My current Psych rewatch lead to a big brained moment in the middle of a staff meeting. You know why Shawn/Abigail didn't work out? Because Shawn was basically dating his mother. You know why Shawn/Juliet did work out? Because Juliet was basically dating her father and Psych is Daddy Issues: The Show.
#im obsessed w this actually it’s so correct#juliet was dating a version of her father that got his shit together finally but yes this basically sums it up#psych tags by @philtstone
It's more than Shawn having his shit together. He uses his con artistry to help people, while Frank only uses his to help himself. Frank refuses to give up his life of crime because he likes it too much, even though it means missing out on his kids. Shawn, on the other hand, consistently puts Juliet first. She tells him to come clean and he does (or at least starts to), even though it could mean jail time. She doesn't ask him to join her in San Francisco, but he does, even though it means leaving the life and career he worked hard to establish and abandoning his other most important relationship. Shawn is Juliet's father if Frank put her first.
Abigail was about Shawn trying to heal himself from the damage of his mom's abandonment, but what he really needed in a relationship was to do what he'd be doing all along: help heal someone else's damage.
#all of this is so absolutely correct & mostly what i meant by 'got his shit together' but you articulated it better obvs#also your last point is making me so insaaaane#shawn needs to feel like he's helping other people heal so /he/ can heal juliet needs someone to put her first they are so well written#im so so glad other ppl are making analyses bc shules writing is imperfect but also SO perfect they deserve 12hundred more thinkpieces#psych tags by @philtstone
I am foaming at the mouth thinking about them. The thing that really gets me about Shules is that it's basically a recapitulation of all Shawn's other major relationships with women, but with a twist. Shawn's mom leaves because she loves her own ambitions more than she loves him (and Henry), but for years he thought Henry had driven her away by being himself. For 10+ years he loves 'em and leaves 'em before the can see through his glib exterior and reject him the way Maddie rejected his dad, but he decides to take a chance on Abigail because he knows the truth now. And then she goes ahead and leaves him to further her own ambitions and breaks his heart because she sees who he really is under the fun and doesn't want it. Juliet dumps him when she learns the truth, but it's not a rejection of him but the fact he hid himself from her in the first place. She leaves to further her own ambitions 'cause that's what women Shawn loves do, but this time he's in a position to ensure that it's not the end. The layers! The romance! History doesn't repeat, but it sure does rhyme.
