Bates Motel tops itself in the sixth episode of season three, Norma Louise, to become its best episode to date. It does this not only by featuring more of Norman’s (Freddy Highmore) descent into madness, for which I’ve been yearning since episode three, but also by offering an evenly balanced progression of the other subplots. There are dramatic events and revelations throughout an hour which speeds along as you watch it.
The episode is constructed a little uniquely for the series by time stamping many of its scenes. For example, it begins at 6:24 PM with Norman in a destructive rage following his mother’s (Vera Farmiga) sudden departure after learning that Caleb (Kenny Johnson), the brother who raped her/Dylan’s (Max Thieriot) father, has been living in a van on Dylan’s farm. “She’s never coming back; she hates me,” Norman screams, calmed only by Dylan literally knocking him out.
Inundated with texts and voicemails from Dylan, the completely distraught Norma pulls over her speeding car, tosses her iPhone onto the ground and shoots it. (Norma with a gun? Watch out!) At the same time, Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) is shot by one of Bob Paris’s (Kevin Rahm) thugs as he’s coming out of the grocery story. All this drama and action occurs before the opening credits roll, indicating early that it’s going to be quite an episode.
By 8:45 PM, Norma arrives in Portland where she goes on a shopping spree, trades her car, checks into a motel and experiences a flashback of her and Caleb as children hiding under the house as their father goes on a rampage. Back home, Norman is “losing it,” as Dylan says. “I don’t know what to do with him.” Norman insists that his mother is never coming back, tells Dylan that he doesn’t know her like he does, and says he feels strange, “like I’m outside my body.”
Emma (Olivia Cooke) arrives to help out. When Dylan asks her if she’s going to be OK with her breathing, she tells him, “I can breathe here the same as I breathe anywhere.” Meanwhile, Romero wakes up in the hospital and demands that the nurse give him his phone so he can call Norma to warn her she might be in danger. Sure enough, as she drives around Portland, one of Paris’s thugs follows behind.
At midnight, Dylan tells Caleb that Norma won’t talk to him and he’s going to have to leave. He says he’s sorry and seems sincere about it. As Caleb cries on the left side of the screen facing right, the image fades to Norma on the right side facing left. She’s at a bar where a handsome stranger tells her she looks like she’s about to cry. He eventually asks her to go out to his truck with him to “have a smoke.”
When he attempts to force her to smoke something else, she spits in his face and storms away. “You’re a frickin’ mess lady,” he shouts after her. Yep, mister, that’s Norma Bates for you; she could have been your worst one-night stand ever! Back home, Norman is now out of bed and doing some taxidermy in the basement. As he cuts into a bird, it comes to life and his dead dog barks in the background.
A little over two hours later, at 2:12 AM, Norman sits at the kitchen table looking more evil than ever. After Dylan and Emma walk him up the stairs back to bed, Emma has a coughing fit and instructs Dylan to pound on her chest to release the phlegm from her lungs. As he straddles her in the bathroom, I was thinking if Norman walked in and saw that, it would probably be the last straw for him. The romantic tension that’s always been between the two is demonstrated once again.
In Portland, Norma calls Professor Finnigan (Joshua Leonard) and asks to come over. Arriving as an admittedly drunk mess, Norma finally gets a lot off her chest. “There’s so much I’m dealing with every day. My son isn’t normal. There’s something wrong with him. I’ve killed myself taking care of him… keeping it a secret.” She also confesses the true details of her husband’s death. As things may or may not become intimate between them, Norman is…
I can’t tell you! You have to see it to believe it and I’d never spoil such a delicious moment. Neither will I spoil any of the events that occur in the final act of the episode. Let’s just say I’m particularly eager to see what happens next with Sheriff Romero as his arc continues to violently escalate. Ultimately we’re left with an image of the Bates family, each of them at an emotional peak, silent, but the looks on their faces telling us more than any words ever could.
This is the episode of Bates Motel that has everything: exceptional acting by the cast, well-distributed advancement of the stories, shocking developments and revealed secrets… It’s the one episode I’d recommend to those who have never watched the series. And for fans of the show, it’s a rewarding thrill to watch. In whichever camp you live, check this one out. Even if I’m overly excited about it, I’m certain you’ll at least be entertained.
