"Chivalry Is Not Dead... But Someone Is" is the fourth episode of Season Five. When a wealthy widow's young date is murdered, Shawn and Gus are pitted against a dirty rotten scoundrel they are convinced trained the victim to be a con artist.
Plot Summary[]
Shawn and Gus show up at a crime scene at a swanky mansion where a young bachelor, Lance Tolkin (Matt Ellis), just fell to his death. Lassiter doesn't believe it was murder, but Shawn thinks otherwise. He notices that Lance's ankles and arms were not broken, causing him to think that he didn't try to brace his fall and was, therefore, dead before his body touched the ground.
They all head to Lance's bachelor pad to further investigate. Shawn spies a book called "Killing with Class" written by Clive Prescott (John Michael Higgins), with a personal note from Clive. It turns out Lance was one Clive's most promising students in his "art of gentlemanly seduction" class.
An older woman, Gillian Tucker (Jean Smart), whose husband recently committed suicide, was dating Lance at the time of his death. Lassiter and Juliet question Gillian. Lassiter thinks Gillian killed both her husband and Lance, and his theory is further validated when they spot Gillian dining with Clive Prescott.
Henry discovers that Prescott's most recent liaison was an extremely wealthy woman who went on vacation with Prescott in South America and mysteriously never returned with him. Shawn and Gus find Gillian and Prescott at the bank and interrupt a financial transaction the two appear to be making. Shawn charms Gillian and arranges a double date - Gillian being Shawn's date and Gillian's friend Eugenia (Lee Garlington) being Gus' date.
At the date, Prescott crashes the party. Shortly after, the date then relocates to the Psych office, where it is hit again, this time by Lassiter and Juliet, who insist that Gillian is the killer. Shawn and Gus vehemently disagree, saying Prescott is the murderer. Suddenly, Shawn thinks he is poisoned and says that he thinks it was Prescott who has been behind this whole thing. At the hospital, Shawn finds out he was indeed poisoned, but barely. In fact, it turns out he's going to be just fine. Later, Shawn and Juliet question Prescott, but right in the middle Lassiter tells Prescott he is free to go, as they have no substantial evidence against him and can no longer detain him. Shawn and Gus disrupt Prescott's next seminar, calling him a murderer. Prescott makes excuses, but in the end, he sincerely declares his love for Gillian.
Privately, he tells Shawn and Gus that Eugenia is practically penniless, and Gillian is her only caretaker. That's when Shawn puts it all together. Lance's friend Gabe McKinley (Jared Keeso) was dating Eugenia. He broke up with her when he realized she had no money and poisoned Lance to get to Gillian. They go to find Gabe but instead find him dead in the sauna. Shawn then comes up with another theory. All the victims were lovers of Gillian's, leading Shawn to believe Eugenia killed them out of jealousy. Just as Prescott is going to drink a poisoned cup of tea, Shawn and Gus interrupt and save him. Shawn makes the claim that Eugenia is the murdering lesbian who was in love with Gillian. In the end, Eugenia admits to the murders, and Prescott leaves for his honeymoon with Gillian. As a kind gesture for his efforts, Prescott leaves Shawn in charge of his class.
Trivia[]
- As with so many Psych episodes, this one offers numerous nods to a classic 1980s comedy; here it's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Psych guest star Glenne Headly.
- Lance had a Super Troopers pinball machine in his bedroom. That film was directed by and starred Jay Chandrasekhar, who also directed this episode.
- While interviewing Gillian, Lassiter says "Miss Tucker, are you trying to seduce me?" This is a reference to Dustin Hoffman's line "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." from The Graduate, and where in The Graduate we are shown the famous shot of Hoffman from below Anne Bancroft's leg as he says the line, in this episode we see a shot of Gillian from below Lassiter's leg as he says the line.
- Harriett Finestatt, who is not seen but is mentioned as one of the women Clive is suspected of killing, could very well be related to Katie Finestatt, who is mentioned by Gus in "9 Lives" as a dermatologist colleague who said he looked handsome while carrying his sample case into her office.
- Jared Keeso, who plays Matt Ellis’s accomplice in the beginning of the episode, will go on to create and star in popular comedies of his own named “Letterkenny” and its spin-off, “Shoresy”
Quotes[]
Henry: You're not afraid of the competition, are you, Shawn?
Shawn: Of course not. As long as it doesn't involve people trying to best each other.
Lassiter: Maybe the killing feels good, like the soft, supple flesh of a man buck.
Juliet: You disturb me. And your theory on this murder disturbs me. And you disturb me.
Lassiter: You said that twice.
Juliet: Yes.
Clive: No, this man-boy here lacks all culture, elegance, and he smells of buffalo wings.
Shawn: Ha! That is where you are wrong, sir. What you're smelling are buffalo wing-flavored Snyder's pretzels of Hanover.
Gus: It's America's pretzel.
Shawn: And Hanover's, obviously.
Waiter: This is the Limox Viventi Cabernet Dumont. May I?
Shawn: May you? Or can you?
Gus: I think he got it right the first time.
Clive: [upon seeing Henry] I know you from somewhere, don't I? Yes! Yes, I remember you now. A gentleman never forgets a name. Let's see, Henry... Henry William Spencer. He's the only student I ever had to kick out.
Shawn: You got kicked out of his seminar?
Henry: You didn't kick me out; you invited me to leave.
Clive: Read between the lines, sir.
Gallery[]
The gallery for Chivalry Is Not Dead... But Someone Is can be found here.
Digital Releases[]
