In this week’s episode of Bates Motel, Norman insists he’s innocent, but Norma has her doubts. Dylan tries to keep his eye on Zane who’s acting especially cagey. Norman finds out his mother is hiding something from him. And new evidence comes to light regarding Miss Watson’s murder.
Councilwoman Bates
While Norman’s enjoying a chauffeured ride to the police station, Norma’s getting the keys to her new office at city hall. She’s also meeting another politico, Max Borowitz (John Cassini). Max doesn’t waste any time questioning how Norma managed to slide so easily into Lee Berman’s council seat. She tells him she met with the mayor, and he dismisses this response as some sort of joke. Norma manages to be so obtuse when it comes to the nuances of some social interaction. Being so blunt herself, it just might not occur to her that people sometimes don’t always come right out and say what they mean.
Max is just about to talk shop when they are interrupted by Sheriff Romero. He breaks the news to Norma about what went down at Cody Brennan’s house. Cody’s dad did not miraculously survive that tumble down the stairs, so Norman’s in some hot water.
Even though Norman is claiming self defense, Romero tells Norma that they have to look into it. Norma asks if Romero believes him and all he’ll tell her is that he’s following procedure. She’s chomping at the bit to see her baby boy, but Romero tells her she’ll have to sit tight and be patient.
The More Things Change
Dylan’s back to work, and Remo senses something’s not right. Dylan says it’s mommy issues, no big deal. Remo tells Dylan if he gets tired of sleeping at work or with the boss, he’s welcome to crash at his place. It didn’t take long for that cat to get out of the bag. Remo’s no dummy. He puts the facts together: Jodi picks Dylan up from the hospital, Dylan goes AWOL for a couple of days, his 23 years of working with the family and his familiarity with Jody leads him to the correct conclusion. Remo tries to get some details, but Dylan’s not divulging anything.
Zane shows up with a bit of an attitude and two shady looking guys. Dylan, following Jodi’s orders, asks who the men are. All Zane will say is that they’re “buddies,” and they’re doing a job for him. Dylan tries to find out more, but Zane makes it clear it isn’t his concern. Remo says Zane’s going rogue and is up to no good. When is that guy ever up to anything good?
Accidentally on Purpose
In this town, word spreads fast, and Emma comes running to lend her support to Norma as soon as she finds out. She offers to stay, but Norma sends her back to keep an eye on the motel.
All possible evidence has been collected from Norman by a very overzealous deputy. Quite a contrast to the late Deputy Shelby.
Finally, Norma gets to see Norman. He tells his mother how he went to yell out Cody for blabbing about his blackouts. He recalls how her father came out and things got physical, and that’s when he pushed the guy and he fell down the steps.
Norma tells Norman that he can’t tell the police he was arguing with Cody or he runs the risk of letting them know he has blackouts. Norman doesn’t understand why Norma’s so worried. She tries to make him understand how certain facts could muddy the waters, but he’s convinced there’s no murky area here. In his mind, he’s as innocent as a newborn baby.
Romero comes to get Norman for more questioning. Norma thinks she should be with him since he’s still a minor, but Romero assures her that Norman isn’t under arrest. He does give Norman the option of having Norma in the room, but he doesn’t want her there.
Norman’s very emotional. He seems to be more worried about Cody than himself. He asks Romero what will happen to her now. According to the sheriff, she’ll be moving in with an aunt who lives out of state.
Romero tells Norman how Cody’s dad grew up in White Pine Bay and how he’d known the man most of his life. He admits the guy had serious anger management issues. Romero is treating Norman with kid gloves, but Norman still sees things for what they are: Cody’s dad would be alive if it weren’t for him. This sensitive, teary-eyed, shaky, sensitive Norman is the one that Norma fights so vehemently to protect. It appears as if Romero is starting to have those same urges, even offering the boy cocoa.
Friendly Persuasion
Dylan’s lurking around trying to figure out what Zane is up to. Zane confronts him, and says he knows that Jodi told Dylan to watch his back. If he knows more, he’s not letting on, but he proves that he’s not as clueless as he appears. He knows Dylan is sleeping with his sister, and warns him to manage his expectations. It’s not Jodi’s first time slumming it.
Norma confronts Cody in the ladies room at the station. She begs the girl not to tell the police about Norman’s blackouts. Norma says if they find out, they might think there’s something wrong with him. When Cody questions Norma if there is something wrong with her son, she says it isn’t relevant to his current predicament. Cody sees otherwise. She can tell Norma thinks what happened to her dad and his blackouts are connected. Cody demands Norma tell her why she doesn’t want her to say anything, and she promises she won’t. Norma points out that when Cody saw him during one of his spells, he didn’t try to hurt her or act out in any way. He just simply wasn’t himself.
This little crisis brings Norma and George closer. Romero brings Norman out into the hallway and he spots them hugging. Norman’s first words to her are an explanation of why George is there. She tells him George is an attorney, and he can help. Not really, since he no longer practices criminal law. Norman gets indignant at the suggestion that there might even be the need for any such help.
They are interrupted by a brief appearance by Cody. Norman asks her if she’s alright, but she simply looks at them both before disappearing into another room.
Romero tells Norma she and Norman can go home. They are done with him for now.
Once at home, Norman interrogates Norma about George. He wants to know if George thinks he’s a murderer. Norma tells him that George knows Norman could never do anything like that. Norman pushes the issue, asking how George could know that, and Norma says because she told him so. Norman points out that George doesn’t even know him but took the fact that he wasn’t a killer at face value while his own mother has her doubts.
Cody comes by the motel to see Norman. He apologizes, but she tells him that her dad was always going to be pissed off, drunk and bitter. She says this whole mess is her father’s fault because he chose to be the way he was. Cody wants to be sure that Norman doesn’t blame himself. Cody also came to say goodbye. Norman wants to stay in contact, but Cody wants a clean break. She does give him a hell of a kiss to show there aren’t any hard feelings. She also tells him how Norma pleaded with her not to tell the police about his blackouts, that something happens to him during that makes him change. Cody tells him he has to force Norma to tell him because who he becomes scares the crap out of his mother.
Some Secrets Stay Buried
Romero tells Norma that Cody’s dad’s death has officially been ruled an accident, so Norman is off the hook. She runs into the house and breaks the good news to Norman. She’s ecstatic and relieved, but Norman’s more interested in confronting her about what is wrong with him. Norma tries to wiggle her way out of the situation by saying that Cody’s unstable, but Norman is not to be dissuaded that easily.
You can see Norma’s resolve breaking down. She clutches the staircase as if holding on for dear life. She tells her son how much she loves him. She also admits that what she told Cody was true. But she refuses to talk about it any further. Norma says he’ll have to trust her, and that she’s protecting him. She also makes it clear that he is never to ask her about this again. I guess when all else fails, “Because I said so” is always a good standby.
Sending a Message
Zane lets Dylan in on his big plan, which turns out to be raiding Nick Ford’s warehouse. Zane really hasn’t figured out this whole eye for an eye thing isn’t working out in his favor. Dylan tries to reason with him. He tries to get Zane to see the big picture and what the repercussions could be. All Zane wants to know is whether Dylan is with him or not. Dylan goes with the latter. Zane says he’s not going to kill him and clocks him.
Through a semi-conscious haze, Dylan can see that things are going as horribly wrong as he predicted right up until the minute he passes out.
Hot for Teacher
Norma may want to bury her head in the sand, but thanks to Deputy Do-Gooder, that’s going to be even more difficult. It turns out Norman’s DNA matches the mystery semen taken from Miss Watson.
As the finale to Bates Motel draws closer, it looks like we might finally get some answers about what happened the night Miss Watson died. Or we could get waylaid by a ton of other revelations. Either way, I can’t wait.
Bates Motel airs Mondays at 10pm on A&E.
(Image courtesy of A&E)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
