Review: Bates Motel ‘Unbreak-able’

Picking up where we left off last week with Norma (Vera Farmiga) recouping from witnessing the death of missing woman Annika Johnson. When Norman (Freddie Highmore) comes outside unexpectedly, he looms over Annika’s body in a near catatonic state, repeatedly asking Norma if he’d killed Annika. Norma spends a great deal of time convincing Norman …

Bates Motel: Mother’s Kiss

Season 2, Episode 10: The Immutable Truth (Season Finale) Bates Motel wrapped up its uneven second season Monday night with an above-average season finale that focused largely on the Norma/Norman Bates dynamic, delivering at least one brilliantly cringe-inducing moment. It was a significant improvement over the first season finale, which meandered and only really delivered significant …

Bates Motel: Dick in a Box

Season 2, Episode 9: The Box Bates Motel finally hit a season high last night, bringing Norman’s budding sexuality and barely repressed aggression into the foreground and giving us an eagerly anticipated look into what happened the night English teacher Blaire Watson was murdered. The hour was a fascinating deep-dive into the mythos of Norman …

Bates Motel: Enter the Taxidermy

Season 2, Episode 8: Meltdown I’ve had long-standing issues with the A&E series Bates Motel. The central characters Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) are fascinating, fully realized variations on the originals introduced to wide audiences in Alfred Hitchcock’s original 1960 Psycho. Sticking to the central locale of the Bates house and vacant …