The Arrow Reviews: Bates Motel Episode #9

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

EPISODE 9: Underwater

CHECKING IN: Norma (Vera Farminga) loses her top and wants out of the town! Norman (Freddie Highmore) gets disturbingly weirder and scarier while Dylan (Max Therriot) takes his seduction of Bradley Martin (Nicole Peltz) to another level. Ahhhh White Pine Bay…never a boring moment… when can I move there?!

THE ROOM: Was I alone in finding a lot of levity in this latest episode of Bates Motel? Now that I look back at it, it was pretty much the Norma Show! Sure there was other stuff going on, but what stood out for me was how Norma (Vera Farminga) dealt with the varied obstacles that were tossed her way. Her back and forth with Sheriff Romero (played by a more deliciously dead pan than usual Nestor Carbonell), her conflicts with a group of stoners, her tete a tete with her dingbat real estate agent and her long overdue boiling point in terms of how messed up the town is and how it's time to get the F out.

A note on the latter, Norma, honey, you should’ve booked on day one after you got raped by the old owner of the Motel. But that’s just me! So all of them moments had me smiling and laughing, mostly due to how Vera Farminga would react to events and people. Her energetic and “in the moment" performance was mucho on the ball! I saw an actress having fun with a role in that particular episode, letting loose if you will, more so than in the previous ones. It was a treat to watch! You go girl! Get that Emmy!

That's not to say it was all dead puppy dogs and ice cream. The Abernathy (Jere Burns) aka creepo extraordinaire subplot went further and set us up for the final episode of this season (at least we now know what he wants), Norman's rapport with his hot to trot teacher (Miss Watson played by the sexy Keegan Connor Tracy) began to emanate some uneasy sexual undertones (I want to wear whatever cologne Norman pimps, the dude attracts hot babes of all ages left and right) and Norman's PSYCHO unconscious seeped out even further. He’s way too fond of that stuffed “poochie” and his dreams of drowning that chickadee (Bradley Martin) that rejected him are a sign of dire things to come. Norman is starting to scare me…

Speaking of Bradley, having Dylan (Max Therriot) getting chummy with her is so going to lead to horrible things (like Norman killing her IMO). I know it, you know it but why doesn't Dylan know it? Come on dude, macking on your brother’s school crush? Not cool! You're smarter than that! And was I alone in cringing when Norma got in bed with Norman? You felt the thick sexual tension in ooze out in that scene, how she held him, how she kissed his neck. Woman, that's your teenage son! What are you doing?! Yes, I cringed.

Finally, I got a good chuckle when Emma (Olivia Cooke) gobbled down that weed cupcake. I actually would have liked to see that bit go further but what I got was pretty funny none the less. One thing though;  the story that Norman wrote, the one that was going to be published. Was it about him? Or was it about his mom? Why did he pull out on having it published? I didn’t get it. Did I miss something? Maybe he doesn’t want to reveal himself that much to his Mother via his writing…thoughts?

With that stabbed, after the ludicrous amounts of high ugly notes this show has hit over the course of its season thus far, it was nice to see it ease down a tad on the dreadful shenanigans and have some fun with its sordid happenings and damaged characters! The potential for comedy this show has was on a full display here (with some great lines like: Why do crazy people keep gravitating towards me?) and I didn’t mind that energy one bit! One more episode to go! Bring it!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Ten bucks Abernathy won’t last the final episode. Norma is so gonna whack him!

I don’t care how professional Romero came off in this episode; I still believe he is the mastermind behind the sex trade outfit and that he’s covering his ass.

Do you think Emma and that stoner dude will hook up down the road? There was “something” between the two and it may be the beginning of a courtship.

This was the first time that Gil (Vincent Gale) gave me the creeps in an episode.

I can understand Norman being attracted to his teacher, but why o why is Ms. Watson giving him sexual vibes on her end? She should know better! This town is so f*cked up! I love it!

RATING ON 10

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