Contains spoilers for “Boston Blue” Season 1, Episode 4 — “Rites of Passage”
One would think a rough-and-tumble customer like Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson) would be adept at bouncing a ball or balancing on the tips of her toes. But as she happily admits, she’s not a chip off the old block of the Silver Family Tree. At patriarch Ben’s yahrzeit — a Jewish ceremony marking the anniversary of a parent or family member’s passing — Sarah says that she was no athlete when she was younger. But “Psych” fans will be especially amused, because Lawson’s character in that show, Juliet O’Hara, was quite the jock.
In “Rites of Passage,” Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green) explains to everyone that Sarah was so bad at playing soccer that she used to pass cash out to her teammates to fake injuries so she could get in to play. Otherwise, she’d pout on the sidelines while trying to get more time on the field. Ben, who coached, was incredibly patient — but wasn’t afraid to let his daughter sit out during games. Sarah didn’t know back then that she was an awful athlete, but as for Juliet, she rarely, if ever, missed when it came to doing physical things.
Juliet O’Hara was much tougher than Sarah
Juliet O’Hara was a tough cookie who could pull off some impressive athletic feats. Like Sarah, she’s competitive and likes to be in charge in spite of her sunny nature — for example, in one of the funniest “Psych”‘ moments, when Shawn Spencer (James Roday Rodriguez) and Burton “Gus” Guster (Dule Hill) practice dancing for their appearance on “American Duos,” Juliet acts as their choreographer. She promptly turns into a drill sergeant, chastising them for failing to take the task seriously while showing she’s physically committed.
There’s also an entire episode where she works undercover on a roller derby team and becomes very deeply involved with the sport, and she loves football as well. Juliet also shows proficiency with a bow and arrow, and demonstrates an ability to run fast and take out a perp at full speed during the course of the show.
While it’s obvious that Sarah has a ton of experience as a police officer and can clearly shoot and run like Juliet, it’s definitely amusing that she’s not quite as proficient as Juliet when it comes to other physical activities. And it clearly proves Maggie Lawson’s range, any way you slice it. No wonder she looks so familiar to “Boston Blue” fans.