The Escape Artist
It would appear Dylan has become a hero to people you don’t really want to be noticing you, and Norma has gotten herself involved with a real gangster (again) who deals in drugs and owns a huge yacht. Norman has hooked up Cody (Paloma Kwiatkowski), who would rather live in a tree than live in the same house as her abusive father, meaning the Bates clan are as dysfunctional as everyone else in this show.
Now we’ve seen Norman go into a fugue state we can hopefully expect to see some more Psycho behavior, however, it was interesting to hear Norma explain to Norman why she didn’t like Cody, yet she said it the way I remember Norman mimicking his mother in the movie. It’s the time we see him talking to her corpse and they argue, with Norman sticking up for Marion Crane.
Norma met Nick Ford, a man who spotted her at a council meeting she attended about the bypass. Last week Nick handed Norma his card and now she decides to call and see what help he can offer. The opulence and clear display of wealth Norma sees when she arrives at Nick’s yacht was a sign that something wasn’t quite right with Ford, and the way he called Norma an “innocent.” I wasn’t sure if Nick’s obvious shark-like overconfidence was a red herring, but of course, confirmation came after Norma told the Sheriff of their acquaintance (where they both had a “moment”), and he warned her about Nick being a drug dealer and not to get involved. She’s realised the trouble she could be in unless she can end the relationship with Ford, but going by next week’s trailer, things don’t go as planned for Norma.
- Bates Motel
- Created by
Anthony Cipriano - Cast
Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot - Episode Release Date
31 March 2014 - Ed’s Grade: B
Norman has now learned Dylan has moved out and Dylan looks to be in a dark place, knowing his birth was perhaps questionable, which is a pity as he couldn’t do much about being born. He’s on self destruct, and we’ve seen him drink himself into oblivion each night, but what he does near the end of this episode with the drive-by shooting, proved he had given up. I thought he was just being heroic saving Zane’s life like that, but to then stand right in front the car knowing he would be hit showed just how deeply in despair Dylan really is.
Zane’s sister looks as wacko as he does, and her promise to look after Dylan now that he’s a hero, could be bad news for him, but good news for us. I’d rather see some better drama with Dylan’s arc of the story than watch him get drunk every night. He phoned Norman while he was waiting on Zane in the Mexican place they’d arranged, but Norman never answered because he was busy up that tree with Cody, so we don’t know what Dylan wanted. Was he simply missing his kid bro?
Norma and Emma were talking about it; Emma and her new love interest were doing it, as were Norman and Cody. This episode had a lot of sex and high drama yet I thought last week’s was more interesting. Emma asking Norma for advice on what sex was like for her the first time was awkward, but Norma did an admirable job. She couldn’t very well tell Emma it wasn’t much fun being (allegedly) repeatedly raped by your big brother since childhood. Norma definitely had a moment with the Sheriff while she was patching up his eye. Maybe we’ll see those two getting it on as well, making it two cops Norma has scored, although having Norma and the Sheriff as cagey friends is better.
Norman and Cody have an interesting arc which has the potential to go in a number of directions, especially now that Cody has seen Norman in one of his zones. He’s even told Cody it’s not the first time, meaning she could eventually realise he was behind the teacher’s death. I know it’s a leap but it’s a possibility that could wind up with Cody being Norman’s next victim. We know Norma doesn’t like Cody and she’s already told Norman as much, which means Norman could hear his mother’s voice convincing him to kill Cody.
TV Review by Lead Entertainment Writer, Ed Blackadder
