Age of The Nerd
‘Unconscious’, this year’s finale of Bates Motel, laid a lot of the ground work to the man that Freddie Highmore’s Norman Bates was becoming. Well, almost. Some things were momentous! And some things were only just subpar.
But what of which?
Let’s find out now.
Bradley Martin was still insisting on plans to move along out of White Pine Bay, but not before venting some (probably) misplaced anger at her parents by trashing their home and stealing some of their valuable possessions in order to make money while on the road. At the Bates Motel, Bradley told Norman that the total value of everything she took should combine a total of around $40,000. Another homage to the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho when Marion Crane stole $40,000 from her boss.
It was mentioned in last week’s recap that Caleb left something for Dylan. Rather baffling, it was revealed to be a guitar. Dylan got understandably frustrated when he learned of his father’s absence and left him a voicemail message telling him what he thought of him.
If you remember, the drug kingpin gave Emma’s father enough money to finally get his daughter the lung transplant she needed. One would expect any patient of such an illness to be over the moon at the news, but not Emma. She poured her heart out to Dylan, stating how scared she was. Anybody would be, I suppose! After a sweet pep talk, Emma and Dylan locked lips. Something that had been on the cards for a while. The official Facebook page for the show did promise that this episode was going to feature two main characters becoming intertwined but it was thought here that it was going to be Norma and Romero! So colour us a little shocked. Anyway, it looks like Emma could be facing a happy future, after all. She deserves it!
Finally, Norma decided to try and get some mental help for her son, Norman. But after being told of the humongous expenses involved, taking on his needs by herself became quite appealing once again.
The cops, not including Romero, were finally going to come down on Bob Paris and his illegal activities but Romero had other ideas. After calling and warning him to pack up and leave, Paris got a shock on the docks when he bumped into Romero as he was about to board his boat. Some back and forth chatter commenced, followed by Romero pulling out a gun and ending his time in the town. The whole subplot between Romero and Paris was quite engaging throughout the season but it all really lead to…well, almost nothing. Every season finale up until now always involved Romero killing a major character to protect Norma, and this finale was no different. It is probably time to shake things up next year because it is becoming a cliche at this point.
Back at the house, Norma was in for a shock when Norman told her that he was leaving for good, suitcase in hand. But his mother was not going to have any of it, and after grabbing an ornament, she hit Norman over the head and out for the ten count. Tying his hands and feet together, his body was dragged to the cellar. Of course, Norma also locked the door behind her. Not knowing what to do next, she called Dylan for help and he came home to try and end another screwy night. Sparking further panic, Norman’s body was discovered missing and they noticed that he must have made a dash through the secondary entrance.
Reuniting with Bradley, Norman and her took to the highway, but “Mother” wasn’t going to let them leave without having the last say! Norman, in “Mother” persona, forced Bradley’s car off the road and dragged her out, proceeding to smash her head repeatedly against a rock on the ground. Nice(!) The movie’s swamp was exchanged for a lake and Norman, now out of “Mother” mode, resolved to get rid of the evidence by pushing the car into it and watched it sink slowly into the murky depths to the tune of ‘Be My Baby’ playing overhead. In case you are wondering where this lake came from, it was most likely the same one the infamous mother and son couple rid themselves of Keith Summers’ body in the pilot episode in season one.
And so ended season three.
So, how did it all stack up? Well, it was a lot better than season two, that is for sure. It became evident quickly that season two was going to primarily focus on the drug subplot, and it seemed like the dynamic of Norma and Norman’s relationship was pushed into the background, somewhat. There is no doubt that season three rectified this. There was a much more fine balance between exploring the infamous couple and whatever else was going on in the weird town of White Pine Bay. In fact, it can be said that this season laid the most focus on our two protagonists than any other season so far! Unfortunately we did not get to see Norman look through a tiny peephole at some poor unsuspecting female as one specific promo heavily suggested. But that is another key element of Norman that can be added to Highmore’s portrayal, should season four be greenlit. Freddie Highmore was greater than he has ever been before, although Vera Farmiga once again stole the show acting out the whole unpredictable makeup and psyche of Norma Bates. It is most likely she will steal season four, too! Highmore is not a bad an actor. It is just that Farmiga has a whole lot more to do which uses more acting range.
Oh, and as for the whole “maybe Norman was imagining Bradley” possibility. We did get to see her actions when she was alone, so it is highly doubtful. This is not a show that is trying to play games with its audience and making people wonder if things are real. Bates Motel is pretty straight forward as a show, as it should be. And anybody who has seen the Psycho movies knows how straight forward this prequel is. This just needed to be said, as there are numerous comments from people that still describe their confusion. So, please go and watch all of the movies, even the remake if need be, to set the record straight for yourselves.
You all have plenty of time during the next ten months until if, and when season four hits our screens!
