Psych (Season 2)

Psych's first season was pretty good, especially in its second half. While Season 2 initially seemed like it would be an improvement on its predecessor, I ended up finding it pretty much more of the same even with some more experimental episodes.

Psych's second season got off to an excellent start with an episode that was even stronger and funnier than anything in Season 1. There's an increased sense of confidence to this season which is evident through how the episodes are starting to get a bit more bonkers. We have a parody of American Idol, Shawn facing off against another supposed psychic, and an episode where Shawn and Gus are going undercover as models. At its best, Season 2 is absolutely amazing, especially in regards to the humor. As far as the writing goes, Season 2 is a definite improvement on the previous season, and as the cast starts to fit into their characters a bit more, the comedic moments hit so much harder. Whenever this season focuses on being funny, it easily surpasses the first.

However, something that I felt was somewhat disappointing was the relative lack of character development compared to the first season. I really liked how Season 1 had Juliet adjust to her new job as a cop, Lassiter slowly warm up to Shawn and Gus, and Gus slowly start to enjoy working at Psych a bit more. This season just didn't quite have that as much, and it shows in the season finale. Season 1's ending was a creative horror parody which demonstrated the characters' growth. Season 2's ending was a fairly standard episode with a tacked-on cliffhanger about Shawn's mom returning. And as many high points as there were this season, there were also more low points as well. "Dis-Lodged", "Rob-A-Bye Baby" and "And Down The Stretch Comes Murder" were all kind of dull, and I'd probably call them worse than even the worst episodes of Season 1. As a result, this ended up being a far more uneven season.

Still, at its best, this season was hilarious and entertaining, and these are the major highlights:

American Duos: This American Idol parody had an amazing concept, Shawn and Gus have to fake their way to their final round of a game show to stop the murder of a judge. Seeing Shawn and Gus bumble around as they struggle to sing well is a ton of fun on its own, but I also really like the aforementioned judge Nigel St Nigel, whose snark is incredibly entertaining thanks to Tim Curry.

Lights, Camera, Homicidio: Similarly to American Duos, this is a parody as well, though this is one of telenovelas. It hits one of my favorite tropes of a TV episode about filmmaking, and the subplot about Shawn beginning to get a role on the show is a ton of fun.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed Season 2 and its strong humor, but its uneven level of quality and general lack of development didn't quite make it seem like a large improvement over the first.

3/5 Stars