Bates Motel 4.07.
Apr. 27th, 2016 08:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which Norman makes a discovery, and Freddie Highmore adds yet another entry into his "Give this kid young man an Emmy NOW" resumé.
Seriously. (Again.) M ads who? This is why this show is so my serial killer prequel of choice. Norman - and Norma, of course - tear your heart out, but at the same time the show never loses sight of the humanity of Norman's victims, or of Norma's flaws, and certainly not of Norman's budding scariness underneath the sensitive boy next door exterior.
In this episode, the plot thread with the Decodys finally starts to pay off in terms of the larger narrative, as Dylan starts his investigation, and Emma finds out her mother was there to see her. Emma near the end of the episode comes to the conclusion that her father was right and that her mother only wanted to see her to get money due to her financial problems. While that's not impossible (I'm not sure how much time is meant to have passed since the season opener, but presumably if Audrey had been financially sound she'd have paid four months rent due in advance), it's also just as likely that Audrey truly wanted to see her daughter to reconnect with her, and never intended to dissappear, and you can see that in Dylan's face. Because he knows what Emma doesn't, that Audrey was alone with Norman , and that Norman when blacking out can get violent. (Even if Dylan believes the lie detector and that Norman didn't kill Blair Watson, and assumes that Bradley never returned to White Pine Bay, he did experience Norman in full violent anger mode himself in season 1 when Norman attacked him.) Either way, Audrey was a person, and if she was a mess, well, so are a lot of other people on this show. Including, of course, Dylan's own mother. Audrey post-mortem getting fleshed out is a reminder of Norman's victims, after the previous episode delved into what made Norman develop a mental disorder in the first place and emphasized his own victimhood.
This episode, by contrast, puts the emphasis on Norman as past and future perpetrator - and yet doesn't avoid sympathy, either. It starts with Norman in full genuine cooperation with his therapist mode, trying to get better, then discovering by accident (the newspaper photograph from the light festival) that Norma got married. Which is almost like a physical blow (and the phonecall home where he first hears Alex Romero and then Norma lying to him point blank makes it even worse), but from this point onwards, Norman is also increasingly frightening, without freaking out (let alone blacking out) even once. Instead, he's utterly focused, and that's far more chilling. The scene with Julian - which we get before the scenes with Norma and with Dr. Edwards, which is so important in the episode structure - is unprecedented in the show so far: Norman, in reply to one of Julian's usual digs, calmly laying out essentially the game plan by saying that as opposed to Julian, he will be free of Pineview because he knows how to fake being normal. It's Norman at his most self aware, and he then is in control of both his subsequent encounters. Though there's still a difference in how he manipulates Dr. Edwards and how he manipulates Norma, I'd say. With Dr. Edwards, he's lying throughout, basically saying what he knows Edwards needs to hear, being a model patient. With Norma, he's using true emotions to push her, he's allowing some of his anger to get out, and of course he's being truthful about wanting to be home and with her.
But he's still in control of the conversation, he knows what he's doing when he goes through his emotional backmail of Norma, and on some level, Norma is aware that this is impending punishment - not just for making him go to Pineview (no matter how necessary, no matter how much for his own good it was) and for actually loving someone else, outside the family. Norma is no stranger to guilt tripping manipulation and jealousy herself when it comes to Norman, and back in the s1 day she did it without being insincere, too.
She's also signing her death sentence. When Norma and Norman are standing in front of the house again and the camera pulls up, up, up, we end up at the window where Norma's mumified corpse will one day sit, all that will be left of her, a corpse and the personality her son created in his mind. We've always known this, but the tragedy of it all gets worse and worse and worse (in a makes-compelling-viewing kind of way) the longer the show goes on. Because Norma has a genuine shot at happiness right now, and Alex' promise of being supportive with Norman at home notwithstanding, she has to know she's giving it up. Even without the uncertain fate of Audrey Decody hovering over her, and the potential for violence in Norman she may verbally deny as much as she wants but can't un-know again, there is no way to reconcile the relationship she used to have with Norman, the one he wants back, with her new relationship with Alex. As with the best tragedies, this is brought about both by circumstances and personal flaws - Norma isn't without guilt here. She co-created the utter co-dependency between herself and Norman. Also, if she'd allowed Norman to go to therapy far earlier, see the aborted very brief attempt in s1 which ended due to Norma's paranoia, things might have gone very differently. And yet, given what the show has shown us of Norma's own life and background, you understand why she did all she did, and how she likely couldn't have done anything else.
Minor: another reason to love Bates Motel: even the darkest episodes are never without black humor. Norma's reaction to Dylan's face when he tries to interrogate her about Audrey - "Did Emma die?" - being a case in point.
The paperdog Norman creates throughout the episode as a mirror image to his taxidermic stuffing of his s1 dog at home reminded me that Norman might leave Pineview, but he'll end up in a prison of his own making, with all the people in his life who meant something to him replaced by life less doubles he himself created.
Alex Romero, you have great taste in old movies Norma might like: The Third Man being a case in point.
Seriously. (Again.) M ads who? This is why this show is so my serial killer prequel of choice. Norman - and Norma, of course - tear your heart out, but at the same time the show never loses sight of the humanity of Norman's victims, or of Norma's flaws, and certainly not of Norman's budding scariness underneath the sensitive boy next door exterior.
In this episode, the plot thread with the Decodys finally starts to pay off in terms of the larger narrative, as Dylan starts his investigation, and Emma finds out her mother was there to see her. Emma near the end of the episode comes to the conclusion that her father was right and that her mother only wanted to see her to get money due to her financial problems. While that's not impossible (I'm not sure how much time is meant to have passed since the season opener, but presumably if Audrey had been financially sound she'd have paid four months rent due in advance), it's also just as likely that Audrey truly wanted to see her daughter to reconnect with her, and never intended to dissappear, and you can see that in Dylan's face. Because he knows what Emma doesn't, that Audrey was alone with Norman , and that Norman when blacking out can get violent. (Even if Dylan believes the lie detector and that Norman didn't kill Blair Watson, and assumes that Bradley never returned to White Pine Bay, he did experience Norman in full violent anger mode himself in season 1 when Norman attacked him.) Either way, Audrey was a person, and if she was a mess, well, so are a lot of other people on this show. Including, of course, Dylan's own mother. Audrey post-mortem getting fleshed out is a reminder of Norman's victims, after the previous episode delved into what made Norman develop a mental disorder in the first place and emphasized his own victimhood.
This episode, by contrast, puts the emphasis on Norman as past and future perpetrator - and yet doesn't avoid sympathy, either. It starts with Norman in full genuine cooperation with his therapist mode, trying to get better, then discovering by accident (the newspaper photograph from the light festival) that Norma got married. Which is almost like a physical blow (and the phonecall home where he first hears Alex Romero and then Norma lying to him point blank makes it even worse), but from this point onwards, Norman is also increasingly frightening, without freaking out (let alone blacking out) even once. Instead, he's utterly focused, and that's far more chilling. The scene with Julian - which we get before the scenes with Norma and with Dr. Edwards, which is so important in the episode structure - is unprecedented in the show so far: Norman, in reply to one of Julian's usual digs, calmly laying out essentially the game plan by saying that as opposed to Julian, he will be free of Pineview because he knows how to fake being normal. It's Norman at his most self aware, and he then is in control of both his subsequent encounters. Though there's still a difference in how he manipulates Dr. Edwards and how he manipulates Norma, I'd say. With Dr. Edwards, he's lying throughout, basically saying what he knows Edwards needs to hear, being a model patient. With Norma, he's using true emotions to push her, he's allowing some of his anger to get out, and of course he's being truthful about wanting to be home and with her.
But he's still in control of the conversation, he knows what he's doing when he goes through his emotional backmail of Norma, and on some level, Norma is aware that this is impending punishment - not just for making him go to Pineview (no matter how necessary, no matter how much for his own good it was) and for actually loving someone else, outside the family. Norma is no stranger to guilt tripping manipulation and jealousy herself when it comes to Norman, and back in the s1 day she did it without being insincere, too.
She's also signing her death sentence. When Norma and Norman are standing in front of the house again and the camera pulls up, up, up, we end up at the window where Norma's mumified corpse will one day sit, all that will be left of her, a corpse and the personality her son created in his mind. We've always known this, but the tragedy of it all gets worse and worse and worse (in a makes-compelling-viewing kind of way) the longer the show goes on. Because Norma has a genuine shot at happiness right now, and Alex' promise of being supportive with Norman at home notwithstanding, she has to know she's giving it up. Even without the uncertain fate of Audrey Decody hovering over her, and the potential for violence in Norman she may verbally deny as much as she wants but can't un-know again, there is no way to reconcile the relationship she used to have with Norman, the one he wants back, with her new relationship with Alex. As with the best tragedies, this is brought about both by circumstances and personal flaws - Norma isn't without guilt here. She co-created the utter co-dependency between herself and Norman. Also, if she'd allowed Norman to go to therapy far earlier, see the aborted very brief attempt in s1 which ended due to Norma's paranoia, things might have gone very differently. And yet, given what the show has shown us of Norma's own life and background, you understand why she did all she did, and how she likely couldn't have done anything else.
Minor: another reason to love Bates Motel: even the darkest episodes are never without black humor. Norma's reaction to Dylan's face when he tries to interrogate her about Audrey - "Did Emma die?" - being a case in point.
The paperdog Norman creates throughout the episode as a mirror image to his taxidermic stuffing of his s1 dog at home reminded me that Norman might leave Pineview, but he'll end up in a prison of his own making, with all the people in his life who meant something to him replaced by life less doubles he himself created.
Alex Romero, you have great taste in old movies Norma might like: The Third Man being a case in point.
