Category Archives: Bates Motel

Bates Motel S1 E10

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“Midnight”

Season one of Bates Motel wrapped up with some major events that both put an end to some dangling threads and set up what will be happening in season two.

Norma goes to Sheriff Romero with the details about Abernathy’s threats at the end of the previous episode. Romero basically tells her that he would take care of it and that she should trust him. I don’t know why anyone would at this point because Romero is sus as hell.

Norma asked Dylan if he could get her a gun and teach her to use it. Dylan refused at first, but changed his mind and they had a nice mother-son moment while shooting cans and bottles.

Norma still planned on going to the meeting with Abernathy at midnight.

Meanwhile, Norman and Emma decide to go to a school dance together, but Norman’s obsession with Bradley tanked that.

Prior to Norman and Emma going to the dance, Norma told Norman about her brother. She said that when she was 13, her brother would make her have sex with him and she told Norman because she just needed someone to know. You could see how this news affected her barely sane son.

So at the dance, when Emma leaves Norman alone, Bradley’s boyfriend punched Norman and he started walking home in the rain. Miss Watson picks him up and takes him to her house to fix up his bloody eye.

Norma went to the docks to meet Abernathy despite Romero’s warning for her to trust him. She saw Romero arrive and hid. Romero confronted Abernathy and shoots him multiple times, shoving him into the water. Romero then told Norma, whom he knew was there, to go home. It was a laugh out loud moment when Norma popped up from her hiding spot after Romero said that. Romero told Norma that she needed to trust him when he says to trust him.

Romero is a bad ass in these episodes. He is also a huge riddle. Is he corrupt? Is he just like a vigilante, taking care of things on his own? He says that this was his town, to what extent does he mean that? Nestor Carbonell brought the intensity of this character to the screen and would become a series regular in season two.

We then see Miss Watson dead on the floor of her home with her throat slit. We know Norman was there and we know that “Mother,” the delusion that Norman sees, told him that he knew what he had to do. Did Norman off his teacher? We did hear Miss Watson on the phone earlier with what sounded like an old boyfriend so it may not be cut and dried that Norman killed her.

After a couple of lesser episodes, the season finale of season one of Bates Motel really rocked and set up everything for the series moving forward.

Bates Motel S1 E9

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“Underwater”

Poor Norma.

She has had a rough time. Finding the cadaver in her bed only started her stress. She was clearly afraid that this was the start of something worse, and she was very apparently correct.

The scene with Norma in the car with Jake in her backseat telling her to bring him the money that Shelby owed him was tense. Poor Norma had no idea what he was talking about, but she was stuck.

And she needs help but there is not much that Sheriff Romero could do and his comments to Norma with the flowers was completely understandable, even though she was 100% right.

Norman is still slowly descending into his craziness and I know it is heading toward his teacher getting the death treatment. Norman is showing the cracks in his life, especially when he trots into the house with his stuffed dead dog.

This is the penultimate episode of season one and it is again kind of a feeling of set up than a full story. It is a solid episode but it is not the same as the first half of this season.

Bates Motel S1 E8

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“A Boy and his Dog”

Compared to the rest of the episodes so far in season one, this episode felt like a transitional one. There are some good scenes, in particular between Norma and Jake Abernathy (Jere Burns), but much of the episode felt as if it were setting other things up.

Such as:

  • Therapy for Norman
  • Dylan taking a step in the criminal organization
  • Dylan and Remo’s work relationship
  • Building Norman’s taxidermy hobby.
  • Building Norman and Emma’s relationship.
  • Another side to Sheriff Romero as he put Norma in her place.
  • Abernathy’s mysterious business.
  • A possible connection with Norma and Dylan

Of course, everything was leading up to that horrifying end sequence with the corpse in Norma’s bed. It seemed obvious that it was Zach Shelby in the bed, because of the scar on the face and the badge on his chest. It also seems fairly apparent who put it there. How did it happen was another question.

Overall, this was the weakest episode of the first season so far, but there was a lot of solid character work that will pay off down the line.

Bates Motel S1 E6, E7

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“The Truth”

“The Man in Number 9”

The Deputy Zack Shelby storyline came to a dramatic conclusion in episode six as Shelby wound up in a gunfight with Dylan after he discovered the Asian girl in one of the motel rooms.

The whole situation came to a head with Shelby as he showed off his violent side, including smacking Norma a couple of times. This set off Norman.

The gunfire was tense as Dylan and Zack fired at each other. Zack ended up dead outside on the front steps of the house.

It also led to one of the big reveals of the early season. As we see Norman go into a blackout with Shelby, we learn from Norma that Norman had blacked out once before, and ended up killing his father Sam. Norma made it look like an accident and Norman believed that story.

Strangely, Sheriff Romero, who responded to Norma’s 9-1-1 call, upon finding the dead body of his deputy on the steps, listened to the story and then told the Bates clan what the actual story was going to be. That was odd considering how gung-ho Romero was to arrest Norma at first.

The show does not let us hear what Norma tells Romero. She said that he knows it all now about Shelby. How much that actually was would be interesting to know. Did she tell Romero about the rape? Or how she murdered Keith? I’m not sure we ever found out.

Another new story started in episode seven with the mysterious salesman who showed up claiming to have a standing reservation of room 9. He was definitely creepy and a riddle. Then he booked all the rooms for the first week of every two months. What is going on here?

Norman’s sex life took a turn as he talked with Bradley and she let him down as easily as she could, but we could see Norman turning into Norma as he walked away. Her kind hug brought him back, but it was spooky.

The arrival of a stray dog Norman named Juno brought another tragedy to Norman as a car accidentally ran over the dog. This is leading to the knowledge for Norman of taxidermy as he wanted to take the dog’s corpse to Emma’s father.

Norman feels very much on the edge. I’m not sure how he made it through five seasons. Bates Motel has been just an excellent show so far.

Bates Motel S1 E4, E5

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“Trust Me…”

“Ocean View”

Things are heating up among everyone in Bates Mote.

So much happened in these two episodes it was truly epic.

  • Norma is arrested for the murder of Keith Summers
  • Keith’s hand was found with carpet fibers from the motel.
  • Norman confided in Dylan.
  • Norman had sex with Bradley.
  • Emma and Norman found the missing Asian girl on Summers’ boat.
  • They took the girl back to the motel where Norma found them.
  • The girl told Norma that Zack was behind her kidnapping, keeping her for sex.
  • Dylan’s partner lent him $5000 to get a place for Dylan and ‘his bro.’
  • Dylan’s partner was shot in the neck.
  • Dylan ran down the shooter with his truck.
  • Zack steals the carpet fiber and the case against Norma is dropped.
  • Norman told Emma about his night with Bradley. She claimed it was just a hook up.

So much going down in these two episodes that it is just packed full. Norma’s manipulations are coming back on her, but Zack is certainly being shown as someone who is not just a good guy trying to help someone he loved. He is a control freak and he is out for Norma. The whole fishing scene with Norman was really tense and uneasy.

Norman’s own mental illness took a back seat in these episodes as his relationship with Dylan appeared to be getting stronger as his relationship with Norma took a hit. She was mad at Norman for being out ‘getting laid’ on the night she was arrested, but that was just another way to attempt to control him.

Bates Motel continues to be excellent, creating a ton of intriguing stories wrapped around these characters. Dylan is one of the most engaging characters included in the show.

Bates Motel S1 E3

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“What’s Wrong with Norman?”

The third episode of Bates Motel shows that there is something off about young Norman Bates. He blacked out during school, he took a belt from the rapist Norma killed and kept it as a memento, and seemed to not remember when he attacked Dylan from episode two.

The mental illness showed its ugly head early in this series. We all know where Norman Bates ends up, and it makes sense that he would have these issues as a young man. But you wouldn’t have guessed that he would be as likable as Freddie Highmore made him.

Norma is in full manipulation mode, but she has apparently gotten herself involved with Deputy Zack Shelby, who discovered the belt under Norman’s bed and took it before Sheriff Romero saw it. However, Norman, who had a delusion that Norma told him to take care of the belt, sneaking into Shelby’s house to search for the belt, discovered something shocking. A girl chained up in Shelby’s basement.

We get a touch of a relationship between Norman and Dylan. The step-brothers had a minor scene that told a lot. It hinted to Dylan that maybe something was not right with Norman.

Emma got a glimpse at Norman’s darker side when he rebuked her decision to go to the police with the journal with the artist renditions of the Chinese woman in it. Norman was fairly scary when he snipped at Emma that he did not want the police involved.

Bates Motel has been great in these first few episodes as we watch the creation of an iconic movie villain.

Bates Motel S1 E2

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“Nice Town You Picked, Norma”

Man, Freddie Highmore can give some death stares unlike anyone else. His eyes are amazingly creepy and, at times, simply frightening. You can see the insanity inside them, making him a great Norman Bates.

Norma’s first son and Norman’s half-brother Dylan arrived at the beginning of episode, creating tension within the Bates family. He had so much anger directed toward Norma, who he did not call Mom, but by her actual name, and the tension between him and Norman was obvious. Dylan’s anger toward Norma boiled over as Norman tried to defend his mother’s honor.

Vera Farmiga played Norma with such a depth that elevated this character into one of the most compelling character on the show. She is so mysterious and enigmatic. You are never quite sure what she is thinking behind each stare. When she was questioning Emma about her disease, I could not tell if she was interested because she was being empathic or if she was saying it to let Norman hear about the things about her cystic fibrosis because she was jealous of any other girl who might have a connection to Norman.

Romero continued to be suspicious of Norma after they found the truck of Keith Summers and a witness had said that Keith was seen arguing with Norma and Norman at the Hotel. Norma is cool as can be during the interactions, hiding the real anxiety beneath the surface. Keith was the man who raped Norma and whom she killed and dumped in the lake. Some of the word play between Norma and Romero was well written and jumped off the screen.

The town that they have moved to is shown to be a darker place than Norma had expected, with a deep criminal underground involved.

After episode number two, the storytelling is excellent. They bring up storylines that continue to service these characters while focusing on the unhealthy relationship between mother and son. A relationship that we know will end up in tragedy.

Bates Motel S1 E1

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“First You Dream, Then You Die”

Whoa. I had forgotten how much I loved this series.

I needed a new series to rewatch and I came across Bates Motel on Amazon Prime. I used to love this show when it was on A & E, but rewatching this first episode reminded me how amazing this show was.

Norma Bates and her son Norman leave Arizona to get a new start six months after her husband died. They wind up at an iconic house and motel from the movie, Psycho.

The idea of having a show that took place as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho was a great idea and the execution was even better.

Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga are absolutely brilliant as son and mother in this remarkable series. They both totally embody these characters and you just ache for them, especially knowing their ultimate fates.

The first episode pulled no punches either as there is a brutal scene where Norma is raped by the motel’s disgruntled former owner and an equally brutal scene where Norma stabbed said rapist to death with a butcher’s knife.

You can’t help but root for these people as Highmore and Farmiga are absolutely exceptional. You can see the mental illness that takes root inside Norman. Just a glance in his eyes tells so much about his lack of stability.

I loved the inclusion of Richard of LOST, Nestor Carbonell as Sheriff Alex Romero. He is an excellent actor and he brings Alex alive. He creates a totally different character than Richard of LOST and that is a tough thing to do. Admittedly, he does not appear to be that quick in the opener as he takes a pee beside the shower where the dead body of the rapist was hidden. That’s okay. Just prevents Norma from having to kill a couple of more.

This was a fantastic show and I am really looking forward to rewatching the entire run over the next few months.