Last night I finished the TV series Bates Motel and found it to be very entertaining and well written. It aired from March 2013 to April of 2017 with 5 total seasons produced by the A&E network and shared on Netflix. The premise of the show is a prequel to the character of Norman Bates portrayed in Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 film, Psycho. I usually tend to dislike this type of genre that is crime, thriller, or horror related, but I do appreciate classic cinema and pop-culture references. And the film Psycho is often considered one of the greatest horror films of all time.
Also I enjoy the actress Vera Farmiga and find her to be quite enticing on the screen. She brilliantly plays Norman's possessive mother, Norma (of which we only see the corpse of from the movie). The psychotic character of Norman Bates is played by the young and convincing Freddie Highmore. He is innocent and sweet yet falls further and further into madness as the show progresses. Both actors went on to win critical acclaim for their dramatic performances and the show for me ranks up there with some of my favorites.
I suppose first it's best to describe the source material which is that of Hitchcock's film, Psycho. The film is often regarded as Hitchcock's greatest work and often considered among the greatest films of all time. It demonstrated unusual plot twists, sexual elements, psychotic themes, and a graphic display of violence for it's time. The infamous shower stabbing scene was no doubt the film's greatest claim to fame and has become a pop-culture reference today.
Also I enjoy the actress Vera Farmiga and find her to be quite enticing on the screen. She brilliantly plays Norman's possessive mother, Norma (of which we only see the corpse of from the movie). The psychotic character of Norman Bates is played by the young and convincing Freddie Highmore. He is innocent and sweet yet falls further and further into madness as the show progresses. Both actors went on to win critical acclaim for their dramatic performances and the show for me ranks up there with some of my favorites.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
I suppose first it's best to describe the source material which is that of Hitchcock's film, Psycho. The film is often regarded as Hitchcock's greatest work and often considered among the greatest films of all time. It demonstrated unusual plot twists, sexual elements, psychotic themes, and a graphic display of violence for it's time. The infamous shower stabbing scene was no doubt the film's greatest claim to fame and has become a pop-culture reference today.
The film's most iconic character is the antagonist Norman Bates. He is a motel manager who appears to be a sweet young man living with his mother. However we later find out in the film, that his mother is dead and Norman is psychotically imitating her thru a multiple personality disorder. When he becomes his mother he slashes out at others who want to get in the way of their relationship. The film ends with Norman being caught and institutionalized which gives an open end to the character. Numerous sequels, spin-offs, and books have expanded on this intriguing character.
The Characters of Bates Motel
The TV series is somewhat of a loose adaptation of the original movie with several major differences. For starters the show takes place in modern day Oregon where as in the movie, the motel was located in California. Also the movie took place at present day 1960, so if this were to be a true prequel it should be set in the 1950s rather than the 2010s. However the biggest difference was no doubt the ending which completely breaks away from the original film plot. I found this ending to the show to be very surprising, but I'll get into this later. For now I'm going to describe the characters of the show.
Norman Bates: (Played by Freddie Highmore) I remember watching Freddie Highmore as a kid in various movies such as Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and August Rush but this role as the iconic Norman Bates was no doubt his breakthrough coming-of-age performance. This character appears extremely sweet and innocent on the outside yet is extremely perturbed on the inside. From an early age he experiences blackouts, one of which he murders his abusive father, causing his mother to rellocate them to Oregon. His mother is extremely protective and possessive of him, which only worsens his condition throughout the series. Norman commits several murders throughout the series, often in the guise of his mother, which we later discover is his split personality. His relationship with his mother is a very complicated one in which he despises her for her control yet he also can't live without her. His madness reaches full flight when he murders his mother, digs her out of the grave, and brings her back to live with him. He continues to experience blackouts and imitates his mother whenever he feels stressed out. Norman Bates is the ultimate case of bipolar disorder disorder.
Norma Bates: (played by Vera Farmiga) I've been a fan of the actress Vera Farmiga since I first saw her in The Departed. I've also enjoyed her performances in The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Up in the Air, and Henry's Crime. She's has a unique quality about her character I find to be quite alluring (maybe it's the Ukrainian eyes). Nonetheless she is a big part of the reason I began watching this show and can argue this is probably her best role to date. She plays the domineering mother of Norman Bates. While Norma's character is portrayed as a bit worrisome and over-protective, her primary interest is that of her troubled son, Norman. She displays very strong qualities of business management yet also has a darker side of manipulation and constant scheming. She constantly covers up her son's crimes and can not fully convince herself that he needs to be institutionalized. Norma eventually does start to seek help for her son's insanity when she begins a relationship with Sheriff Romero. However seeing the affect it has on her son, she calls the entire relationship off with Romero. Norman however has been filled with anger and jealousy over being institutionalized and orchestrates a murder-suicide thru carbon monoxide. He lies with his mother in bed, as the gases from the furnace kill his mother, while Norman is able to survive.
Dylan Masset: (played by Max Thieriot) He is the distant half-brother of Norman who has also has a complicated relationship with his mother, Norma. He is strong and independent and wants to be a part of the family, but has trouble getting between Norman and Norma. He later discovers that he is the product of an incestuous relationship with Norma and her elder brother who raped her. Dylan eventually meets his father and gets involved in a drug business for a while before breaking free of it. He later gets married to one of Norman's friends Emma, and moves away from the family. In the final season Dylan returns to help his lonely brother Norman and ends up killing him in a scuffle they have.
Emma Decody: (played by Olivia Cooke) She suffers from cystic fibrosis in the first few seasons and develops a friendship with Norman. She works at the motel and gets a first hand account of Norman's strange behavior as well as his mother's domineering character. She later stops working at the motel and grows close to Norman's brother Dylan. They eventually get married together and have a child.
Alex Romero: (played by Nestor Carbonell) He is the town's sheriff who is often called in on cases pertaining to Norman. However he develops feelings for Norman's mother, Norma which brings a conflict of interest to his investigative duties. He later marries Norma in order to help fund Norman's medical treatment, however is arrested for perjury charges. In season 5 he is driven mad with vengeance as he escapes prison to murder Norman. He is however shocked at the site of Norma's dead frozen body and in turn Norman kills him.
Bradley Martin: (played by Nicola Peltz) She is the popular and attractive classmate of Norman who develops a friendship and even a romantic relationship with him. However she later gets in trouble with the law, and flees town. She tries to convince Norman to join her and Norman initially agrees, until he has a blackout episode and takes on his mother's persona to kill her.
Caleb Calhoun: (played by Kenny Johnson) He is the elder brother of Norma and incestuous father of Dylan. He raped Norma as a child yet also claimed that he defended her from their abusive father. When he returns to town, Norma wants nothing to do with him and accidentally tells Dylan that he is the product of an incestuous relationship causing Dylan to leave the family. Caleb gets closer with his son, while working on a pot farm and even helps Dylan break clean from the dangerous business. In season 5 Caleb is imprisoned by Norman, in the guise of Norma, and later hit by a car and killed in at attempt to escape.
The Season Finale
The biggest problem I had with this show was how it ended, which was not quite in line with the original movie. I anticipated that this show was a prequel that would explain the death of Norman's mother and how he got to be the sole manager of the Bates Motel. Instead the show completely re-wrote the original version by taking some parts from the 1960 story and essentially bringing the story to an abrupt end rather then it's open ending that came from the movie.
The iconic character of Marion Crane (who was stabbed in the shower in the 1960 film) played a minor role in Season 5 (played by Rihanna) however not the same role she had in the movie. She visited the motel to await her lover, and did have a friendly exchange with Norman. However unlike the movie, Norman convinced her to leave and instead killed not her but her lover in the shower. At this point it became clear that the show was no longer a prequel with intentions to lead up to the movie. Instead season 5 had merged with the timeline from the movie and was now incorporating material from the movie's story line.
In the final conclusion of the show, Norman was facing multiple murder trials and his escape was looking very unlikely. However there was an X factor in the plot thanks to Sheriff Romero and his quest for mad vengeance. He managed to break Norman out of prison to take him to see the dead corpse of Norma. Norman was then able to kill the sheriff and return to the motel, leaving question as to when the cops would find him. However before the cops could discover where Norman he invited his brother Dylan over to have dinner with their dead mom. This was too much for Dylan to bear and lead to a heated argument urging Norman to get medical help. At which point Norman charged Dylan with a knife and Dylan shot Norman dead. As Norman died he thanked Dylan for re-uniting him with his mother.
In summary the show offers an incredible deep dive into the mind of the psychotic character that is Norman Bates. It presents a setting of characters and story-lines that impact Norman's unique multi-layered personality. Throughout the 5 seasons we experience Norman fall further and further into madness, no thanks of course to the stubborn control of his mother. While the show somewhat goes of course from the movie's original plot, it is still a very well written series. The critically acclaimed performances of Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga make this show all the more entertaining. would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys crime shows or psychological thrillers.
The TV series is somewhat of a loose adaptation of the original movie with several major differences. For starters the show takes place in modern day Oregon where as in the movie, the motel was located in California. Also the movie took place at present day 1960, so if this were to be a true prequel it should be set in the 1950s rather than the 2010s. However the biggest difference was no doubt the ending which completely breaks away from the original film plot. I found this ending to the show to be very surprising, but I'll get into this later. For now I'm going to describe the characters of the show.
Norma Bates: (played by Vera Farmiga) I've been a fan of the actress Vera Farmiga since I first saw her in The Departed. I've also enjoyed her performances in The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Up in the Air, and Henry's Crime. She's has a unique quality about her character I find to be quite alluring (maybe it's the Ukrainian eyes). Nonetheless she is a big part of the reason I began watching this show and can argue this is probably her best role to date. She plays the domineering mother of Norman Bates. While Norma's character is portrayed as a bit worrisome and over-protective, her primary interest is that of her troubled son, Norman. She displays very strong qualities of business management yet also has a darker side of manipulation and constant scheming. She constantly covers up her son's crimes and can not fully convince herself that he needs to be institutionalized. Norma eventually does start to seek help for her son's insanity when she begins a relationship with Sheriff Romero. However seeing the affect it has on her son, she calls the entire relationship off with Romero. Norman however has been filled with anger and jealousy over being institutionalized and orchestrates a murder-suicide thru carbon monoxide. He lies with his mother in bed, as the gases from the furnace kill his mother, while Norman is able to survive.
Dylan Masset: (played by Max Thieriot) He is the distant half-brother of Norman who has also has a complicated relationship with his mother, Norma. He is strong and independent and wants to be a part of the family, but has trouble getting between Norman and Norma. He later discovers that he is the product of an incestuous relationship with Norma and her elder brother who raped her. Dylan eventually meets his father and gets involved in a drug business for a while before breaking free of it. He later gets married to one of Norman's friends Emma, and moves away from the family. In the final season Dylan returns to help his lonely brother Norman and ends up killing him in a scuffle they have.
Emma Decody: (played by Olivia Cooke) She suffers from cystic fibrosis in the first few seasons and develops a friendship with Norman. She works at the motel and gets a first hand account of Norman's strange behavior as well as his mother's domineering character. She later stops working at the motel and grows close to Norman's brother Dylan. They eventually get married together and have a child.Alex Romero: (played by Nestor Carbonell) He is the town's sheriff who is often called in on cases pertaining to Norman. However he develops feelings for Norman's mother, Norma which brings a conflict of interest to his investigative duties. He later marries Norma in order to help fund Norman's medical treatment, however is arrested for perjury charges. In season 5 he is driven mad with vengeance as he escapes prison to murder Norman. He is however shocked at the site of Norma's dead frozen body and in turn Norman kills him.
Bradley Martin: (played by Nicola Peltz) She is the popular and attractive classmate of Norman who develops a friendship and even a romantic relationship with him. However she later gets in trouble with the law, and flees town. She tries to convince Norman to join her and Norman initially agrees, until he has a blackout episode and takes on his mother's persona to kill her.
Caleb Calhoun: (played by Kenny Johnson) He is the elder brother of Norma and incestuous father of Dylan. He raped Norma as a child yet also claimed that he defended her from their abusive father. When he returns to town, Norma wants nothing to do with him and accidentally tells Dylan that he is the product of an incestuous relationship causing Dylan to leave the family. Caleb gets closer with his son, while working on a pot farm and even helps Dylan break clean from the dangerous business. In season 5 Caleb is imprisoned by Norman, in the guise of Norma, and later hit by a car and killed in at attempt to escape.
The Season Finale
The biggest problem I had with this show was how it ended, which was not quite in line with the original movie. I anticipated that this show was a prequel that would explain the death of Norman's mother and how he got to be the sole manager of the Bates Motel. Instead the show completely re-wrote the original version by taking some parts from the 1960 story and essentially bringing the story to an abrupt end rather then it's open ending that came from the movie.
The iconic character of Marion Crane (who was stabbed in the shower in the 1960 film) played a minor role in Season 5 (played by Rihanna) however not the same role she had in the movie. She visited the motel to await her lover, and did have a friendly exchange with Norman. However unlike the movie, Norman convinced her to leave and instead killed not her but her lover in the shower. At this point it became clear that the show was no longer a prequel with intentions to lead up to the movie. Instead season 5 had merged with the timeline from the movie and was now incorporating material from the movie's story line.In the final conclusion of the show, Norman was facing multiple murder trials and his escape was looking very unlikely. However there was an X factor in the plot thanks to Sheriff Romero and his quest for mad vengeance. He managed to break Norman out of prison to take him to see the dead corpse of Norma. Norman was then able to kill the sheriff and return to the motel, leaving question as to when the cops would find him. However before the cops could discover where Norman he invited his brother Dylan over to have dinner with their dead mom. This was too much for Dylan to bear and lead to a heated argument urging Norman to get medical help. At which point Norman charged Dylan with a knife and Dylan shot Norman dead. As Norman died he thanked Dylan for re-uniting him with his mother.
In summary the show offers an incredible deep dive into the mind of the psychotic character that is Norman Bates. It presents a setting of characters and story-lines that impact Norman's unique multi-layered personality. Throughout the 5 seasons we experience Norman fall further and further into madness, no thanks of course to the stubborn control of his mother. While the show somewhat goes of course from the movie's original plot, it is still a very well written series. The critically acclaimed performances of Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga make this show all the more entertaining. would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys crime shows or psychological thrillers.
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