-book no-nonsense officer. Shawn constantly challenges Lassiter’s authority and pushes him to follow his gut, not the book. By altering Lassiter’s perspective, he effectively changes the ideal that his father holds. As the series progresses, Lassiter and Shawn become more tolerant of each other, and this somewhat reconciles the different paths the Spencer men have set for Shawn.
Det. Juliet O’Hara, on the other hand, represents the best of both Shawn’s parents (unlike Lassiter, who can be the worst of Henry). She is firm but kind and caring. She can be authoritative and considerate, sometimes at the same time—that is, she tells Shawn what to do as well as listens to his “visions.” And although appearance is no evidence of representation, Juliet has Maddie’s blond hair and Henry’s blue eyes. Juliet is an ideal parent—affirming, but not indulgent. And yes, she is a parental figure to Shawn as well as a romantic interest, because he is not acting childish.
Shawn’s relationship with her is more complicated than others for one reason: he is constantly testing his limits with her. How far can he go before she stops him? At their very first encounter in the diner, he begins a one-sided conversation in which he speaks for himself and for her. The eight-grader voice offends her and draws her into the talk, and Shawn thereafter uses the voice to reference this first meeting and get what he wants (e.g., “High Top Fade Out”). Another test is what Shawn calls “very close talking,” as seen in the episode “Bounty Hunters.” They do not actually kiss, but it is a very successful move on Shawn’s part because Juliet does not pull away or rebuff him. The last major testing of limits off the top of my head is from “Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.” When Longmore allows Shawn to have that last phone call, Shawn ends it by saying he loves her—and just as Juliet is about to return the sentiment, Shawn adds “Abigail.”
Ouch.
Shawn recalls the test at the last second, deciding it would be too cruel to the both of them if she were to say those words back and then be reunited with a body.
Let’s talk about Abigail Lytar in comparison with Juliet. This is a classic “old vs new” conflict. On the one hand, it seems much easier for Shawn to not let go of the past. Despite traveling the world for a decade, he not only returns, but he attaches himself to Gus’ hip, haunts the SBPD where his father used to work (as opposed to the sheriff’s department or highway patrol, etc.), and apparently has revisited his childhood home on occasion, given that he had a key to the house without realizing Henry had come back, too. Further, his psychic abilities usually extend backwards, not to the future—for practical reasons, of course, but still a significant observation. On the other hand, Shawn also proves to look forward to the future, and forges ahead without thinking of the consequences. But as already shown, Shawn hesitates to make a move on Juliet because he is too busy gauging her.
More about Shawn’s choice in women, specifically in “Mr. Yin Presents,” where both Abi and Jules are kidnapped. Notice that these women are taken to entirely different locations; this is not merely so that Shawn will have no feasible means of rescuing them both. Abigail is tied beneath the pier where they were meant to have their first date as teens, and the tide is coming in. We will discuss the symbol of water more in-depth (no pun intended) later, but the fact that Abigail breaks up with Shawn after he fishes her out due to the danger of his job indicates its importance. Juliet, on the other hand, is suspended from the clock tower. The clock itself is a bashing-over-the-head symbol of running out of time—not only for Juliet’s life, but also for Shawn’s chance to tell her how he feels, because she won’t wait forever. Look more clinically at the locations: the pier is at a low elevation, and the tower is high. It is almost as though Yin and Yang ship Shules, holding Juliet in a higher esteem than Abigail.
But wait, there’s more!
We can also look at Abigail and Juliet in light of the two countries associated with them: Africa (specifically Uganda) and Canada (specifically British Columbia). Aside from the obvious, which is that Africa is often connoted with hot and Canada with cold—further implying the taking off of layers and the putting on of layers to regulate body heat—these countries both represent traits. Africa is a continent filled with problematic countries, and while Uganda is rapidly improving economically and politically, it is not perfect. So the personality, so to speak, is a bit like Shawn’s childhood: working hard and trying and trying and trying, but usually to no avail because something always comes up or back to bite him in the ass. Shawn does not want to go to Uganda, and asks what he is supposed to do in Uganda while Abigail is changing lives. The stability that came with dating Abigail is suddenly flipped on its head; the “old” girlfriend wants to do something new, and Shawn is not ready for it. Canada, on the other hand, is reputable for its stability and over-friendliness. It is in Canada that Shawn transcends Declan and kisses Juliet, which effectively and successfully crosses the line of close talking.
Basically, Abigail and Juliet trade the statuses of “old” and “new.”
There is one last relationship to explore in detail here, and it is the mysterious wife revealed at the end of “There’s Something about Mira.” When Gus demands whether the picture is real, Shawn merely walks away without answering, leaving us to speculate. And speculate I have—perhaps too much. Here’s a link to the photograph for your convenience: http://i.imgur.com/1o6Zx.jpg
First, it should be noted that the file Shawn hands to Gus is labeled MISC STUFF. Everyone knows that MISC is an abbreviation for “miscellaneous.” But we also know that Shawn can be deceptive and clever, so let’s take a huge leap here: MISC could be the first few letters of a (nick)name, or even someone’s initials. The most obvious bet is Mischa, which is a fairly common Russian name—although it is traditionally male, more girls have been appearing with the name. We know that Shawn speaks Russian or Danish (or some related Eastern European language, leave me be!) from the episode “Who Ya Gonna Call?” where he hires a model named Dagmar (a Norse name), who is portrayed by a Lithuanian actress. This suggests that he has probably spent a sizeable chunk of time in that part of Europe.
As for the picture, it is most certainly faked. None of the skydivers are wearing parachutes. But the wedding itself may not have been falsified. If Shawn did marry the woman in the photo, there are several possibilities to account for why they are not together anymore: divorce or separation, death, or they married so she could obtain a visa. If the wedding is fake, there are possibilities there, too: the photo was for some kind of advertisement or other modeling activity, she had enlisted Shawn’s help to hoax her parents, or Shawn was fulfilling a wish for her—for all we know, she’s terminally ill but her dream wedding included skydiving, so Shawn helped to make it happen for her. Or Shawn could have just been screwing around on Photoshop to mess with Gus.
One scene from the show leaps out at me whenever I think of Shawn’s Mystery Wife. In “Juliet Takes a Luvvah,” Juliet goes undercover as Helene and dates a serial killer, and Shawn crashes their dinner. He tells seahorse guy “I’m the boyfriend, so stop staring creepily into her green eyes!” to which Juliet responds, “My eyes are blue.” Shawn quickly saves face by telling her she couldn’t know that because she can’t see her eyes. Anyway, it is possible that Mystery Wife had green eyes. If Shawn was involved with the woman in the photo, he could still love her. Compounding this lost love is his daily confusion, his habit of hearing things both ways. In this case, he’s also seeing it both ways, as Juliet may remind him of Mystery Wife.
Of course, this is all only heavy speculation, and should not be mistaken for canon. (Could be headcanon?)
In almost every other interaction we see between Shawn and a character not already mentioned, few of them recur. Those that do are not particularly close friends with Shawn. This seems to indicate that although Shawn is good at making friends, he’s not all that great at keeping them or letting them into his life.
Even within his good relationships Shawn is constantly protecting himself. These methods to conceal his inner self fall under the general umbrella term “coping.” There are many variations on the theme, and Shawn displays a versatility in tactics that would make any Byronic hero jealous. We will look at the more obvious coping mechanisms, of which there are three.
Deflection. To deflect something means to turn it off course, to change its direction. In Shawn’s case, he can deflect topics left and right, like a politician. Generally, Shawn avoids answering questions seriously. For example, when Juliet expresses concern for him, Shawn replies, “I know, I know. I’ve been wearing these jeans for seven months straight. I’m gonna wash them this weekend.” Another deflection tactic is the hilarious motif, “Gus, don’t be a/n [insert random thing].” Shawn also uses this tactic to escape bad guys. A favorite scene is from “No Country for Two Old Men.” In an attempt to escape a mass grave, Shawn draws attention to the fact that he “noticed there are two graves dug here, and there are five of us.” This prompts an argument over who gets to share which grave, and effectively buys enough time to save them. There are countless examples of Shawn’s deflection throughout the series.
Depersonalization. According to the Laingian approach, depersonalization means to make oneself or another person into an object. The idea is that if you’re not human, no one can hurt you, and if they’re not human, they can’t hurt you. For a real-world example, an American woman talking about her feelings once said that she felt like a “told belle,” with a play on “tolled bell;” she feels as though she has no control over her own life. Shawn Spencer uses this method extensively throughout the show, with usually hilarious results. A prime example is his use of nicknames. He calls Det. Lassiter “Lassie,” which is the name of a famous dog. He also dubs Det. O’Hara “Jules,” with a less obvious play on the word “jewels.” When his father confronts him about not calling to let him know he’s okay (“He ate a banana.”), Shawn tells him that the banana reminded Shawn of his “big ol’ papa monkey.” And who can forget—“This is my partner, [insert favorite disguise].” By utilizing these nicknames, Shawn is able to somewhat distance himself and others from situations. In fact, professionals use depersonalization all the time so that they can focus on the job—“the victim,” “the perp,” “the patient,” “the defendant,” “Detective Dipstick,” and so on.
Additionally, Shawn loves to make use of his 80s movies knowledge. Each time he identifies as or assigns someone to a character or actor, he is depersonalizing them. By drawing comparisons between real and fictitious situations, Shawn is taking a step back from reality. He is able to analyze a situation or person objectively, much as I am doing now in writing this character study. Who he chooses to identify himself as is central to his own fractured sense of self. At his high school reunion, Shawn refuses to wear his own yearbook photo, but pins a close-up of John Bender from The Breakfast Club on his shirt. That he does this begs two questions: does he expect everyone to easily recognize him, or is he attempting to avoid being recognized by his former schoolmates? Not easily answered. And: why does he choose John Bender, of all the possible choices? Ferris Bueller seems an excellent candidate as well—he is much more laidback and adventurous than Bender, at any rate.
Well, let’s look at John Bender. For one thing, he and Shawn have a similar facial structure, so that could answer the question. But if we get past skin deep, we see near identical behaviors. The snarky, over-the-top rebel, who is not afraid to get loud, make grand gestures, and mess with the bull. Shawn might identify with him more so when we learn that Bender is physically and emotionally abused by his parents—and though we can be sure that neither Henry nor Maddie ever raised a hand to Shawn, there is certainly some emotional stunting at play here. Furthermore, Bender is a hero to misfits: in the end, he gets not just any girl, but a popular girl. It is significant to note that the high school reunion is where Shawn and Abigail get back in touch, and leads to their doomed relationship.
The last of Shawn’s depersonalization tactics is probably the least obvious of the three. His very psychicness is a means of depersonalizing himself and others. Rather than admitting or advocating his skills in observation and deduction, Shawn keeps up the ruse of being psychic. He claims to be a vessel through which the spirits communicate. Whenever he pulls others into the psychic charade, he is depersonalizing them by forcing them to interpret or act as a conductor. For example, Gus as Magic Head. This pretense keeps those who don’t know about his abilities out; it protects him from people having high expectations. If the SBPD were to know that he were a genius, they might become demanding, rather than trying to keep him out of the cases. Forcing Shawn’s hand distresses him, as we can clearly see during the Yin and Yang episodes, and he does everything in his power to be the one in control.
Manipulation. When we talk about manipulation, it usually means deceiving others into performing an action that is beneficial to the manipulator. For sure, Shawn does this a lot. But more importantly, he acts in such a way that he manipulates how the people around him perceive him. The most obvious form of this is what is known as the Mask, the outward persona. The Mask (aside from being an excellent movie) is the person you pretend to be so no one knows what you are really like or how you really feel. As discussed in the beginning, Shawn portrays himself as excessively happy and confident, but underneath that he is insecure. He wants to be seen as in control, be useful, so he manipulates people into believing that he is.
Another method is Shawn’s use of alternate / parallel timelines. In his head, Shawn is able to manipulate his friends and family so well that he can imagine alternative outcomes. In “The Polarizing Express,” Shawn considers—in a series of dream sequences—how Santa Barbara would have been if he had never returned. In “Right Turn or Left for Dead,” Shawn imagines a parallel timeline in which Juliet did not discover his lie about being psychic. Both of these occur after some serious mess-ups on Shawn’s part.
Which brings us to the last of his manipulation tactics: self-sabotage. Again, three major events fall into this category.
The first is when Shawn is eighteen, and is arrested by Henry for grand theft auto and reckless driving (whatever the charges were). Shawn does not look the least bit surprised to see his father pull him over, nor is he recalcitrant or repentant as he is hauled into jail. More likely than not, Shawn knew he would get caught stealing—er, borrowing—that car. He may not have counted on being booked, but Henry, as we later learn, is fully aware that Shawn is acting out on the anniversary of the day Maddie moved out. Furthermore, because Henry brought up charges, he ruins Shawn’s chances of entering the police academy, which in turn causes Shawn’s opportunities to make Henry proud to plummet. Whether that makes Henry the bad guy in all this is up for debate.
Secondly, in “Cloudy…With a Chance of Murder,” Shawn’s motorcycle is impounded, thanks to Henry. But the bike would never have been impounded had Shawn not irresponsibly parked it by the fire lane. As the bike represents Shawn’s freedom, its loss means that his freedom is taken away as well. This also parallels his commitment to Psych, as well as Lassiter’s acceptance (well, his vouching) of him. He is rewarded for his help in proving Panitch’s innocence by Lassiter’s getting the bike out of the auction for him.
Finally, the most crippling of his sabotage: leaving psychic-vision evidence in his jacket pocket in “Deez Nups.” Shawn had absolutely no reason to keep that concert ticket receipt. The fact that there was a picture of Michael Damian on it was no justification. Of course Juliet puts her hand in the pocket and discovers his great secret, and it’s all downhill from there. And what’s worse, this self-sabotage doubles as testing his limits with her. Only this time he goes too far, and one of his worst fears is realized.
His worst fear being penetration. No, not in a phallic connotation, because let’s face it—there’s no way Shawn Spencer is completely straight. C’mon, son.
Instead, this fear of penetration manifests in his fear of pointy objects, referenced several times throughout the show. But this phobia is symbolically significant, and ties directly back to his parents—or rather, their professions. See, Henry is a detective, and Maddie is a psychologist. Both of their jobs entail that they determine truths and lies, to penetrate (read: see through) people’s masks. Which means that Shawn has had to work much harder than most in order to create an opaque mask. He wears it and reinforces it throughout his life, especially when he works in close proximity with an entire police department and a pair of trained detectives. But again, Shawn isn’t perfect, and when he feels out of control the mask slips.
Although this next fear doesn’t seem related to Shawn’s mild aichmophobia, it really is. A running gag is his fear of raccoons, which have a tendency to stalk him during camping trips. Raccoons are nature’s bandits—they represent thievery, untrustworthiness, and dishonesty. That Shawn fears them suggests that he fears his own proclivities for these traits, as well as being unable to detect them in others. Tying back to the fear of penetration, Shawn worries that people will be able to spot his lies, as Juliet does when she discovers he is not actually psychic.
Now, as promised much earlier, the image of water enters into the discourse. Water is extremely important—so important, in fact, that had the show been set in another part of the country, like dumb old Texas, it would have been vastly different show. Santa Barbara, California is on the west coast, which we already know. The ever-changing sea is right there, being symbolic as always. In Psych, water represents uncertainty and danger.
It is Henry’s territory. He can navigate it well, and he has a sturdy boat to keep himself afloat. He is also a fisherman. Reasoning that water is a symbol, we can assume that the fish are as well. They are unconscious truths, viciously ripped out of their habitats after being penetrated by hooks. Shawn recoils against the sport because he so often finds himself in the fish’s position. The younger Spencer tends to avoid going out on the water—after all, he bought a motorbike, not a boat—because he dislikes being uncertain. But occasionally the need arises that he hijacks his father’s boat (literally and metaphorically). When he does this, he essentially turns the tables on Henry, and it is Shawn who is penetrative, who has the upper hand. He gets to discover something about Henry (or before him) that his father would like to keep secret, although Shawn never masters the water himself. The theme continues with his and Juliet’s (and Gus’) move to Frisco at the end of the series. For those whose strong suit isn’t geography, San Francisco is a hilly peninsula. It represents a new kind of uncertainty in Shawn’s life, one which will have its ups and downs. It also represents Shawn’s growth, given that he has decided to commit for better or worse.
So really, the end of Psych is a new beginning for Shawn. His commitment to Juliet, according to the Laingian approach, will be an attempt to make himself whole. Extra stability is granted due to the fact that Gus, the conscience, comes with the marriage starter pack. We shall see how well adjusted Shawn is in December 2017!