Alice Rush reviews the seventh episode of Bates Motel season 2…
This week on Bates Motel saw characters leave, the tension between Norma and Norman escalate to breaking point and a shocking revelation. And yet it still managed to feel repetitive and slow. The overarching storylines that Bates has been tackling in this season have been pretty interesting and intense on the whole, but each episode is beginning to feel very similar with regards to structure and scenes. Too much time is given over to argument sequences between Norman and Norma or standoffs between Dylan and Zane which are, quite frankly, just getting dull. What started off as a promising season has degenerated into a repetitive pattern in which its only saving grace is the golden 20 seconds at the end of an episode that throws a spanner in the works. However, said spanner is never as dramatically dealt with in the next episode as it could be.
After last week saw Norman inadvertently cause Cody’s father’s death most of the episode this week takes place in the police station where he is being held. Predictably Norma turns up ranting, raving and almost close to tears about not being able to see him, but you can’t really blame her when she knows what Norman is capable of when he blacks out. This is what leads her to believe that it wasn’t an accident and that the blackouts were the cause of Cody’s father’s death so takes it into her own hands to warn Cody about mentioning the blackouts to the police. She doesn’t tell the police, but she does tell Norman just before she leaves White Pine Bay for good. It’s a shame that she seems to be leaving so soon after being introduced as she was always an interesting character with a different edge. The supporting characters all seem to have a rather short shelf life in this show and only stand there to further the Bates’ own family plot, serving little other value or adding to the surrounding dynamic of the show. Characters like Emma and Sheriff Romero have a more important part to play but they are never fully given the space to expand and evolve as characters as so much air time is given solely to Norman and Norma.
Removed completely from this storyline, Dylan is in trouble this week after Zane finds out about his sister’s plan to have Dylan keep an eye on how he runs the business. After meeting with some shady people he forces Dylan and Remo on a night drive with them in which they end up at Nick Ford’s warehouse. Dylan protests about storming in and wrecking the place as he’s worried that the violence will only escalate, but Zane refuses to listen to him and instead knocks him unconscious as the rest of the group run in all guns blazing. Hopefully this direct attack will have a real impact on the business as well as the town, as up until now it’s been a bit of a background part with no real drama or importance.
The real juicy bit from this episode was saved till the last 20 seconds yet again. Though Romero reveals that Norman will not be charged for the accidental death of Cody’s father, after his Deputy logs Norman’s DNA into the system it brings up a match to the unidentified semen found in Miss Watson’s body. So not only are we about to get a deeper look into Norman’s psyche and no doubt see it unravel but Romero now holds a vital bit of information that could not only tear the Bates’ apart but the town as well seeing as Miss Watson was Nick Ford’s daughter.
With only three episodes to go I’m hoping that the pace is going to get much quicker and that there is more action and less talking. I am a huge fan of the intimate scenes between Norman and Norma as they reveal so much about each of the dysfunctional characters but it’s time to see some fireworks in White Pine Bay.
Alice Rush
Originally published April 18, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
