After the events from the previous episode, Deputy Shelby is killed by Dylan from self-defense. Norma calls 911, prompting Sheriff Romero to head over to the Bates Motel. Norma finally unveils the truth, about everything that has happened since Keith Summer's death. Sheriff Romero tells them that he was suspicious of Deputy Shelby and it is water under the bridge. He tells them that Dylan's arm wound is a result of him getting in Sheriff Romero's way. Norman & Norma are jubilant, but Dylan is annoyed that he doesn't get any credit for killing Shelby. Even after all the events, Dylan is still planning to get his own place, making Norma very frustrated. A mysterious guest by the name of Jake Abernathy pulls into the hotel, perplexed that it's no longer the Seafairer hotel. He claims to be a regular and asks for the same cabin that he was always in, cabin #9. Norma gives it to him, but Dylan & Norma are uneasy with him. If that isn't enough, Norma is denied promotion because of a tainted reputation. Meanwhile, Bradley is disengaged with Norman, causing Norman's emotionally unstable attitude to get progressively worse.
This is somewhat of a transitional episode after an explosive end to the previous episode. That doesn't mean I didn't like it. As a matter of fact, this is a very good episode. In all honesty, there hasn't been an episode that I have disliked so far. When this show started, I watched up to the first seven episodes and got preoccupied with other things. I have yet to see episodes 8,9, and 10. The good thing about this episode is the slow build to Norman's craziness. He has slowly been showing different signs here and there of being mentally ill. Here, he does a couple of classic things Norman would do in the psycho movies. I'm anxious to see how Norman continues to evolve. The descent into madness is a bit more elaborated for Norman. I thought they did a good job with it. His storyline with Bradley Martin continues to get more intriguing as well. There are so many things they could do with this. Is Bradley reluctant to be with Norman because of all the incidents that transpired at the motel? Does Bradley secretly fear Norman's instability? Or, maybe she is secretly a promiscuous person. She seemingly has her eyes on Dylan, with those glances she took. Will she be taken off the show, killed by Norman? Any way you slice it, it doesn't put Bradley's character in a very positive light. Emma's crush on Norman evolves a bit as well. Emma is featured very little in this episode, but she does have one key scene that impacts something. We get to see Norma and Emma bond in a key scene. It is riveting and disturbing to watch at the same time. Hints of incest between Norma & Norman have always been there, but wait until you see how Norma reacts when she hears about Bradley' intercourse with Norman. It is pretty outlandish to say the least. Sadly, i'm not a big fan of the "Man in cabin number 9" storyline. Jere Burns (Jake Abernathy) certainly plays the part very well, I just wasn't all that interested in it. I get that it's television and you need to keep things happening all the time in a show like this, but I find it hard to believe that so much could happen in a small town like this. The twists are getting to be a bit much. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the show very much, I just didn't care for that whole storyline. Also, the dog Norman finds isn't properly explained. How is it after all this time, Norman is only NOW, finding out, about the dog? Surely, he would have seen it before. I did like it, because it will probably lead to Norman's fascination with taxidermy, but it felt a little contrived as well. Dylan doesn't have that much to do in this one either.
Final Thoughts: This episode is a tad more subdued than the previous one and rather transitional. I wasn't a fan of how quickly the events from the previous episode were dropped. It was way too easy for me. I liked a lot of things about it, from the character development of Norman, the ambiguity stemming from Bradley Martin's actions, as well as the twisted relationship between Norman & Norma. I'll do the "wait and see" approach when it comes to the man in cabin number 9 storyline, but I'm not a fan of it so far. Still, there are plenty of things to make this episode worth your while. There is far more good than bad.
8.3/10
This is somewhat of a transitional episode after an explosive end to the previous episode. That doesn't mean I didn't like it. As a matter of fact, this is a very good episode. In all honesty, there hasn't been an episode that I have disliked so far. When this show started, I watched up to the first seven episodes and got preoccupied with other things. I have yet to see episodes 8,9, and 10. The good thing about this episode is the slow build to Norman's craziness. He has slowly been showing different signs here and there of being mentally ill. Here, he does a couple of classic things Norman would do in the psycho movies. I'm anxious to see how Norman continues to evolve. The descent into madness is a bit more elaborated for Norman. I thought they did a good job with it. His storyline with Bradley Martin continues to get more intriguing as well. There are so many things they could do with this. Is Bradley reluctant to be with Norman because of all the incidents that transpired at the motel? Does Bradley secretly fear Norman's instability? Or, maybe she is secretly a promiscuous person. She seemingly has her eyes on Dylan, with those glances she took. Will she be taken off the show, killed by Norman? Any way you slice it, it doesn't put Bradley's character in a very positive light. Emma's crush on Norman evolves a bit as well. Emma is featured very little in this episode, but she does have one key scene that impacts something. We get to see Norma and Emma bond in a key scene. It is riveting and disturbing to watch at the same time. Hints of incest between Norma & Norman have always been there, but wait until you see how Norma reacts when she hears about Bradley' intercourse with Norman. It is pretty outlandish to say the least. Sadly, i'm not a big fan of the "Man in cabin number 9" storyline. Jere Burns (Jake Abernathy) certainly plays the part very well, I just wasn't all that interested in it. I get that it's television and you need to keep things happening all the time in a show like this, but I find it hard to believe that so much could happen in a small town like this. The twists are getting to be a bit much. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the show very much, I just didn't care for that whole storyline. Also, the dog Norman finds isn't properly explained. How is it after all this time, Norman is only NOW, finding out, about the dog? Surely, he would have seen it before. I did like it, because it will probably lead to Norman's fascination with taxidermy, but it felt a little contrived as well. Dylan doesn't have that much to do in this one either.
Final Thoughts: This episode is a tad more subdued than the previous one and rather transitional. I wasn't a fan of how quickly the events from the previous episode were dropped. It was way too easy for me. I liked a lot of things about it, from the character development of Norman, the ambiguity stemming from Bradley Martin's actions, as well as the twisted relationship between Norman & Norma. I'll do the "wait and see" approach when it comes to the man in cabin number 9 storyline, but I'm not a fan of it so far. Still, there are plenty of things to make this episode worth your while. There is far more good than bad.
8.3/10
