Dual Spires

"Dual Spires"

"Dual Spires" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama Psych, and the 75th episode overall. The episode is a homage to Twin Peaks, and features seven of the cast members of the show, including Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee, Dana Ashbrook, Robyn Lively, Lenny Von Dohlen, Catherine E. Coulson, and Ray Wise. Additionally, the Psych theme song, "I Know, You Know", was re-recorded by Julee Cruise, the singer of the theme to Twin Peaks. According to trivia on the "Dual Spires enhanced" video at the Psych website, the episode has been in the works since season one. Maggie Lawson was the one who created the episode's title.

After receiving an email inviting them to a cinnamon festival, Shawn and Gus travel to the quirky small town of Dual Spires. Once there, they are caught up in the mysterious drowning death of teenager Paula Merral.

Plot

After receiving an email from someone at UnderTheNail.com inviting them to a cinnamon festival, Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster travel to the quirky small town of Dual Spires, which has only 288 residents who all ride bicycles. Shawn and Gus eat cinnamon pie at the Sawmill Diner, a diner built on a sawmill that burned down in 1958, killing eight people, which is owned by Robert "Bob" Barker (Dana Ashbrook) and his wife Michelle (Robyn Lively). When Shawn tries to check his email on his phone, Sheriff Andrew Jackson (Lenny Von Dohlen) informs him that the town has no cellular towers.

At the town's 90th cinnamon festival, Sheriff Jackson presents his son Randy (Scott Lyster), who is destined to be the town's future leader, with the "Leo the Cinnamon Owl" award for the Cinnamon King. Shawn notices Michelle crying and deduces from the number of empty chairs that two people are missing. Michelle and Bob reveal that their niece Paula Merral has been missing for 1 1/2 days, and Shawn and Gus agree to provide their "Psych" services for pie and cider. Suddenly, Paula's friend Jack Smith (Ryan McDonald) rides up and informs the town that something has happened at the lake.

Sheriff Jackson finds Paula's body wrapped in plastic, as she was half-naked when Jack found her, and he did not want her seen like that. As the Barkers mourn Paula (who happens to be placed in the town's only cell site), Shawn gets another email from www.UnderTheNail.com asking "Who killed Paula Merral?" Jackson rules that Paula went swimming after curfew-as she often did-was pulled under by the current, and hit her head. After Bob reveals that Paula lived in Santa Barbara, California until she was eleven years old, Shawn gets the email "F796.352".

Shawn and Gus visit Dr. Donna "Doc" Gooden (Sheryl Lee), the town's psychiatrist, pediatrician, optometrist, gastrologist, podiatrist, dermatologist, orthodontist, forensic scientist, veterinarian, lawyer, and accountant. They learn that although there are no signs of foul play, Randy's earring is labelled as evidence. They travel to the Jackson home and asks Randy about the matching earrings. Randy reveals that he and Paula had been dating for six months. He also has an alibi, as he was at the library studying to earn a business degree and become a good leader.

Shawn and Gus go to the library, where the flirtatious librarian Maudette Hornsby (Sherilyn Fenn) confirms the alibi, stating that she acted as Randy's mother figure after his real mother died. Shawn realizes that F796.352 is the location of a book-Reincarnation and Rebirth. They call Shawn's girlfriend, Detective Juliet O'Hara, who informs them that Paula Merral drowned in Santa Barbara seven years earlier.

Detectives O'Hara and Carlton Lassiter join Shawn and Gus and reveal that Paula's body was never found in the first drowning, although it should have floated to the surface within 2.3-3.1 days because there was no current. Her bicycle was found lying by a pile of sunflower seeds. Shawn remembers Bob eating sunflower seeds, so they travel to the Barker home. Bob reveals that twelve years earlier, Michelle's unstable, drug addict sister Lucy left Dual Spires, taking with her the seven-year-old Paula. When Paula, who Michelle and Bob had all but raised, sent them a letter detailing the drug use and child abuse, they helped Paula fake her death so she could leave Lucy. O'Hara and Lassiter return to Santa Barbara to reopen the case and issue a warrant for Bob's arrest. When Shawn finds a page of Paula's diary written in Latin, he consults Father Peter Westley (Ray Wise) at St. Attalus College in Santa Barbara to translate the page. He learns that Paula was seeing someone other than Randy, whose name started with a J. When Westley asks about Shawn attending church, Shawn hangs up on him before Westley can finish translating the diary.

Shawn learns that "J" is Jack Smith, a photographer. However, Jack reveals that Paula broke up with him a year earlier for Randy, and they are just best friends. Gus guesses that Jack's many quirks are from guilt, but Shawn deduces that Jack is actually a highly functioning blind man (he actually retains 30% vision in his right eye). When he was recently walking in the woods with Paula, Jack was knocked out and Paula disappeared. In one of Jack's many pictures is Randy sneaking up on them. Meanwhile, Juliet returns to Dual Spires and goes to the Jackson home. However, Shawn suspects he is the killer and he and Gus arrive before Randy can do anything. Randy reveals that after he hit Jack in the head with his elbow, Paula went and confronted him about seeing his ex-girlfriend. Angry at Randy for hurting a blind person, Paula went to go get help for Jack. Randy offered to help, but Paula rejected him, so he tied Jack's shoelaces together and waited at the library to hear from her. Shawn deduces that Randy's ex-girlfriend is Maudette (even though she is as old as Paula's adoptive parents), who is then found hanged at the library. Sheriff Jackson and Doc Gooden rule that Maudette killed Paula out of jealousy and committed suicide to keep the town from knowing about the affair. Finding Maudette's laptop in the library and remembering a tattoo under her nail, Shawn deduces that she was the one that led them to the festival.

Suddenly, someone locks Shawn and Gus in the library and lights it on fire, but Father Westley returns to rescue them. The end to the diary that he was translating revealed that Paula was in trouble. Bob arrives in a car and takes them all to a cabin. After World War I, Bob's great-grandfather established the town with two other soldiers, intending to create a utopia. After an arsonist from out of town caused the sawmill fire in 1958, the town began to look at all outsiders as a threat. Paula thought she was being followed and decided to leave Dual Spires. Recognizing a gold ring on Bob's finger as one that was in Paula's baby photo, Shawn discovers that he actually was Paula's father as a result of an affair with Lucy. Suddenly, Doc Gooden and Sheriff Jackson enter and hold them at gunpoint. Shawn deduces from their identical rings that they are the leaders of the other two founding families. As Doc Gooden could not have children, the Barkers had no (known) child of their own, and the sheriff was dying from cancer, Randy was the only direct descendant and therefore the future leader. To stop him from leaving with Paula, they drowned her and made it look like an accident. As they prepare to kill Bob, Shawn, Gus, and Father Westley, Lassiter and O'Hara arrive and arrest them. Westley reveals that he called the detectives before coming to Dual Spires, and Jack led them to the cabin.

The group celebrates at the Sawmill Diner by eating pie and reading the Bible. Meanwhile, Jack is wearing an eyepatch and a red suit, a seven-foot-tall man (John DeSantis) enters, someone wearing a football helmet smacks their head repeatedly on the counter, Randy starts barking out the window, Lassiter finds that his "damn fine" cider will not pour out of the cup, and everyone seems to start dancing. Shawn and Juliet leave disturbed.

Cultural references

• Residents of Dual Spires have the names Andrew Jackson, Randy Jackson, Doc Gooden, and Bob Barker, among others. Shawn makes note of this early in the episode.
• When Shawn and Gus ride their bike, Shawn states that it is Driving Miss Daisy in reverse.
• The town gathers every week to watch Everwood.

Allusions to Twin Peaks

References listed by Katie McLaughlin:

• The victim's name is Paula Merral, an anagram of Laura Palmer.
• Sheryl Lee (who played Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks) portrays Dr. Donna Gooden, Dual Spires' town physician who specializes in everything (she's also a veterinarian and the medical examiner). Plus, Laura's best friend was named Donna, and Donna's father, Dr. Hayward, was the town doctor and medical examiner.
• Sherilyn Fenn (who played Audrey Horne) portrays librarian Maudette Hornsby.
  • Hornsby, while drinking a Cherry Coke, states, "Isn't cherry the best?" The actress famously tied a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue in Twin Peaks.
• Ray Wise (who played Leland Palmer), a recurring actor on Psych, suddenly has white hair, as Leland's hair turned white overnight in one Twin Peaks episode.
• Dual Spires is famous for its cinnamon pie and apple cider, as Twin Peaks was famous for cherry pie and "damn fine" coffee.
• The Psych theme song is sung by Julee Cruise (of Peaks fame) and is almost a shot-for shot recreation of the Twin Peaks theme.
• The mayor of Dual Spires is named Douglas Fir, and the town of Twin Peaks was filled with Douglas fir trees.
• The local paper in Dual Spires is "The Great Northern," while Twin Peaks had a hotel called the Great Northern.
• In both series, there are stacks of donuts at the police station.
• The Sawmill Diner was operated by Robert "Bob" Barker, played by Dana Ashbrook (who portrayed Bobby Briggs in Twin Peaks). Also, Twin Peaks' sawmill was the source of the town's livelihood and burned down in a case of arson. The character Bob (not to be confused with Bobby) was a significant part of Twin Peaks as well.
• Paula Merral is found wrapped in plastic by the lake, as in Twin Peaks where Laura Palmer's body was found "dead, wrapped in plastic" on a rocky beach.
• The Barkers have a framed prom photo of their niece wearing a tiara prominently displayed, and a similar photo of Laura Palmer remains the iconic Twin Peaks image.
• There is a chocolate bunny on Shawn's desk. In Twin Peaks, Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) delivers the famous line "Diane, I'm holding in my hands a small box of chocolate bunnies."
• Gus states at the very beginning, "Since when is the sound of opening and closing shades so disruptive that it needs to be alleviated?" The character Nadine Hurley in Twin Peaks attempted to patent her silent drape runner invention.
• Leo the cinnamon owl was the festival mascot, whereas the character of Leo Johnson was suspected of Laura Palmer's murder in Twin Peaks. Owls were a major part of Peaks as well.
• The pet bird in Dr. Gooden's waiting room was the same type of bird that bit Laura's shoulder in Twin Peaks.
• Catherine E. Coulson (who played the Log Lady in Twin Peaks) cameos carrying a log
• There was similar camera work and sound effect focus on a ceiling fan whipping around at the top of the stairs at Sheriff Jackson's; this happened often in Twin Peaks. The sheriff's house also looks similar to the Palmers' house.
• Paula secretly dated the sheriff's nephew and shared "secret special lover earrings" with him, and in Twin Peaks, Laura and the nephew of one of the townsmen each had half of a golden heart necklace.
• Someone from a website by the name of UnderTheNail.com sent Shawn and Gus an e-mail that said, "Who killed Paula Merrall?" Peaks famed the catchphrase "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" The killer also purposely placed clues in his victims' fingernail beds.
• A local teenage boy wears a jeweled crown. In Peaks, Audrey Horne's little brother wore a Native American headdress.
• In both shows, the sheriff's deputy is a Native American who is very in tune with nature.
• Lenny Von Dohlen (who played Harold Smith) plays Sheriff Andrew Jackson. Also, his name references the seventh President of the United States; the name of the sheriff of Twin Peaks, Harry Truman, references the 33rd (Harry S. Truman) .
• Shawn and Gus find a book written by Earl Wyndam; in Peaks, Windom Earle was a psychopathic ex-FBI agent.
• At the end of the episode, at the Sawmill Diner, Jack Smith wears an eye patch and a red suit and dances funny. In a dream sequence in Peaks, a character known as the Man from Another Place wore a similar suit and danced in a bizarre fashion. The eye patch is a reference to the aforementioned character of Nadine Hurley. Also, Jack wearing an eye patch is a reference to One Eyed Jacks, a brothel and casino owned by Ben Horne.
• Actress Robyn Lively (who played Lana Budding Milford) plays Michelle Barker.
• The end credits are accompanied by soap opera-type music and a shot Paula's prom picture; Twin Peaks's credits did exactly the same thing with Laura's photo.

References listed on the "Dual Spires enhanced" video at the Psych website:

• Shawn's name for Gus in this episode is "Lodge Blackman", a direct reference to the Black and White Lodge.
• Leo the Cinnamon Owl is a reference to Killer BOB, who possessed Leland Palmer and often took the form of an owl.
• According to trivia on the "Dual Spires enhanced" video at the Psych website, there are 724 references in the last scene.
• The sheriff's deputy was Deputy Frost, named after Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost.
• There are three coconuts in Dr. Donna Goodens office, like Twin Peaks doctor Lawrence Jacoby has had some.
• During the bicycle chase scene, "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak is heard. Isaak portrayed Special Agent Chester Desmond in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
• Both Paula's and Laura's diaries described meetings with "J".
• Sheriff Jackson tells Bob he needs to be strong for his wife. Dr Hayward says the same thing to Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks.
• Upon entering the town Gus mentions that the residents are looking at him as if he were the first black man they had ever seen. There are very few black men in Twin Peaks.
• When they enter the Sawmill Diner Bob Barker says "Top of the morning to you." In the first season of Twin Peaks, Pete Martell corrected Josie Packard on the saying.
• In the opening credits a white horse appears that looks very similar to the one in Sarah Palmer's vision before Maddy Ferguson was attacked.
• Maudette Hornsby wears an orchid in her hair. Harold grew orchids in Twin Peaks.
• In the library Shawn asks if they can "poke around" but immediately corrects himself and says "peak", and Gus also says "peak" in correction. Thus "Peak", as in Twin Peaks, is spoken twice.
• The strange man wearing a hat in the Sawmill Diner gives Shawn and Gus a thumbs up. The older room service attendant did the same thing to Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks.
• In Paula's house is a record player, while a record player was featured prominently in the Palmer home.
• Shawn mentions to Maudette that they are having Betty Boop Night at the Roadhouse, which was also a location in Twin Peaks.
• Muadette mentions that she likes to dance all night long, while her character Audry Horn loved to dance.
• Paula's friend Jack is completely blind in one eye, referencing Twin Peaks' brothel named "One Eyed Jacks."
• In the library Shawn and Gus find a book entitled "Putt Your Way to a Better Future." After Leland Palmer killed Maddy Ferguson he was seen putting golf balls around in his living room.
• When Randy is using the table saw it resembles the sawmill scene from the extended opening credits of Twin Peaks.
• When Maudette is placed in the body bag is it bent in such a way that it resembles a smile, like the smiling bag clue Agent Cooper found.
• On Maudette's desk beside her computer is a roll of green tape like the kind used by Leland Palmer to tie up Jacques Renault.
• In the cabin Bob Barker lights a match and holds it up like Leland Palmer did when describing BOB to Agent Cooper.
• Bob Barker wears a gold ring on his pinky, something Agent Cooper did in Twin Peaks.
• In the cabin the walls are red with red drapes as an allusion to the "Red Room" in Agent Cooper's dream.
• In the final scene Carlton is seen holding his hand up and stating "that is a damn fine cup of cider". In Twin Peaks during the first episode Agent Cooper holds his hand the same way and states "that is a damn fine cup of coffee."
• A very large man wearing a bow tie orders in the bar who looks much like the giant from Agent Cooper's dream.
• Randy is seen at the end barking out the window like Bobby Briggs did to James Hurley in the holding cells.
• Bob Barker is seen dancing with a picture in the final scene. Leland Palmer did this in Twin Peaks.

Reception

IGN's Jonah Krakow gave the episode 9/10 saying that the episode was "enjoyable enough on its own merits that I don't have to apologize for gushing over every single subtle nod to Twin Peaks." Although CNN's Katie McLaughlin was initially worried, her fears were quickly alleviated stating that Psych did a damn fine tribute episode, and that she had fun picking out all the Twin Peaks references. The episode was viewed by 3.54 million people.

Sequel

A sequel episode is possibly in the works, according to Dulé Hill.

External links

• "Dual Spires" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode
• "Dual Spires" at USA Network