Bates Motel – “Presumed Innocent”

Presumed Innocent – Season 2, Episode 7 – original air date 4/14/2014

This episode briefly becomes a police procedural, as Norman is taken in for questioning, photographed, and swabbed for DNA.  Considering how many people did in this quaint seaside town, one would  think the police would be rather blase at this point.   Cody’s dad was just killed by falling down a flight of stairs.  It’s not like he was set on fire, or shot in the head,  etc.  But of course our Norman is connected with this death.  Norman feels guilty.  If he had not confronted Cody, her dad would still be alive.   That is certainly a true statement, but Cody’s father was set up to fall.  He was mentioned off screen at first, then heard off screen in another episode, and is only seen for the first time when he is about to die.  By the time we see him, we know he’s a jerk.

Most of this episode deals with Norman’s time in jail, as he is questioned by Sheriff Romero.  How do the people in Norman’s circle react?  Well of course Norma is on the scene, and won’t leave.  Yet what are Norma’s motives?  Obviously Norma loves her son, and wants to protect him from harm.  But is keeping his blackouts a secret really helping him?  Is pressuring other people not to mention them helping him?  Emma is the only character who fully supports Norman in his predicament, with no motives of her own.   There is much tension between mother and son when they go home from the police station, as would be expected.  Cody and Norman say their farewells, as she goes off to live with the obligatory aunt in a faraway state.

Zane demonstrates that he may be a little bit smarter than suspected.  Not much, but a little.  He confronts Dylan, who then has to make a choice.  His choice may be his downfall.  How about a quick mention of Remo (Ian Tracey), Dylan’s partner in the drug business.  He has quietly made the most of his limited screentime.  If you are going to work in the illicit drug trade, you could certainly do worse in the coworker department.

There are only three episodes left in this season, and we can maybe see how the threads are coming together.  There is the drug war, with the Bates family having a connection with each side of the warring faction.  There is Norman’s blackouts,  and the consequences of them.  And there is the big reveal at the end of this episode, as Sheriff Romero learns the results of Norman’s DNA test and where his bodily fluids were found.  Not a surprise really, but I’m still not convinced that this particular aspect of the story is as clear cut as it seems.  The biggest question at this point is…how on earth will they stretch this out for another season?

Bates Motel – “Plunge”

Plunge – Season 2, Episode 6 – original air date 4/7/2014

Poor Norman.  There he is, sitting behind the wheel of the family car, about to take his driver’s test, a significant rite of passage, when up storms his mom and rats him out to the driving instructor.  Says that he has been blacking out.  Under the circumstances, Norma is doing the right thing, but the timing of it makes it seem like a major betrayal.  But what led up to this moment?

Norman blacks out a second time in Cody’s presence.  Then they take a trip to the “swimming hole.”  While they are making out, Emma shows up with her pot-slinging boyfriend, and at Cody’s insistence they decide to hang out together.  First Emma’s guy jumps in the water on the rope swing, then Norman follows, and finally Emma.   The end results here were so predictable that I was really hoping the storyline would go in a different direction.  Emma has a scare in the water, Norman overreacts.  It is obvious that Norman has feelings for Emma, but are they romantic feelings?  It feels like any opportunity they had to become a couple has long since passed.  Like they are both above and beyond that kind of relationship.  Perhaps not.   When Cody shares with Emma that Norman has been blacking out, and we see the conflicted look on Emma’s face, there is no doubt that she is going to tell Norma.

Norma meanwhile has severed her ties with Nick Ford, after the councilman that she called a dick conveniently dies in a car accident.  Then Norma pursues the council seat for herself!  Hard to believe that would sit well with Nick Ford, but it would appear that he had something to do with her getting the council seat.  Norma has another encounter with George (Michael Vartan), and one has to believe a potential hookup is in the near future.  But the writers are also building the potential for a relationship with Romero and Norma.

Of course the writers had to throw in another one of those awkward hugs, that is just a little to affectionate for a son of Norman’s age to be having with his mother.  We seem to get one of these obligatory cringe-worthy moments every other episode.   It’s also cool to see Norman stuffing a crow.  In the movie Psycho, the room behind the office was filled with birds.

And Dylan is hooking up with the boss lady (Kathleen Robertson.)  Nothing good ever comes from that, does it?

And the episode ends with a moment of violence that seems to have Norman in hot water again.  How will this situation resolve itself?  Congrats to the show being renewed for a third season.  The ratings took a small dive but are now holding steady at around 2.25 million a week.  Not too shabby.

 

Bates Motel – “The Escape Artist”

The Escape Artist – Season 2, Episode 5 – original air date 3/31/2014

This episode follows the separate narrative threads of several different characters, something we have seen in past episodes.   The narrative structure works better here than it did in the first season, simply because the characters are all more fully developed.  So, strand one involves Norman getting closer to his new friend Cody (Paloma Kwiatkowski.)  When Norman tells her “you’re not like any girl I’ve ever met”, I had the feeling he had used those exact same words before with Bradley and Emma, which simply means that Norman hadn’t really met any girls before, except of course for momma.  This relationship actually seems to make sense, because both have troubles at home, so they can relate to each other.

Norma meets up with Nick Ford (Michael O’Neill), about stopping the bypass, and he seems eager to support Norma, but only behind the scenes.  Meanwhile Sheriff Romero has taken up residence at the Bates Motel, since his house was torched.  Norma and Romero are very tentative in their scenes here, for two people who have such a shared history.  After all, Romero shot and killed Abernathy, potentially saving Norma’s life, and binding them together in a secret.  There is a hint in this new episode that there may be a potential attraction.   In the episode’s best scene, Romero confronts Zane (Michael Eklund), and wallops the crap out of him.  Moments like this I really love Sheriff Romero.

Dylan, still reeling from the news about his uncle daddy, comes off of a massive bender, only to be invited to lunch with Zane.  He then proceeds to save Zane’s life when there is a drive-by shooting attempt.  He should have let him die.  The big reveal at the end of the episode is who the real kingpin is in the drug operation.   And let’s not forget Emma, who is important enough now to have her own narrative thread away from the Bates’ family problems.  She hooks up for the first time, with the dude staying at the motel.  It remains to be seen what the ramifications of that will be.  Good for Emma anyway, for pursuing her own happiness.