Bates Motel Recap: Episode 1.03 – What’s Wrong With Norman?
Steve Barton
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Are you digging “Bates Motel” as much as we are? In addition to learning more about Norman and his mother, we got to see that the town isn’t as normal as everyone thought it was. Moreover, both Vera Farmiga and Freddy Highmore were mesmerizing to watch, don’t you think?
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read any further if you haven’t watched the episode yet. This is a recap with specific details from this episode. Continue only if you have already watched it.
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After Dylan tried out wearing his new gun, he found Norma and Norman at the kitchen table. When Norma asked him to sign for some deliveries that day, he retorted that he had a job but wouldn’t tell them what.
At school, Emma came up to Norman, terrified about their pot field discoveries. She also felt guilty about using the grave finding excursion as an excuse to get Norman to hang out with her. She didn’t believe the story in the picture book journal until she saw the shed. Now she felt she had to do something for the dead girl and she couldn’t forget about it. Norman wanted the journal back, stating it was pornographic and that they were in school and even accused Emma of being obsessed with it. When she said she found it in his room, Norman got a little flustered and passive-aggressively denied his obsession very Anthony Perkins-like and stormed off.
In the classroom, Norman couldn’t stop thinking about the journal and imagining the test was the journal. When Miss Watson asked him what was wrong, he started thinking about her bound like the girl in the journal before he fainted in her arms.
At the emergency room, Norma asked the doctor about the tests he was prescribing. When he asked if Norman had a history of blacking out, she got defensive and insisted not.
Dylan drove with his new henchman buddy, Ethan, into the middle of the woods. After they’ve stopped, they camouflaged their truck before hiking off. The henchman brought them to a large pot field. All of a sudden, some gunmen accosted them and Dylan tried to react but was stopped by Ethan. Dylan and Ethan traded shifts with the previous pair and were being paid $300 a day for watching over things.
While waiting for the test results at the hospital, Norman watched TV with Norma when she got a call about her appointment. Norman insisted that she go attend to that errand. As Norma rushed out, Bradley came to visit Norman with a flowering plant. She wanted to thank him for trying to visit her at the hospital before. Her father may not survive, and when she found out about Norman’s losing his dad, they bonded. She then climbed into the bed with Norman to watch the old black and white movie together. “You just want to be happy,” she blurted as a somewhat bewildered but amused Norman looked on.
When Norma was tending to the carpet people, she got interrupted by Sheriff Romero serving her a search warrant. When Norma returned to the hospital, she found the doctor with Norman about to tell them that the tests came back negative. The doctor also wanted to keep Norman overnight for observation. After he had left, Norma insisted that they go home. When a nurse tried to stop her, Norma almost bit her head off.
On the way out, she told Norman all about the police at their property and that she was worried about their searching. During the conversation, we could now see where he got his passive-aggressiveness from. When Norman found out the police didn’t take anything out, he was not concerned anymore. The moment he got home, he ran to look under the bed. When it wasn’t there, Norman got upset with himself.
In tears, Norman confessed to Norma that he took Keith’s belt when they moved the body and he didn’t know where the belt was. He had hidden it under his bed. Norma asked why he would take the belt but all he could utter was, “I don’t know.” Norma didn’t think the police had found anything because otherwise they would have said something.
At the pot field, Dylan learned more about the field’s ownership, Bradley’s dad who was burned at the warehouse, and even the hanging burning guy at the yardarm. After they were startled by some birds in the bushes, Dylan took Ethan on a pheasant hunt.
Emma came to visit Norman and convinced him to research the journal some more. Norman even brought her to the room where he found the book. When Emma tried to describe the previous owner’s creepiness, Norman got a text message from Bradley about sharing custody of their plant. He smiled and Emma noticed, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to look around. She found some characters under the sink and insisted that the girl from the journal was in that room before.
Norma found Deputy Shelby on the road side and tried to pry some information from him. He told Norma instead that they should talk later during dinner at his place. He’ll tell her what she wanted to know and told her not to worry.
Back home, Norma explained to Norman that she was going to see Deputy Shelby that evening to find out if he knew about the belt.
Norma arrived at Deputy Shelby’s all decked out, ready for her information gathering. During drinks, she started to ask about what was going on, but the deputy turned it on Norma to talk about the belt. The deputy found the belt and took it without anyone, including the sheriff, knowing it. He asked her outright if Norman killed Keith and she denied it. Then he started to seduce her.
Enjoying the spoils of their hunt, Dylan told Ethan more about his family, ingeniously cluing us, the audience, in on the Bates family’s back story. Ethan was surprised Dylan didn’t know where his mother was from.
At home, Dylan found Norman on the couch and had a conversation about their mother and how Norman needed to get out more. They even bonded over their screwed up family and Norman trying to kill Dylan the other night.
Norma came home and found Norman sleeping on her bed. Waking him up, she told him that the deputy had the belt and was going to protect them now. Norman did not like that but Norma insisted that they were fine. When she asked Norman why he kept the belt, he confessed that he wanted to keep mementos. When they hugged, Norman smiled creepily.
At school, Norman approached Bradley but was interrupted by Emma. Emma wanted them to tell the police about her findings and the journal. Norman refused and that sparked something in Norman and he got progressively angrier and angrier before he stopped himself and apologized.
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In his room, Norma told Norman that as long as the deputy had the belt, he’d have control of them. Norman now knew what he had to do. He had to go get the belt. Norma wasn’t there. Norman was talking to an imaginary figure. In the dead of night, Norman walked to Deputy Shelby’s house alone.
Having made his way inside Deputy Shelby’s house, Norman searched extensively and found a large bunch of keys. After escaping from his tussle with a dog, Norman unlocked the basement door and went down. He found a video setup and another room. Inside that room, he found an unconscious Chinese girl with bruises. When she woke, she grabbed his arm and asked for help.
Outside, Deputy Shelby arrived home and entered the house.
What happens next? Was the captive in the basement real or do you think Norman imagined it? It couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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