IN DEFENCE OF CARLTON LASSITER AS A HUFFLEPUFF
I promised a few friends that I would write up a mini-essay (okay, I didn’t promise them a mini-essay, but that’s what they’re getting) on why I am adamant to the fact that Carlton Lassiter would most likely be a Hufflepuff - disregarding whether he would choose to be a Hufflepuff or not. I’m focusing on his personality and values more than anything.
My friends suggested I post it on Tumblr, and I’m doing that, despite the fact I am fairly certain I’ll get hate over it; if I was receiving death threats over shipping Lassiter and Juliet, I can only imagine what sort of nonsense the folks who were sending those messages might come up with for this.
For those of you who don’t know, Carlton Lassiter is a character from the television programme Psych. I’ve included a few pictures of him scattered throughout the post.
Now, first off, I’m sure Lassiter would fit well enough in Gryffindor, before anyone tries to assume I didn’t consider that. I did. It didn’t seem quite right.
I’m still watching Psych - I’m only just near the end of Season 5 - but the general consensus is that Lassiter is a workaholic. He is always on the job, and he hates taking vacation days. To quote him in Season 4 Episode 1, Extradition: British Colombia – “I have 325 days of unused vacation time.”
The man clearly doesn’t take many vacations, if he takes them at all. He works incessantly.
One of Hufflepuff’s most well-known traits is ‘hardworking’; “unafraid of toil”. Lassiter certainly is not afraid of hard work. In fact, he holds it in high esteem, consistently berating Shawn for solving crimes with what seems to be hardly any effort. He places a lot of store in good, old-fashioned ‘police work’.
In that vein, he is also very, very patient. You have to be if you’re going to solve crimes in the way the rules dictate. Stakeouts, surveillance, search warrants - being a detective means you need to have patience. You don’t have to *like* it, but you need to be patient. Lassiter, for the most part, is a patient and thorough man. Again, one of Hufflepuff’s traits is 'patience’; “those patient Hufflepuffs are true”.
All right, and on to another Hufflepuff trait: loyalty.
It might not be as easy to see, but Lassiter is extremely loyal. One of my favourite examples of this is a specific scene from Season 4 Episode 16, Mr. Yin Presents… – I won’t say anything, due to spoilers, but basically he outright refuses to obey orders, because his loyalty to someone he loves is more important. He would rather break the rules for once than to leave his loved one to suffer harm.
Another recurring showing of loyalty from Carlton Lassiter in Psych is his drive to make things right with his wife. They’re separated, but he spends years trying to fix their marriage. He is still very loyal to her; not in that he doesn’t go on dates, because he does go on a few, but in the way that he refuses to give up on what they used to have.
And eventually, in Tuesday the 17th (Season 3 Episode 15), he puts her desires before his own: “I wanna scream to the sky that I would do anything to get you back. But I’m going to let you go. Because that’s what you want. Once you walk out that door, I’m gonna let go of everything I’ve been holding onto. So we can both have tomorrow.”
That is a show of selflessness. Because he loves her deeply, and he wants nothing more than to keep her - but he knows that he has to let go, and even states that it’s because it’s what she wants. It’s not what he wants - but he puts her first. That very much says Hufflepuff to me.
He shows loyalty again and again over the course of the show: loyalty to the police department, to his friends, to his beliefs. He places high esteem on loyalty and to solid values.
“Where they are just and loyal”, the Hufflepuff rhyme says.
Now, this goes unnoticed by a lot of people somehow, but one of Lassiter’s 'catchphrases’ happens to be, “Sweet Lady Justice!” or any other variation of this.
He is also, as stated before, a detective. Justice - being just - is a huge part of his job, and it is also a huge part of his identity. He takes it very, very seriously.
In Season 5 Episode 14, The Polarizing Express, Lassiter - who is not exactly known for dramatic speeches, as a general rule - walks out into the street with Juliet, and announces to a crowd, “We took an oath to serve and protect you, but we can’t always do it on our own. Sometimes we need your help.”
He loves his job - a job in which justice is a major factor - and takes it very seriously. I could go on and on with examples as to why 'just’ is a huge part of his personality, but if you watch the television programme, you can see it quite easily.
And sure, at first glance, he doesn’t match the “cuddly, golden, peace-loving” stereotype of Hufflepuff.
Well, for one, stereotypes are just that. Stereotypes. I direct you to take a look at Nymphadora Tonks, and her (and Remus’) son, Teddy Lupin.
For another - if you take a closer look at Carlton Lassiter’s personality, what he hides away, you can still see little inklings of some stereotypes.
He’s socially awkward, which is somehow a Hufflepuff trait. No, really. He has a major case of social awkwardness. Such as the time he attempted to go on a date, and assumed it was okay to take his lady friend to a restaurant that had crayons on the table and tell her stories about a dead clown. (Daredevils, Season 3 Episode 3). Or the episode where he had to go undercover at a speed dating event. (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He’s Dead, Season 1 Episode 11).
It doesn’t just extend to dating, trust me. He is very socially awkward and misses a lot of what is considered acceptable. (Such as the time a body fell from a few floors up and landed in the crowd seated in an auditorium. Spellingg Bee, Season 1 Episode 2.)
Okay, and cuddly? Yeah. It doesn’t seem at first glance that he is a cuddly person.
But he doesn’t hate hugs, or at least, isn’t totally adverse to them. (Such as the time he instigated a hug with Juliet, in A Very Juliet Episode, Season 4 Episode 12; or the time when she asked him if he wanted a hug, and at first he refused - but then he came back and hugged her of his own free will, without her asking again. 65 Million Years Off, Season 2 Episode 2.)
And he definitely has a soft heart, at least deep down. In Shawn Vs. The Red Phantom(Season 1 Episode 8), Lassiter actually helps Vick have her baby.
The expression on his face when he gets to hold this newborn baby says more than I can adequately put into words. But trust me, he has a softer heart than he likes to lead on.
In And Down The Stretch Comes Murder (Season 2 Episode 5), a softer side of him is shown in passing: that is, we are shown that he loves horses and has always wanted one. He sneaks one of the horses a carrot, and later on Shawn states, “Same way I know that as a child, Lassie wanted nothing more than a pony.”
(We all know that despite his shortcomings, Shawn’s predictions are rarely wrong. Also, Lassiter’s reaction proves that Shawn was more or less correct.)
So, the argument that Lassiter can’t be a Hufflepuff because he isn’t “soft and cuddly” is more or less unfounded, because while he doesn’t show those traits outright, he most certainly still has them.
I’m well aware that the core traits you value is also a factor in what house you get sorted in. And while Lassiter values bravery (an allegedly Gryffindor trait), he also highly values justice, hard work, and other similar traits that I mentioned earlier on.
I’m also disregarding the fact that you can ask the Sorting Hat to put you in a specific House, in favour of focusing more on Carlton Lassiter’s traits and values rather than the House he would want to be in.
I could go on and on with more and more examples, but I think I’ve stated my position quite well for now. I am welcome to discussion and comments from anyone who is interested in discussing the Houses of various Psych characters.
(Spoiler alert, I also am firmly of the belief that Juliet O'Hara and Buzz McNab are Hufflepuffs as well.)
So yeah! That’s about that!
