"The Old and the Restless" is the twelfth episode of Season Two. A missing-persons case from a posh retirement community turns into a family affair when Shawn and Gus must team up with Henry to solve the case.
Plot Summary[]
In 1987, Shawn is at the beach with his grandfather to feed the birds. However, his grandfather has a different reason for being there – girl watching. He has Shawn make up stories involving one of the girls instead of psychically reading them. Shawn is having fun until Henry shows up and tells Shawn he has chores to finish. Before Shawn leaves, his grandfather tells him to periodically tune his father out and enjoy life before he gets too old to do so.
In the present day, Shawn and Gus have run into a problem on their latest case. They are investigating the disappearance of Oswald Chester from a place that is impossible to sneak into - Glorious Pines, the most exclusive retirement community in Santa Barbara. They convince Henry to go undercover as Talmadge McGulager, who has actually gotten in off the waitlist. However, Shawn has already informed the real Talmadge that he cannot move in for three more days, giving them time to investigate. Once inside, they hook up with their client, Jervis Kent. Jervis is a security guard with minimal clearance but he did manage to get Talmadge the empty bed in Oswald's room. Oswald disappeared three days ago but the Glorious Pines staff and the police refuse to investigate since Oswald has a history of disappearing then reappearing a few days later. But Jervis, being Oswald's best friend, knows that this time is different. Shawn spots Oswald's wallet next to a rope bracelet on the nightstand. He concludes that Oswald wouldn't voluntarily take off without money and an ID. Gus sees that he's left his blood pressure medication behind as well. Shawn notices evidence that Oswald was training for a marathon and deduces he probably went missing on one of his practice runs.
While leaving Henry behind to investigate, Shawn and Gus trace Oswald's jogging route and find evidence that he fell and hit his head on a rock. They go to the nearest hospital where they find him unconscious in the ICU listed as John Doe. Shawn impersonates a doctor and convinces the residents on rounds, Walker and Ramachandran, to give him a status on Oswald's condition. They tell Shawn that Oswald had a sudden drop in blood pressure causing him to pass out and hit his head. His pressure didn't come up right away when they administered fluids so he probably took too much of his medication by mistake. With everything pointing to an accident and the case seemingly closed, Shawn and Gus return to Glorious Pines to get Henry who is having the time of his life, breaking swimming records and getting whatever kind of food he wants brought to him by Meredith Cloverfield, who is in charge of room service. Henry, however, still feels something suspicious going on in the community. For example, Pamela, the chief administrator, runs it with an iron fist and gives out citations readily. And Oswald was the number one rule breaker. Shawn and Gus think Henry is just looking for reasons to stay until two more residents collapse. These are Sam and Harley, and both are wearing bracelets similar to the one found in Oswald's room.
Shawn and Gus go to the police with their suspicions, thinking there might be an Angel of Death working at Glorious Pines, but Lassiter and Juliet, who have to spend the day babysitting juvenile delinquent JJ, tell them it's common for older people to fall ill, especially when it's so hot out. Realizing they aren't going to get any help there, they return to Glorious Pines where Jervis tells them that the bracelets were made by Chelsea, the dance instructor, and she doesn't give them to just anybody. Chelsea tells them that she met all the victims at the Heart Smart seminar she runs at the home. All the victims had high blood pressure and were probably on the same medication. Since they know that Oswald fell ill from an overdose, Shawn believes someone slipped some extra medication to all of them. They then realize that everyone in the community on the same medication is a target. So Henry creates a diversion in order for Shawn and Gus to sneak into Pamela's office to find a list of residents to which it's been prescribed.
While searching the office, Shawn comes across the waitlist which says Oswald and the other two victims are getting kicked out of Glorious Pines because they now require full-time care. The facility cannot accommodate people who require constant medical supervision. Shawn figures out that this was the motive all along. Someone on the waitlist got tired of waiting, and started getting rid of residents in order to move in sooner. They take one look at the list and recognize a name immediately. They've found their culprit: Meredith Cloverfield. Her mother Rhonda is seventh on the list. Meredith slipped the medication into the food of the blood pressure patients who were essentially marked by Chelsea's bracelets. But as soon as Jervis finds the stolen medication on her, the real Talmadge McGulager shows up to move in, forcing Shawn, Gus and Henry to flee just as they've solved the case.
Trivia[]
- The title plays on that of the daytime drama The Young and the Restless, presumably also with a sense of the 'rest home' aspect of retirement communities. Several Psych actors, including Corbin Bernsen and Meredith Cloverfield's Joan McMurtrey, have had roles on that show.
- Meredith was most likely named after the action film Cloverfield, which had its wide release in the US on the exact same day that "The Old and the Restless" was originally broadcast. JJ was probably named after J. J. Abrams, one of the producers on that film.
- Several of the characters are named after Batman villains: Harley is named after Harley Quinn, Jervis Kent after Jervis Tetch (Mad Hatter), Oswald Chester after Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot (Penguin), Pamela after Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), Buddy Markowitz after Buddy Standler (Condiment King), and Lester after Lester Buchinsky (Electrocutioner's brother). Oswald is also a reference to the original Copperhead, who was only known as John Doe just like Oswald at the hospital.
- Given Oswald's condition, Walker and Ramachandran were most likely named after renowned neuroscientists Matthew Walker and Vilayanur Ramachandran.
- Talmadge's name is a reference to Cornelius Talmadge of The Simpsons, who was a resident in a retirement home and was impersonated by Homer when he wanted access to the place. Shawn also claims that Talmadge is 72 years old, which is Cornelius' age.
- Pictures of pineapples can be seen on the lamps at Glorious Pines.
- The photograph shown hanging on the wall as our trio flee is a tribute to the 1980 horror film The Shining.
- Henry says he looks like Henry Fonda after putting on the glasses and bucket hat, which is a reference to the 1981 film On Golden Pond.
- Shawn's complaint to Henry that he's been "playing at Camp Cocoon" is a reference to the 1985 scifi flick Cocoon, which also takes places at a retirement home.
- Shawn pretends to be Dr. Hauser, which is a reference to Doogie Howser, M.D..
- While Buddy's Bo Derek joke can generally refer to people losing their good looks as they age, it specifically applies to Derek because she starred in the 1979 film 10 about a composer who becomes obsessed with her character Jenny Hanley and rates her a perfect 10 looks-wise.
- The plot line of Henry's undercover mission as Talmadge McGulager bears a strong resemblance to Woody's impersonation of Amerigo Catalon in Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, as both Henry and Woody pass themselves off as someone else to work a case at a home and both flee the premises when the real deal arrives.
Quotes[]
Brock: Oh, I'll be watching you.
Shawn: We'll be gettin' watched!
Juliet: Call me baby again, you're gonna get on my bad side too.
JJ: Oh, what bad side? All good from where I'm sitting.
Lassiter: Hey, unless you wanna pee in front of seven other guys for the rest of your life, you will respect the badge.
Juliet: Why don't you tell me why you're acting out?
Lassiter: I'm not acting out! He started it!
Juliet: I was talking to the kid.
Shawn: I don't know about you, but I'm drained. What do you say we take a fiver? Grab a Coke. Maybe play some Frogger.
Ramachandran: Doctor, we still have a lot of patients to see.
Shawn: Well, five minutes isn't gonna kill them, is it? [looks around awkwardly] Is it?
[Henry finishes swimming]
Rodrigo: That's four in a row, Talmadge. You're on fire!
Buddy: You just broke the Pines record!
Shawn: For what? Number of times jumping in without breaking a hip?
Jervis: I mean, shouldn't you call forensics in, look at wills, interview beneficiaries? I learned that at the police academy.
Karen: You went to the academy?
Juliet: I thought I recognized that name. Aren't you the guy who set his black-and-white on fire during the academy road test?
Lassiter: Yeah, you shot someone's toe off at the police firing range.
Jervis: It didn't come all the way off.
Lassiter: I saw him yesterday. He still has a limp.
Gallery[]
The gallery for The Old and the Restless can be found here.
Digital Releases[]
