Season 7, Episode 16
Psych: The Musical: Pt. 2
"Now, it's ending! Z is coming! Blood will spill, so please come running!... Uh-oh."
Directed by Steve Franks
Written by Steve Franks and Adam Cohen
The hunt for Z continues, though Shawn believes that he wasn't a killer. Yang in the meantime is on the run and calling Shawn to give him hints about the case.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Shawn's reaction to Yang's death, even though he couldn't stand her while she was alive. He later calls her "my only clinically insane friend".
- Call-Back: As Mary was dying, he asked if there was racquetball in heaven. During Yang's final song, Mary is revealed to be wearing racquetball gear.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Flashbacks show Z drove himself crazy preparing the musical he wrote for release after
Executive Meddling demanded countless rewrites that hurt the story, which led to the breakdown of Z and Elisa’s romance, Z being Wrongfully Accused of murdering a Caustic Critic, the play being cancelled, Z spending seven years in an asylum, and the murders and suicides during the main episode. Then, the producer and director finally realize the original script was perfect all along and use it for their revival of the production. - The Cuckoolander Was Right: It turns out that Woody was right to insist that the death of the producer was suicide, even if the song where he emphasized his insistence was filled with loony non sequiturs. To be fair, Woody did voice several logcial arguments against the death being murder before that song.
- Dark Reprise:
- "The Surrender" is one of "Z's Lament," as Z is about to slash Ben's throat in revenge for his life being ruined and Elisa's death. But....he realizes he can't do it and drops the knife.
- Lassiter's reprise of "I've Heard It Both Ways", sung after a new dead body is discovered that seems to be incriminating proof of the killer's identity. Oddly, it sort of doubles as a Triumphant Reprise of the song for Lassiter, as the first iteration was Shawn and Lassiter arguing and this reprise happens after Lassiter's theory appears to be the correct one.
Lassiter: The only thing that's satisfying is that the smirk is off your face. - Death Equals Redemption: Yang spends her last moments saving Shawn from the mysterious killer hanging him. Then it's hinted she may not go to heaven, but Mary will advocate for her and try.
- Death Song: "Promised Land" is the song accompanying Yang's death.
- Downer Ending: While the killer is caught and the final scenes are Played for Laughs, almost nothing about the episode ends on a good note. Z is still in an asylum, Elisa and Yang have both been murdered, the former before she and Z could reconcile. Shawn and Gus inadvertently ruin the opening night of the play that drove so much of the plot. Also, Z implicitly rejects the play based on the mystery that Shawn and Gus write and pitch to him. The only mitigating factor is that Elisa dying and the play turning out badly may just have been invented for the Show Within a Show and not have really happened, but even if that unlikely scenario is true, it only mitigates a few things.
- Framing Device: A hand turning the pages of a storybook. At the end, it turns out to be Shawn pitching the plot as a musical to Z.
- Gut Punch: Yang's death as Shawn begs her to stay with him. She passes on as he desperately tries to rouse her and stop the blood flow.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Ben at knifepoint claims that the critic would have ruined the show, so he had to die. Shawn goes This Is Gonna Suck as Z retorts that killing Elisa was obviously not part of the plan since that show had been closed for years.
- I Never Got Any Letters: Z wrote letters to his girlfriend during his many years at their asylum, but his fellow inmate Yang, who was in charge of the mail cart, had a crush on Z and hid the letters rather than mailing them.
- Insane Equals Violent; Subverted. It turns out Z was not the killer, and any violent action he took was to get the original script to Elisa and prove his innocence. As he points out, the medications clog your head so you can't think of violence. While he has Ben at his mercy and wants to kill him, Z can't do it. He lets him go.
- Mind Screw: It turns out the whole two-parter was a musical that Gus and Shawn were pitching to Z since they'd need his permission. He said he would think about it since it's really hard to hang someone with a stage rope and theaters don't use real lanterns. Shawn and Gus talk about the former's near-hanging though.
- Monochrome Casting: Gus finds issue with the fact that the Ripper musical has an all white cast.Ben: It's set in London. In 1888.
Gus: So what are you saying? Black people haven't been invented yet? - Once More, with Clarity:
- We see what really happened the night Z stormed into the dressing room. He had heard the argument outside and the sounds of scuffling, and shouted, "You can't be here! You can't do this!" When he tried to barge his way inside, the door held. Ben opened it and knocked him out with a blow to the head. They proceeded to set the room on fire and left Z to take the literal and metaphorical heat.
- Z mentions that he remembers why his head hurt while playing the piano in the bar. That's because Ben knocked him out, and he felt the pain later.
- Pet the Dog: Z apologizes to Shawn for hitting him hard in the previous episode. This convinces Shawn that Z must be innocent of the killings.
- Save the Villain: Shawn and Gus tell Juliet to hurry and come backstage because Z is going to murder Ben in revenge for killing Lisa and ruining his life. They end up in no position to save Ben, but try to talk down Z. Z ends up realizing he can't do it, drops the knife, and surrenders. He says he'll live with his pain.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Ben tries to justify what he did: killing the critic, setting the theater on fire, and framing Z. He says they needed to save the show. Juliet responds with a Death Glare while Shawn goes This Is Gonna Suck. Z quietly asks him if Elisa's death was justified as well.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Subverted. Z is about to kill Ben, for framing him for two murders, getting him committed, and killing the woman he loved. Thanks to Shawn talking to him, though beforehand and treating him as innocent of the murders, Z drops the knife and surrenders. Juliet doesn't even handcuff him.
- This Is Reality: Z at the end debates what happened according to Shawn and Gus when they pitch turning the case into a musical. He says that theaters don't use real-life lanterns and it is hard to hang someone using stage ropes for curtains. Gus then comments how Ben nearly hung Shawn.
- Triumphant Reprise: Z's horror Leitmotif gets played in lighter and lighter tones as it's revealed he's not guilty after all, culminating in a final song where he chooses not to kill Ben.
- Wrongfully Committed: Z proves he was innocent and Ben actually set the fire. He's still in a mental hospital by the end due to the trauma of what happened and having broken out to attempt to kill Ben and avenge Elisa. At the very least, Z seems much calmer, if bemused at the Psych detectives wanting to turn the experience into a musical.
