Psych 2: Lassie Come Home is packed with major references and Easter eggs related to other movies, TV shows, actors, and even past episodes of Psych. Of course, this is to be expected from the film, considering that the USA series was known for its emphasis on pop culture references, usually made by Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and Gus (Dulé Hill) in the midst of what should be a serious moment.
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home is the sequel to Psych: The Movie, the 2017 reunion movie that released three years after the show ended in 2014. The new movie was a launch title on NBC’s all-new streaming service, Peacock. The plot of Lassie Come Home is centered around Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), who was shot several times by unknown assailants. During his recovery, Lassiter began to see hallucinations of his father, played by Joel McHale. To get to the bottom of what was really going on, Shawn and Gus were called in from San Francisco. The two returned to Santa Barbara and teamed up with Henry (Corbin Bernsen), Juliet (Maggie Lawson), Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson), and Woody (Kurt Fuller) to investigate.
True to form, the sequel was loaded down with Shawn and Gus’ “C’mon son!” line, Gus’ appreciation of Pluto, Shawn’s “I heard it both ways”, and more. Plus, it was full of fun references, with one or more in nearly every conversation. Here are the biggest Easter eggs and references in Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.
Shawn’s Fake Nicknames For Gus
It almost seemed like Shawn and Gus were breaking the fourth wall when the subject of Shawn’s fake nicknames for Gus came up. It’s a Psych tradition for Shawn to introduce Gus under a fake (and sometimes embarrassing) nickname, but “Bill Poopingtons” fell flat with Gus in the opening minutes. Gus told Shawn to put a stop to the nicknames, which prompted Shawn to say, “we can’t stop doing bits we’ve been doing for ten years. We have fans. They have expectations. There’ll be a huge backlash”. That’s when Gus told them that they don’t have fans because they’re just “two dumbasses”.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
When Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca return to the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he says, “Chewie, we’re home”. Lassie Come Home pays homage to this scene when Shawn and Gus arrive back at the old Psych office in Santa Barbara. Shawn says “we’re home” and asks for a “little Chewie” from Gus. Gus responds with Chewbacca’s iconic roar.
A Million Little Things
After Henry references A Million Little Things, a show which James Roday Rodriguez stars in. A Million Little Things is commonly compared to This Is Us. The line was basically Rodriguez getting a chance to plug his own show.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the animated film about Miles Morales and multiple versions of Spider-Man from numerous alternate realities, was referenced in Lassie Come Home when the two main characters walked into the Psych office and found that it had been turned into a pop-up cat restaurant. It looked so different from what they knew it to be before that Gus called it an “alternative Spider-Verse”.
Shawn’s Pineapple Joke From The Pilot Episode
When Shawn found a pineapple, he started to say, “should I cut this up for the road?” but cut himself off. This phrase, which was first used in the Psych pilot episode, is the improvised line that started Psych’s pineapple obsession in the first place. Ever since, there’s been a pineapple in almost every episode.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
There was a scene in Lassie Come Home where Shawn had to quickly prepare dinner for himself and Juliet. Shawn filled plates with jelly beans, pretzel sticks, and popcorn, which was a meal that Gus immediately recognized from what was served in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Shawn’s Motorcycle
When Shawn and Gus are running from the “Bearded Daryl Hannah” and his gang of Viking bikers, they come across a motorcycle they could use to get away, but Shawn says he can’t ride it. Shawn explained, “In all the years I’ve owned one, how many times did you actually see me ride, Gus?” Shawn is referring to the fact that even though the only mode of transportation he owned throughout Psych’s entire run was a motorcycle, he was hardly ever seen riding it. For the most part, Shawn rode in the Blueberry with Gus.
Rear Window
There was a deliberate Hitchcockian feel to the scenes where Lassiter was alone in the hospital. Lassiter, similar to Jimmy Stewart’s character in Rear Window, was suffering from a disability and limited to one room for almost the entire film. At one point, Lassiter was sitting at his window in a wheelchair watching an unidentified man across the street. This is exactly what the protagonist of the 1954 film found himself doing while he was trapped in a wheelchair. It’s worth noting that Psych actually referenced Rear Window in season 4 during Shawn’s Jimmy Stewart impersonation.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Shawn spoke lines that came directly from The Handmaid’s Tale (a Hulu series based on a series of books) when he discovered that it was Selene (Jazmyn Simon) – and not Juliet – who was pregnant. Shawn said “praise be” and “blessed is the fruit”, which is what people would typically say when a woman was revealed to be pregnant in the dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Lassiter’s To-Do List
Since Lassiter was unable to leave his hospital room, he provided the main characters with a to-do list of 93 tasks he wanted done for him. A close-up of the 93 items revealed several Easter eggs. One was a note for Lassiter to write a fan letter to Chuck Norris, while another was a reminder for Lassiter to “tape Galavant”. Galavant was a show that starred Lassiter actor Timothy Omundson. #82 on the list was “update crap list”. First mentioned in season 5, the crap list is compiled of people that Lassiter despises. Humorously, the original list had Hilary Clinton’s name on it more than once. #84 was “S.E.I.Z.E.”, which was a made-up, motivational acronym that Shawn used in a season 8 episode when he was trying to be Lassiter’s life coach.
