TV Review: Bates Motel S3, Episode #6 (Norma Louise)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

EPISODE 5: Norma Louise

CHECKING IN: Norma (Vera Farminga) loses her shit which in turn has Norman (Freddie Highmore) lose his marbles even further. On his end Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) shows us what happens when you mess with his badge and his life!

THE ROOM: Last night's BATES MOTEL was probably the best episode of Season 3 so far, which is saying a lot being that Season 3 has been kicking some serious ass! The ante was upped here at every single turn and the result was one hell of a diverting 50 minutes of television with the most gripping being the Caleb and Norma subplot hitting a new echelon. I think in 3 seasons this was the first time I was this moved during a Bates Motel episode, but when Caleb and Norma finally came face to face, with the former dropping on his knees yelping out a a pain stricken "I'm sorry"; I felt it big time! Huge kudos to Vera Farmiga and Kenny Johnson for their superior work together in this episode. Wow. Now THAT'S acting.

Norman is sleeping…

Speaking of Vera Farmiga; this was yet another chapter in which she got to shine (just mail her that Emmy right now, there is no competition). Seeing the character of Norma come undone was a fascinating train wreck to gawk at. Farminga was funny (all about her shooting that phone…lol), sexy, nuts and heartbreakingly tragic. The lass managed to play all of those varied emotions in a credible fashion, switching from one to another LIKE THAT without ever missing a beat. I was taken out of the episode at a certain point by just how INCREDIBLE of an actress Farminga is. Kind of nuts to be THAT good! NOTE: Anybody else notice that Norma fleeing, trading in her ride and renting a Motel room echoed what happened to Marion (Janet Leigh) in Alfred Hitchock’s PSYCHO (1960)? Slick little nod there; all that was missing was a voice-over and Bernard Herrmann's tum-tum score 😉

And that wasn't the only time that the ghost of PSYCHO was brought up last night. We finally got to see Norman's first major "Mother" outbreak and yeah, that was some odd, semi-comical and unsettling stuff right there! I kept going back and forth as to how I felt about it – but either way it was entertaining and it just jacked the stakes of the show. Norman reached a new level of fruitcake and there are now way more people that know about his dangerous "state of being" (beard abusing shrink played by Joshua Leonard included). Head are gonna roll…

Norma falls apart on Joshua Leonard's beard…

The Romero (Nestor Carbonell) getting shot and taking care of his competition/aggressor Marcus (Adetomiwa Edun) old school was another crowd pleaser. I had three different reactions to how that plot line ended all at the same time: "What the f*ck?!", "F*ck yeah!" and "Now we know how far Romero is willing to go". What a fantastic moment for the character and for us the audience. I have a feeling that Romero's little one man army gag will get him closer to Norma. Don't ask my how, I just know it!

Lastly Olivia Cooke (Emma) and Max Thieriot's Dylan had their fair share of powerful moments too. I kept feeling that Cooke was in danger, which added suspense to the proceedings and Thieriot shined once again, as he showed more of his vulnerable side (something we've been seeing a lot of this Season, compared to prior Seasons). All of his scenes with Caleb for example were incredibly stirring! On the whole, this Bates Motel episode was simply killer from top to bottom. I'm curious to see if Season 3 will be able to top this one! See ya next week!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: When Norma and Caleb were hugging and sobbing; you see Norman's jealous facial expression? He didn't like that shite…

So is Caleb gonna last the season? Norman's obvious disdain isn't good news and that mysterious driver job Caleb accepted doesn't sound too safe either.

Are we back to the possibility of Dylan and Emma hooking up? Felt like it. What think you?

RATING ON 10

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