Psych Guide For The Shawn Spencer Enthusiasts

Fandom: Psych

For a list of Shawn Spencer whump moments, see the Shawn Spencer Whump Catalogue post.

Below are multiple lists of moments, scenes, and episodes that are of interest to the Shawn Spencer enthusiasts out there. If there's a list you would like to see added, feel free to message me with your suggestion! Also, these are not at all complete lists yet - I add to them each time I rewatch the show - so if you know of some moments/episodes I missed, please let me know.

INDEX:
~ The Norton (Shawn's Motorcycle)
~ Shooting Skills
~ Serious/Angry Shawn
~ Competent Shawn

The Norton (Shawn's Motorcycle)

Moments where we get to see Shawn's Norton Commando 750. Also, moments where it is mentioned/referenced but not seen, and where Shawn rides other motorcycles.

1x01 "Pilot" - Shawn pulls up in front of the SBPD with his motorcycle. Later in the episode, he is seen driving it down the road to Henry's house.
1x02 "Spellingg Bee" - Shawn is riding the motorcycle home at night when he is run off the road by the murderer.
1x03 "Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Piece" - When Gus leaves his work and finds Shawn waiting outside, the Norton is parked next to the Blueberry.
1x10 "From The Earth To The Starbucks" - The Norton is briefly mentioned as Shawn tries to set up Gus on his date.
1x12 "Cloudy... With A Chance Of Murder" - Shawn spends the episode trying to retrieve the bike from police impound, including an argument with Henry over him owning a motorcycle. The Norton makes a very brief appearance at the end as Buzz returns it to Shawn.
2x04 "Zero to Murder in Sixty Seconds" - Shawn is on his motorcycle while calling Gus.
2x05 "And Down the Stretch Comes Murder" - Seen parked in front of the Pysch office.
2x16 "Shawn (and Gus) Of The Dead" - Gus makes a brief joke about Shawn not riding his motorcycle that often.
3x03 "Daredevils!" - Not the Norton, but Shawn does ride a motorcycle to chase down a suspect at one point.
4x11 "Thrill Seekers and Hell-Raisers" - It is briefly seen parked outside a building.
4x12 "A Very Juliet Episode" - Shawn rides the Norton to chase down the bad guy at the end of the episode.
5x05 "Shawn And Gus In Drag (Racing)" - The fact that he still owns the Norton is very briefly mentioned.
8x05 "COG Blocked" - First appearance of the Norton in years! Shawn apparently still owns it but has it in storage.
8x10 "The Break Up" - Brief sighting as Shawn drives the Norton to Gus's work.
"Psych 2: Lassie Come Home" - Shawn and Gus very briefly ride a motorcycle before crashing it. Joking reference is made to the old Norton.

Shooting Skills

Moments where Shawn is seen holding and/or shooting a gun.

1x01 "Pilot" - Shawn and Lucinda are at the SBPD shooting range and he demonstrates his marksman skills by perfectly matching all of his shots to hers on the target.
2x11 "There's Something About Mira" - While he doesn't actually use a gun in this episode, there is a scene where they're racing to rescue Gus, and Shawn rather angrily demands the detectives provide him with a gun.
4x09 "Shawn Takes A Shot In The Dark" - Shawn manages to shoot out the engine of the bad guy's truck while hanging off the hood of a speeding car and while his shooting arm is injured with a gunshot.
4x12 "A Very Juliet Episode" - No actual shooting in this one, but he does make a dive for the bad guy's gun during the ending fight, only to be stopped before he can grab it.
5x13 "We'd Like to Thank the Academy" - Multiple scenes of Shawn handling and/or firing guns. He disarms the bad guy at the beginning and holds him at gunpoint; he makes perfect shots during the SBPD shooting range training (though still fails the test as he shot civilians); and he grabs a gun to go face down the bad guys during the ending shootout.
7x01 "Santabarbaratown 2" - Shawn goes wild at a shooting range, blasting up the whole place. Later, he uses the bad guy's own weapon to hold him at gunpoint and threatens to shoot him.

Serious/Angry Shawn Moments

Shawn Spencer is a classic example of TV Tropes' Beware the Silly Ones trope. While he often uses sarcasm and humor to deflect from what he's truly feeling, that doesn't mean he can't be very dangerous when pissed off enough. And let's not forget those little brief moments where we get to see the serious, caring, and sensitive person that he tries so hard to hide from the world. Below are just some of the instances of Shawn dropping the mask and acting outwardly angry and/or serious.

NOTE: I'm not including the first season in this list, because they actually let Shawn be serious a lot more in that season, so there's examples in most of the S1 episodes.

2x11 "There's Something About Mira" - While the team is racing to rescue Gus, Shawn angrily demands that the detectives provide him with a gun. When they refuse, he gets even more upset and urges them to hurry because "that's my best friend".
3x01 "Ghosts" - Shawn gets angry at Henry during a restaurant dinner scene. Later, he has an intense confrontation with his mother about his feelings toward the divorce and Henry.
3x08 "Gus Walks Into A Bank" - When Shawn first hears that Gus has been taken hostage, he instantly charges forward to go in there, and has to be physically held back by Lassiter. Later, he gets repeatedly angry/impatient when he feels the police aren't doing enough to help. Towards the end of the episode, there's a scene where he breaks through to Lassiter with an impassioned speech in which he drops the act and shows more of his true anger at the situation.
3x16 "An Evening With Mr Yang" - Basically this entire episode is just serious!Shawn being allowed to shine through. There's also a scene where he loses his temper at the team and orders them out of the office. He almost breaks down when he finds out his mother was kidnapped by Yang. Final scene features Shawn in an intense confrontation with Yang, followed by his anxiety/paranoia at realizing she'd been stalking him the entire time.
4x07 "High Top Fade Out" - Satisfying moment of him getting angry at Lassiter and Juliet for the horrible way they've been acting throughout the episode.
4x09 "Shawn Takes A Shot In The Dark" - While he does try to play off his situation with humor, Shawn is kidnapped and shot in this episode so there's quite a few moments of him being genuinely scared and thinking he was going to die. He also gets a badass moment of stopping his kidnapper's getaway vehicle by shooting out the engine.
4x10 "You Can't Handle This Episode" - Ending scene features a heartbroken Shawn having to say goodbye to his girlfriend Abigail. The rest of the episode also features brief moments of him being sad over losing her.
4x12 "A Very Juliet Episode" - When Chief Vick doesn't believe him about who the murderer is, Shawn loses his patience at her. He then yells at her that they might want to follow him before going after the murderer himself, chasing him down on his motorcycle and then fighting him until the police can arrive to make the arrest.
4x16 "Mr Yin Presents" - Shawn goes up against another serial killer and has plenty of moments of serious detective work as well as angst/anxiety brought on by his trauma from the previous Yang situation. Climax of episode features him having to choose between the lives of two people he cares about and almost breaking down after everyone is finally safe. Final scene also has Shawn heartbroken over once again losing Abigail, and grieving the death of Mary.
5x09 "One, Maybe Two, Ways Out" - I believe this is the only canon appearance of the phrase "serious Shawn moment". Shawn spends the episode upset over believing he's lost Juliet to Declan, and pouring his heart out to Gus about not knowing how to handle the situation. Final scene also has Shawn giving a beautiful/intense speech to Juliet when he thinks he's saying goodbye to her.
5x14 "The Polarizing Express" - Shawn has a rather intense fight with his dad, as well as multiple arguments with others. General angsty/anxious Shawn throughout the episode as he panics over letting everyone down by failing on a case.
5x16 "Yang 3 In 2D" - Shawn angrily threatens to kill Yin if he hurts Gus.
6x16 "Santabarbaratown" - Shawn becomes angry/protective when Juliet is threatened by the bad guys. He also punches someone he believed had attacked him the night before.
7x01 "Santabarbaratown 2" - Angry Shawn for most of the episode. After his dad is shot, Shawn goes completely rogue, investigating the case against Vick's orders. Multiple scenes of him breaking and entering, breaking out windows, and threatening people. He breaks into the shooter's house at one point and destroys the place. Breaks into the bad guys' main base at the end of the episode and blows up stuff, shoots up the place, and then holds his father's shooter at gunpoint and threatens to kill him.

Competent Shawn

Shawn is funny and obviously very entertaining to watch, but I think we all love those rare moments where he stops being silly and shows off his actual skills. Whether that's shooting a perfect bullseye, solving a murder in barely any time at all, or spotting evidence that no one else could have, here are some of my favorite instances of competent Shawn making an appearance.

1x01 "Pilot" - Basically the entire episode, as this one establishes for the audience some of what Shawn is capable of when it comes to investigating and solving crimes. Also features a scene where he gets to show of his marksman skills with a gun.
1x06 "Weekend Warriors" - Shawn is able to create an accurate model of the crime scene based on having seen a quick glimpse of the map at the SBPD. Gus actually calls out how impossible that should be, but Shawn shrugs it off, not seeing why it's so incredible.
1x13 "Poker? I Barely Know Her" - Shawn is shown to be really good at poker, as he can easily read people's tells and see through their bluffs.
2x11 "There's Something About Mira" - When Lassiter and Juliet compete over how good their scores were on the department's detective exam, Shawn overhears them and offhandedly mentions that he got a perfect score on that exam when he was fifteen. He doesn't notice everyone else's amazement at learning this about him.
2x16 "Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" - While also investigating a mummy theft and two murders, Shawn also manages to save Chief Vick's job for her, and does so secretly without taking credit.
3x04 "The Greatest Adventure in the History of Basic Cable" - Shawn gets the bad guys away from them by letting them steal the treasure map, then uses his eidetic memory to follow the map to the treasure anyway. He also figures out one of the bad guys by drawing on something he learned while working a job in South America prior to his return to Santa Barbara. He also manages to double cross someone who'd intended to betray him by setting up a fake-out while also being chased by the bad guys.
3x16 "An Evening with Mr. Yang" - Shawn goes up against a manipulative serial killer.
4x01 "Extradition: British Columbia" - Shawn is able to identify Despereaux by scanning back through dozens of faces he'd seen over the past year, finally pinpointing that he'd seen Despereaux's face on a wanted poster in Lassiter's house the year before.
4x09 "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark" - Manages to escape his kidnapper and evade for him most of the night before being recaptured. Then uses his people reading skills to manipulate one of the kidnappers onto his side. Finally, shoots out the engine of the other kidnapper's truck while clinging to the hood of a speeding car and while his shooting arm is currently injured from a prior gunshot.
4x12 "A Very Juliet Episode" - Chases down the murderer on his motorcycle and then fights with him long enough to keep him there until the police can arrive.
6x01 "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader" - Shawn beats a lie detector test to avoid revealing he isn't really psychic.
7x01 "Santabarbaratown 2" - Shawn manages to solve a case in one day that took the FBI months to figure out. He also (with help from Lassiter) launches a one-man incursion into the bad guy's house and neutralizes the security enough to make it inside and capture the murderer.