In the ‘Bates Motel’ recap, Norman deals with the fallout from his deadly choice and he receives a visit from Dylan that ends with a grave decision…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
As ‘Bates Motel’ quietly winds down to a close over these next few weeks, the revelations about the depths of Norman Bates’ crimes and the psychosis that drove him to it are starting to be unveiled in graphic detail.
Norman’s propensity for murder has always been simmering under the surface ever since he killed his own father in an act of rage while trying to protect his mother from his abuse. Since that time, Norman has tucked away the part of his brain that allowed him to feel that seething pain that goes along with hurt and anguish and instead replaced it with a figment of his own imagination that lashes out whenever he’s tormented with those emotions.
In the latest episode, Norman is forced to deal with the fallout from his choice to murder Sam Loomis — the first time he knowingly made the choice to take someone’s life — but soon we discover that ‘Mother’ has been hard at work all year long with multiple bodies dropped into the little lake just a few miles away from the Bates Motel.
Add to that, Norman’s own fractured psyche is no longer just producing a corporal version of his dead mother in front of his eyes, but now he’s imagining other influential people from his life as his damaged mind continues to fight against itself while he slowly fades deeper and deeper into madness.
With that said, let’s recap the latest episode of ‘Bates Motel’ titled ‘Inseparable’…
Body of Evidence
Just moments after Norman killed Sam Loomis, he’s still standing over top of the body in complete shock from the decision he just made to take a human life. Of course, Sam was a two-timing lying bastard so in that moment Norman felt justified in snuffing him out once and for all, but now he’s faced with the reality of his actions.
A few moments later, ‘Mother’ joins him in the motel room while imploring Norman to snap out of it and turn off the water because that’s just a waste. While Norman can barely move, ‘Mother’ is reacting to the situation by wrapping up Sam in a shower curtain and preparing to dump his body in the lake where he’ll join Jim Blackwell in the murky deep of those who visited the Bates Motel and did not live to tell about it.
‘Mother’ is more concerned right now with getting rid of Sam’s body so no one will be suspicious about what just happened. Unfortunately when she and Norman arrive at the lake, they see police cars all around and a boat that’s pulling a body out of the water. It looks like this will no longer be a good landing spot for their victims, but more importantly what will this particular body tell the authorities that could potentially lead back to Norman?
‘Mother’ finds an abandoned well where they can dump the body instead, but Norman is still feeling remorse after killing Sam and just getting rid of the body. ‘Mother’ is much more concerned about landing the two of them in prison so she gets Norman to move past the body and then take Sam’s car to a chop shop where they get some cash for their trouble.
On the long five mile walk back to the motel, Norman continues to lament about the decision he just made while ‘Mother’ is still focusing on the task at hand — making sure they don’t get busted for killing somebody. When they arrive back at the motel, Norman spots another police cruiser — this time belonging to Sheriff Greene.
Norman fakes like he was up early cleaning the rooms when Sheriff Greene greets him with some unsettling news. The police discovered several bodies in the lake not too far away from the motel and one of them was Jim Blackwell — the ex-con who served time with Alex Romero and just so happened to have Norman’s address etched down on a piece of paper before he disappeared.
Norman offers up his sympathy while still claiming to have no clue why Jim Blackwell would be looking for him. The sheriff leaves but it’s clear she has suspicions about what Norman has been telling her in fact versus fiction.
For now the police have gone so Norman knows it’s time to get rid of any other evidence just in chase the sheriff ever returns looking for answers inside the motel or the house. While ‘Mother’ cleaned up the room where Sam was murdered, Norman has plenty of damning evidence inside the house — most notably the mummified corpse of his mother Norma Bates, who is currently living in the basement.
Norman packs up Norma’s body and carries her to an isolated spot in the middle of the woods where he buries her body and covers it with a cloth before promising to retrieve her as soon as it’s safe. Norman can’t let go and clearly he never will.
Glorified G
Romero wakes up from his slumber after nearly three days as an old friend has taken care of him. The friend named Maggie is someone Romero grew up with and he was apparently the only person who cared about her in a town full of uncaring people thus her loyalty to him.
She patched up his gunshot wound and has been feeding him antibiotics until he’s strong enough to stave off the infection. When Romero wakes up, he’s still only got one thing on his mind and that’s returning to White Pine Bay for revenge against his stepson Norman.
Despite Maggie’s pleas that Romero just let this go, he’s not going to be satisfied until Norman has been made to pay for what he did to his mother.
Romero arrived at Maggie’s house with a gun and he’s not leaving until he retrieves it so he can finish his manhunt in Oregon. Romero has given up on himself but he knows he can’t really sleep again until Norman has been made to pay for killing Norma.
Brotherly Love
After nearly two years away, Dylan returns to White Pine Bay when he arrives at the Bates Motel at the same time his brother Norman is just getting back home. The siblings go inside the house where Norman apologies for not telling Dylan about Norma’s death because he was just too shaken up by those events to really deal with her passing in a healthy way.
No kidding!
Dylan looks around the house, finding cigarettes and women’s shoes on the floor before discovering the entire place is in disarray not to mention the filthy kitchen that has barely been maintained over these past two years.
Dylan does his best to reconnect with Norman while telling him that he married Emma before they had their baby daughter Katy just recently. Norman looks at a photo of his niece but over Dylan’s shoulder he sees ‘Mother’ staring back at him.
Dylan asks Norman about his health and if he’s still seeing Dr. Edwards or taking his medication. Norman replies by saying how he just recently saw his former doctor but he’s no longer a patient. Norman has also stopped taking the medication because after Norma’s passing, he seemed to find his own way about things.
The quizzing from Dylan about his health sends Norman into a mental spiral and he says he has to lie down in bed because he’s not feeling well. When Norman wakes up, ‘Mother’ is right there beside him and she explains that no matter how much they both love Dylan, he has to go right now.
While Norman is sleeping, Dylan goes into town to try and fill Norman’s prescription when he discovers an unsettling piece of information. Norman’s psychologist Dr. Edwards disappeared a year ago and hasn’t been seen ever since. So that meeting that Norman had with him a few weeks back was all a figment of his imagination.
Dylan has now gone from worried to down right frightened for his brother’s well being. He heads back to the house to try and convince Norman to seek help for his troubled mind.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Back at the house, Norman has prepared a full dinner to enjoy with his brother, but Dylan is only worried about getting him the medical help he needs because his mind is clearly not all right.
Before he can make it inside with the medication he procured for his brother, Dylan runs into a frantic Madeleine, who has arrived to ask Norman about her husband Sam after he didn’t come home the night before. Dylan brushes her off and explains that Norman isn’t well and that he needs to take care of his brother, but he’ll gladly pass along the message.
Madeleine scurries away after Dylan reveals Norman’s fragile mental state before he heads inside to deal with his brother.
At the dinner table, Dylan tells Norman about Madeleine’s visit and how she was concerned about Sam’s well being. In turn, Norman says that Sam was there the night before with a woman as he was cheating on his wife but then in the morning both of them were gone. While it seems like a valid excuse it’s not one that Dylan is buying.
He finally tells Norman that he got some medication for him and implores his brother to take one of the pills. In return, Norman explains that Dylan has to leave the house as soon as possible because this situation just isn’t going to work out for either of them.
Just as Norman is about to swallow the pill, he engages in a back and forth argument under his breath with ‘Mother’ except he’s only talking to himself. When Norman turns around to address Dylan, he’s transformed into ‘Mother’ much to the shock and awe from his brother.
‘Mother’ explains how much she loves Dylan and appreciates what he’s trying to do but he’s just getting in the way so while it pains her to do this, it must be done. ‘Mother’ then smashes a glass over Dylan’s head before grabbing a butcher knife to kill him. Norman then fights back against ‘Mother’ except when Dylan looks up he just sees his brother rolling around the kitchen table fighting against himself.
Finally, Norman gets the upper hand on ‘Mother’ to stop her from killing Dylan but more importantly he’s finally realizing that he’s no longer truly in control. With Dylan still laying on the ground, his head covered in blood, while his mind is racing a million miles a minute while trying to absorb everything he’s just witnessed, Norman picks up the phone and dials 9-1-1.
When the authorities answer, Norman responds by proclaiming “I’d like to report a murder. My name is Norman Bates and I killed Sam Loomis”.
‘Bates Motel’ returns with a brand new episode next Monday night at 9pm ET on A&E
