Bates Motel: Recap of Episode 3.03 – Persuasion; Preview of Episode 3.04 – Unbreakable
Deep, Carlton Cuse-y voice: ”Previously, on Bates Motel…” When we last left the Bates clan – Dylan struck up an uneasy (and quite secret) relationship with his unclefather Caleb; Norman was apparently the last person to see a beautiful young motel customer named Annika alive, leading Norma to fear the worst; this led Norma to turn detective and track Annika’s previous whereabouts, ultimately uncovering her ties to a den of sin called the “Arcanum Club”; and a young woman’s nude body was discovered floating face down in a lake – was this Annika?
No.
As the third episode of this season begins, Sheriff Romero has beckoned Norma to the morgue to identify the young female corpse, only to find that it certainly isn’t Annika. Unfortunately, this revelation still doesn’t manage to assuage Norma’s fears about her youngest son. Indeed, Norma and Norman’s relationship continues to fracture, what with her continuing fears and the amount of time she’ll be spending away from the motel now to take a few marketing courses at a local college. It’s during her first day in class that she has an embarrassing meet-cute with a psych professor named James Finnigan (played by Blair Witch Project’s Joshua Leonard), who seems a bit taken with Norma and eventually offers his services as a potential shrink when he correctly surmises that she desperately needs an ear to bend.
Meanwhile, Emma starts to turn up the sexy considerably in order to hold Norman’s attention – which might be a good idea, one supposes, if she weren’t dating a burgeoning psychopath. She eventually witnesses one of Norman’s breakdowns when he initially confides in her his fears about Norma’s recent attitude changes with him. (”She thinks there’s something wrong with me. That I’m bad.”) Norman ultimately explodes while discussing this, before storming away from a shocked and perturbed Emma.
Romero continues his investigation into both Annika’s disappearance and the body in his morgue, leading him to question Norman (in a sequence that recalls the Perkins/Balsam interrogation in Hitchcock’s Psycho). Romero must also navigate some choppy political waters when he has to question some important town officials with ties to the Arcanum Club when the recently discovered corpse turns out to be a high-end escort who likely worked the Arcanum just before her murder. This stepping out of line leads Romero to meet one Marcus Young, an ambitious young man gunning for his job in the upcoming election (and who likely has the support of the aforementioned officials hoping to rid themselves of Romero). This brief introduction between the two men ends in pretty much the only way a combative conversation with Romero could.
Caleb tries to further ingratiate himself with Dylan by offering to partially fund his now legal pot operation, which Dylan steadfastly refuses. Caleb ultimately buys a great deal of lumber for the project behind Dylan’s back, pissing his nephewson off but eventually further endearing him to the man who so desperately wants to be a father figure. This secret father/son bonding retreat is threatened when Emma pops by to drop off Dylan’s order of marijuana (mistakenly delivered to the hotel). Dylan plays it cool enough but insists she promise to keep Caleb’s presence in town a secret – lest Norma go nuclear.
Back at the Bates homestead, Norman fully turns on Norma – calling her out for her concerns about his sanity. ”I think one of us has a problem, and I’m tired of the assumption being that it’s me.” Norman cracks even further later on, receiving another visit from the Norma that exists only in his head – the imaginary devil on his shoulder. Not-ma suggests Norman half-drown himself in the bathtub to uncover his memories of the night of Annika’s disappearance to determine whether or not he may have hurt her. Real Norma discovers him just before he drowns, tucks him into bed, then has a quiet breakdown in the motel office – just in time for a gutshot Annika to pull into the lot and die in Norma’s arms, but not before pushing a thumb drive into Norma’s hand and telling her of its importance.
Only three episodes into this season, and the plot is picking up some steam. New characters have been introduced, a new mystery thoroughly set up, and more steps have been taken down Norman’s inevitable path to becoming a monster. The performances are predictably excellent across the board (the MVPs being Farmiga and Highmore, as is usual), the daylight-noir photography is still simple yet beautiful, and the writing is as sharp as ever. If the quality stays this consistently high, this fan has no doubt this will become the best season yet for this series.
Here’s looking forward to the next ep! If you’re ready to join me, below are the synopsis and a preview of Episode 3.04, “Unbreakable.”
“Bates Motel” Episode 3.04 – “Unbreakable” (airs 3/30/15)
Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Emma (Olivia Cooke) take a day off from the motel. Romero (Nestor Carbonell) investigates two mysterious deaths in White Pine Bay. Norma (Vera Farmiga) goes back to school. Buried secrets unravel for Caleb (Kenny Johnson) and Dylan (Max Thieriot).
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