Alice Rush reviews the ninth episode of Bates Motel season 2…
As I’ve stated before, even though the real dramatic scenes in Bates Motel are often between Norma and Norman, this season has been peppered with generic and almost repetitive mother/son arguments to the point of saturation. However this week sees the two separated by dangerous circumstances and it’s a welcome relief, as well as a chance for the series to showcase what it does best; tension, horror and violence.
Norma returns home to find Norman’s bed empty and soon gets a call from Nick Ford who states that he has Norman and will release him, but only if Dylan kills Zane. It’s great to see the impact of Norma’s decision very early on in the season to accept Nick’s help, and this decision certainly tortures her throughout this episode. Whilst Norma sees no other option, Dylan is reluctant to kill Zane at first and fails when he tries to do so due to the amount of guarding Zane has around him. Norma on the other side of town is almost sick with worry and tries to fob off Romero who wants Norman to take a lie test to find out what happened with Miss Watson. Vera Farmiga once again produces a fantastic performance as the manic mother, and in a scene where she leaves Norman a voicemail stating she will always love him her vulnerability shines through behind her false bravado and it’s extremely touching.
She’s not the only once who’s upset it seems, as this week also sees Emma hand in her notice at the motel, apparently sick of everyone leaving her out of the loop. I’m not sure if this little development will just fade away, however, as later when Norma has an argument with George and he storms out, Emma is there to comfort her. Part of me hopes she gets away from them as she’s far too genuine and lovely for the Bates’, but also when viewing the psychological state that Norman is in by the end of the episode it might also be safer for her to be as far away from him as possible.
Spending most of the episode locked in a coffin-like steel box in the middle of a woods, Norman has a bit of a rough time this week. It was great to see a wider acting range from Freddy Highmore as he screams and cries and tries to kick his way to freedom but to no avail. One night in the box seems like hell, but he could be in there for a little longer as Dylan kills Nick Ford when he goes to see him before he can find out where Norman is hidden. The impact this will have on Norman’s mental state will no doubt be catastrophic, as not only is it a physically torturous experience but during his time in there he remembers what happened with Miss Watson. What we all thought anyway came true, and in a hazy flashback scene interspersed with sound bites from Norma creepily stating “I am always with you”, we see Norman have sex with and then kill Miss Watson. It’s as horrifying for Norman as it is for us, as whilst we know he becomes a serial murderer at this point he is still a boy who is not in control of his actions.
It was definitely a worthy penultimate episode with lots of tense moments especially between Zane and Dylan, as well as being violent with Nick Ford’s rather gruesome death. A&E promises that next week’s finale is “the beginning of the end”, so hopefully there will be some real action within the drug business as well as Norman coming clean about Miss Watson. However, with a third season on the horizon I am wondering just how much of this season’s storyline they’re going to drag out.
Alice Rush
Originally published May 1, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
