Season 4, Episode 03
High Noon-ish
Directed by Mel Damski
Written by Kell Cahoon
"It's a tough racket bein' sheriff, Lassie..."
Lassiter recruits Shawn and Gus to help him out: strange things have been happening in and around Old Sonora, a western re-enactment tourist trap of a town where Lassiter spent much of his childhood. Wood is being stolen, odd sinkholes are opening up, the water’s been poisoned, and strange sounds and smells are coming from everywhere. Worse, the first night Shawn and Gus spend in the town, Gus literally trips over a murder victim. Is it vandals? A real-estate developer with their sights on the land? The sheriff himself? Or, as some fear, the mysterious Ghost Rider of Old Sonora?...Tropes:
- Animal Stampede: Sheriff Mendel gets badly injured in a horse stampede early on, taking him out of the action for the rest of the episode.
- Bittersweet Ending: The cause of the vandalism is revealed to be a secret gold mining operation, which allows Hank to retire wealthy. However, Lassie's attempts to save Old Sonora were All for Nothing, since Hank sold the land for a park to be built. That being said, he at least accepts the fact that the tourist trap was
Too Good to Last, and is ultimately accepting of Hanks decisions. - By Wall That Is Holey: The front wall of a livery stable falls down atop Shawn and Gus, but the duo manage to squeeze through a window near the top as it comes down.
- Cell Phones Are Useless: A literal example; Old Sonora doesn’t have any cell phone towers nearby, making them useless to call in or out.
- Character Development: Lassiter is far more comfortable asking for help from Shawn and Gus and when they start calling him "Binky", he doesn't respond with the rage and frustration he would've shown in earlier seasons.
- Color Wash: The scenes in Old Sonora are filmed with a light sepia tint, reflecting its nature as a western-themed town.
- Cowboy Episode: Achieved through a western-re-enactment tourist trap. Also serves as a Costumer.
- Cowboys and Indians: Little Shawn and Gus were playing this in 1989 in the Cold Open. Except it was just “Cowboys” because “playing Indians is offensive”.Young Shawn: It's the realism that makes it fun!
- Embarrassing Nickname: Sheriff Mendel calls Lassiter “Binky” as an old nickname, much to Shawn and Gus’ delight.Mendel: You don't call him "Binky"?
Shawn: We do now. - Gold Fever: The actor who played “Stinky Pete” discovered a large, very real gold deposit under the town, and decided to take it all for himself. The bad smells, sinkholes, and stolen wood were the result of his mining – as was his act of murder.
- Jurisdiction Friction: The Old Sonora case is completely outside Lassiter’s jurisdiction, but It's Personal for Lassie, meaning he keeps sticking his nose in anyway. Shawn and Gus, being independent contractors, don’t need to worry about it.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Averted completely; the actor playing “Stinky Pete” was behind all Old Sonora’s problems, and he was willing to resort to murder to get out with a lot of gold.
- The Mole: Deputy Tripsy, who was working for a land developer to find safety code violations in Old Sonora, so they’d have an easier time shutting them down and buying the land.
- Parental Substitute: Lassiter’s father wasn’t around much while he was growing up, and Sheriff Mendel came to be more of a father to him than anyone else.
- Politically Correct History: Discussed and played with; while Shawn is somewhat taken in by the old western aesthetic and quieter pace of Old Sonora, Gus – a black man – dryly points out “Your people have a much more affectionate memory of this period of history than my people do”. That said, Gus later takes on the role of the town blacksmith while investigating.
- Proscenium Reveal: Near the beginning, Shawn offers to help the sheriff of what looks like a tiny, forgotten town with his problems. He’s horrified when the sheriff walks out the door, confronts a man, and immediately shoots him dead… only for a bunch of people on a bleachers nearby to start clapping, revealing the place is a western re-enactment and the “bad guy” is fine.
- Rabid Cop: Lassiter turns into one for this episode, desperately looking for any possible way to solve the problems at Old Sonora and throwing blame for the place’s problems out left and right.
- The Sheriff: Sheriff Hank Mendel is this for Old Sonora. Shawn takes his place after he’s injured by horses, but he’s more of a Replacement Scrappy, and everyone’s happy when Mendel comes back.
- Showdown at High Noon: Old Sonora has a simulated one every day, between Sheriff Mendel and a character named “Stinky Pete”. At the very end, Lassiter gets to be part of a real one.
- Visual Pun: Gus is a black smith. A black smith. He's black. And a smith.
