The internet seems to be undecided about Freddie Highmore's performance as Norman Bates, Hitchcock's most famous villain to grow up addicted to hand-me-down sweaters, apparently. But you can't really argue the fact that Highmore really sells on the crazy. During his best moments, Highmore hyperventilates, unhinges, and surges with weird rage, outperforming even Vera Farmiga's best scenes (though, to be fair, she hasn't been given any powerful personal moments yet). At the opening of Monday's show, Highmore escaped from Det. Shelby's basement, where he stumbled upon one of those famous Chinese sex slaves we keep hearing about. Last week's episode made it seem like Norman was trapped in that cellar as Shelby arrived home, but luckily Norman's brother Dylan had followed Norman to the house and saw him break in. Flummoxed, Dylan decided to distract Shelby so Norman could sneak out of the house. His tactic was successful, though his ensuing interrogation of Norman was not. What a cagey little psycho! No fun, Normzy.
2. A river of tension runs through it.
After Detective Shelby runs into Norman on the street, tells him he "really likes" his mother and wants to get to know him better, we knew we were in for a bizarre bonding experience. Norman was understandably edgy about Shelby's proposed fishing excursion because, y'know, Shelby is shady as hell. His blondness is too mysterious! Too handsome and yet too evil-seeming. Worse, we don't know what he knows, or if he intuited that Norman had broken into his house, or what. I wasn't quite prepared for their strange fishing trip in which Shelby looked Norman in the eye and said, "I need to know I can trust you. You need to know you can trust me."
It's hard to trust people who speak in cryptograms, I think. And even harder to trust people who care about fishing. What is their endgame? Catch a fish and eat it? That's stupid.
3. Norma's interrogation skills? Disappointing.
The one thing I have a hard time digesting about Bates Motel is the fact that Norma ever thought it was a good idea to hide the fact that she killed her psychotic rapist -- and that she's still hiding it. Her reason? She doesn't want to scare away business from her motel! Norma, that's dumb.
So we sat and watched Norma deflect a list of questions posed by sexy Nestor Carbonell, and the fact that he seems to know everything about the victim's craziness should lead Norma to fessing up. How can she hide anything at this point? The victim's severed hand has been located in The Scary Lake (how very Winter's Bone!), and the carpet fibers under his wrist match the motel's carpet. Ugh, Norma. Your Ann Taylor Loft flair does not extend to your interrogation room presentation. She looked ridiculous and quavery deflecting those questions in the classic "I do not recall" format, and as the episode's ending proved, it clearly didn't work for her. Norma, I want you to be a glorious heroine, but I can't root for you when you insist on being a mall-brand moron!
4. Is Dylan secretly the most effed-up member of this family?
Consider this: After Norman exploded into freakish tears in front of Dylan and confessed the entire rape-kill-and-body-disposal story to him, Dylan sat stonefaced, chuckled, and encouraged Norman to go "get laid" by dull Bradley. Let me repeat that: Dylan learned that his mother was raped and almost killed, then told Norman to enjoy some sex. Uh? Couple this with the fact that Dylan followed Norman to Shelby's house, and I think we're keying into the biggest mystery of all here: What is Dylan's deal, what does he know, and what has he done? Because Norma seems abjectly crazy and Norman is a delirious mess, it's easy to forget that Dylan -- in his sensible leather jacket from The Buckle -- is probably a dicey guy. Don't think I haven't noticed that Shelby and Dylan look a LOT alike. I'm not sure that Bates Motel will ever get seriously incestuous, but I bet we'll hit a really disturbing moment like at the end of The Grifters. In fact, I might just start calling Vera Farmiga "Blonde Anjelica Huston II."
5. What. Was With. That Sex Scene.
Heeding Dylan's advice, Norman visits his boring trick Bradley's house, and the two of them have pleasant, ambient, linen-tussling sex that lasts a long time, involves both parties flashing vacant and sexless grins at the camera, and summons a laughable amount of moody music. Dear Bates Motel: Stop trying to make Bradley happen. She's not going to happen. Let handsome sociopath Norman kill her next time, because it's more fun for us. Do we think Emma Decody is going to find out about this tryst and go crazy? I like that Bates Motel makes me wonder how crazy every single character is. It's like Facebook that way.
At episode's end, Norma was arrested for the murder of her rapist. How'll she get out of this one, folks?
And how are you digging Bates Motel?
