Psych Episode 3.03 Daredevils!
Psych Photo

Psych Episode 3.03 Daredevils!

Episode Premiere
Aug 1, 2008
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Production Company
Tagline, NBC Universal, Pacific Mountain, GEP
Official Site
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/
Episode Premiere
Aug 1, 2008
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Period
2006 - 2014
Production Co
Tagline, NBC Universal, Pacific Mountain, GEP
Distributor
USA Network
Official Site
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/
Director
John Badham
Screenwriter
Anupam Nigam
Main Cast
Additional Cast
  • Jeff Fahey
  • Brian Gross
  • Bill Mondy

When Shawn and Gus get tickets to a daredevil show as payment for a job, Shawn notices that Dutch "The Clutch" Jenkins' fuel line has been cut just as his motorcycle flies through a ring of fire. Luckily Dutch survives the stunt, and Shawn, convinced someone tried to kill him, thinks the culprit will try again. He and Gus head backstage, where they express their fears to Louis, Dutch's son, who tells them something similar happened on his father's last two stunts. He'd love to hire a psychic detective to get to the bottom of things but money is tight for the family right now. After Shawn offers their services in exchange for an autograph, Louis tells them that Dutch is a skeptic who keeps his inner circle locked down tight, but he has an idea how to get around that.

He brings them into the after party and introduces them to Dutch as their new "die hards," - stunt testers. They also meet Dutch's much younger wife, Viki, who seems to be just as concerned with Dutch's safety as Louis. Dutch gets worked up when he sees an ad for an up and coming daredevil named El Diablo. He's Dutch's biggest rival but no one knows who he is as he always wears a mask. El Diablo is the reason Dutch has been pushing himself so hard. He needs to stay ahead of this guy. To that effect, Dutch's agent Manny tells him he's booked him some new stunts, but Louis thinks it's too soon. To prove his fearlessness, Dutch then throws himself off the balcony. Concerned, Shawn and Gus run over to see Dutch landed safely on a pile of garbage. It's going to be harder than they thought to keep this guy alive.

Back at the Psych office, Gus tells Shawn that according to Louis, Dutch doesn't have a will. Apparently invincible people don't need them. That takes inheritance off the table as a motive. Shawn says he's been looking into El Diablo. He always comes to town right after Dutch and they've been competing for the same gigs for over a year now, including the one Manny just got for Dutch. Getting rid of Dutch would clear the way for El Diablo, plus he would have intimate knowledge of the best ways to sabotage a stunt. They track down El Diablo at a motorcycle show, but when they go to question him, he takes off on his bike. Shawn hops on one himself, chasing El Diablo down and knocking him off his stunt bike. Shawn unmasks their suspect, who turns out to be Louis. Louis insists he's not trying to kill Dutch. He hides his identity because Dutch forbid him to follow in his footsteps for fear of his safety. As soon as Louis proves he's legit, he'll come clean to his father, who hopefully will then let him take over the family business and retire before Dutch gets really hurt. Shawn "psychically" notices Louis' bike was recently repainted. Louis tells them he got it from his dad, who didn't need it anymore because Manny had gotten him a newer, safer bike - the bike that was tampered with during the last stunt. Manny could be their culprit but instead of trying to kill his own meal ticket, he is just trying to make the stunts more exciting so they get more attention, which in turn means more gigs and more money.

They head to the police station where they find Juliet sizing up women as potential dates for Lassiter. He's been unhappy lately, which has been affecting his job performance. They ask her to run a background check on Manny and she tells them they have picked him up several times for get rich quick schemes. They go back to Dutch's headquarters to find the agent, but are roped into their first stunt test by Red, Dutch's mechanic. Shawn figures as long as they are making sure the stunts are safe, Dutch has a better chance of staying alive, but they both chicken out when they learn they are about to be set on fire. Manny pulls up and tells Dutch that since a crazy fan injured El Diablo by running him off the road, they can step into his clock tower jump, but there is no time to rehearse. They need to go now. At the clock tower, Shawn notices Manny whisper something in Dutch's ear. As Dutch spreads out the wings of his costume, Shawn sees one of them is resewn with different thread. He stops Dutch just in time, then demonstrates that the costume would have ripped, making it impossible for him to land safely. But in saving Dutch's life, Shawn and Gus have blown their cover. Dutch is furious, and orders Red to throw them out. As he does, Shawn sees a "Vikings" tattoo on his arm, a clear cover up of what once was "Viki." He tells Gus that Red probably used to date Viki before she left him for Dutch. By eliminating Dutch, he eliminates the competition. Shawn also says that what Manny whispered at the stunt was a request that Dutch wear a better-looking costume. Manny didn't want him to wear the tampered suit, and so is off the suspect list. Louis sneaks them back in to find evidence on Red but instead they find him secretly administering cancer medication to Dutch. Gus recognizes the drugs to be for pancreatic cancer, which is terminal. Dutch is dying. Why would someone try to kill a dying man?

They search Dutch's trailer and find a hidden life insurance policy that has a large payout only if Dutch dies during one of his stunts, the beneficiaries being Viki and Louis. Shawn finally knows who the killer is and goes to stop Dutch before his next act. He tells Dutch he knows he is trying to kill himself. The family has been struggling financially and Dutch wanted to make sure they were taken care of when he was gone, which wouldn't be possible if he let the cancer take him first. But Dutch's survival instincts always kicked in, and he kept saving himself. Shawn tells him he won't stop him and he won't say anything if he goes through with it, but he knows his family loves him and would much rather have him around for six more months than any amount of money. As the daredevil takes off down the tunnel one last time, Shawn stands alone listening for the outcome. The crowd roars, Dutch made it. He chose life. Shawn smiles and walks away.