Season 3, Episode 10
Six Feet Under the Sea
"Man, I wanted to come out, see your new boat... go out onto the reef..."
Directed by Steve Franks
Written by Steve Franks
Gus tricks Shawn into attending the funeral of a local minor celebrity with him: Shabby the Sea Lion, who was recently rehabilitated and released from the local aquarium, only to turn up dead a few days later. His story drummed up quite a bit of attention, and a celebrity from Animal Planet, Randy Labayda, is reading the eulogy. Shawn notices a bullet hole in the sea lion, and realizes he was probably killed by a gunshot – but who would want to kill Shabby? April MacArthur, a former aquarium employee, would like to know as well – especially since Labayda got her fired when she started asking too many questions about Shabby's early release, which Labayda presided over for a TV special…Tropes:
- Brick Joke: During the Cold Open, young Shawn and Gus try to sneak behind the scenes at the aquarium to ride a dolphin, and get caught by Henry. Halfway through the episode, Shawn reveals he hasn't forgotten that dream, and strips to his swim trunks to try again as an adult.
- Call-Back: While Shaun and Gus are being led from the funeral by April, Gus thinks they’ve been kicked out of the funeral and mentions all the places they’ve been kicked out from, including Santa’s village.
- Chekhov's Gunman: While out on the ocean, Shawn and Gus run into a couple of guys involved in something shady in a restricted zone, but they let the detectives leave quietly. Turns out they were the diamond smugglers Lassiter was chasing, and they also shot Shabby.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Lassiter tries getting involved in the case, he doesn't realize who Shabby really is at first… even when Shawn gives his last name as "Thesealion".Lassiter: What is that, French?
- Effortless Amazonian Lift: It took place of screen, but April successfully boosted the much larger Shawn and Gus over a wall to get them into the aquarium:Shawn: She does have very impressive strength for a girl her size.
- Holding the Floor: At the end, Shawn and Gus have just tracked down the diamond smugglers who shot Shabby, and Shawn ends up chatting them up for several minutes, explaining the entire situation to them and stalling for Juliet and Lassiter to arrive.
- Instant Costume Change: Shawn dramatically yanks his pants off after sneaking into the aquarium, revealing he wore his swim trunks underneath.
- It Always Rains at Funerals: It's noticeably sprinkling at Shabby's funeral at the beginning.
- Jerk Justifications: Shawn steals Henry's boat to look for clues out in the ocean near where Shabby died, and claims to Gus that Henry was giving subtle hints that he really wanted it. Gus doesn't buy it for a second.
- Noodle Incident: When Shawn wants to tell the mourners his suspicions about Shabby being murdered, Gus bemoans his antics are going to get them kicked out of the funeral, just like PetSmart, Santa's Village, and the Salvation Army. Shawn corrects the last one as "dishonorably discharged".
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: Randy Labayda has a wholesome, almost cloying public persona. However, he bumped up Shabby's release date to get his special filmed, got an aquarium worker who asked too many questions fired, put an illicit tracking tag on Shabby to profit off him further, and is a total egomaniac when the cameras aren't rolling or he doesn't have an audience.
- Redemption Quest: Why Lassiter ends up on the Shabby case: he almost caught some notorious diamond smugglers, but their plane flew off into a lightning storm and the department helicopters refused to pursue them through it. He's looking to retrieve his reputation, and jumps on Shawn's case when he hears about a murder.
- Right Behind Me: Shawn spends the early part of Shabby's funeral trying to guess who it's for. At one point, he suggests an old man with glasses whose picture is hanging up, claiming he already must have "one foot in the grave"... only for the old man, who's sitting on Gus' other side, to lean over and glare at Shawn.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Shawn and Gus sneak into the aquarium to look for clues. When security starts moving in, Gus wants to flee, but Shawn is distracted by his desire to ride a dolphin. He gets arrested before he can get into the water with them.
- Randy Labayda is more interested in getting the perfect shot for Shabby's release, than making sure that he is released safely, resulting in the sea lion being released in the wrong place and getting shot by diamond smugglers. In general, he cares more about his own ego than Shabby's welfare.
- Sweet Seal: While a Sea Lion, Shabby was rescued and rehabilitated by the local aquarium, and got a surprisingly large social media following with his story. People were devastated by his death.
- Tracking Device: Labayda put a tracking tag on Shabby, which explicitly went against the aquarium's policies, to find him again and use him in future shows. It ended badly when Shabby swam under a boat belonging to some diamond smugglers, who saw the signal, panicked, and shot him.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Randy Labayda was a jerk who released Shabby early, and in the wrong location, to get a better shot. However, he didn't directly kill the sea lion – unfortunately, the signal from the tracking tag he put on the pinniped spooked a couple of diamond smugglers when Shabby swam under their boat, and they shot him.
