Of two minds.
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Okay, so we know that Bates Motel is on a five-year track. Next season will be the show’s last. Which is good. I think we’re all mostly in agreement that every show should have a firm exit strategy. Five seasons is a healthy run. Though after watching this Season 4 premiere I have to say – I have no idea how they’re going to fill up 20 more episodes (or 19, I guess) given HOW crazy Norman is already. I mean, for all intents and purposes, he’s gone.
I mean, Norman went from killing Bradley in last year’s finale to freakin’ strangling Emma’s mom right at the end of this season premiere. He answered the door as Norma (the mom had no idea) and then lost it and got all murder-y when he/she thought about that woman abandoning Emma in her crippling, ailing state. So these new murders now are happening quickly and fiercely. And Norman both embodies his mother WHILE ALSO witnessing her committing the acts. So when he’s “normal” Norman (which has become a somewhat relative term now), he’s unclear as to whether or not Norma really killed someone or if it was all a dream.
This is a tricky jumping off point for the season. An interesting one, but tricky nonetheless. I suppose, if Norma’s somehow able to secure him a doctor, a diagnosis, and a treatment plan, Norman might stabilize for a bit (meaning, a season) so the the show doesn’t have to rush to the close. Then, something will trigger him. Either the death of someone close or act he deems to be a betrayal. Or both. And he’ll fall right back into his psychotic ways.
This season premiere didn’t do what most other Bates premieres have done – which is set up a seasonal “bad” for Romano to deal with. What it did do was really lean into just how damn negligent Norma’s been all these years with regards to Norman’s condition. So co-dependent on him that she never gave him the proper care he needed. And now she’s come to this “too little, too late” point in their lives where she literally has no control over him because he’s 18.
Plus, in typical Norma fashion, she’s got no health insurance. Forever behind and playing catchup. And forever also thinking she can flirt (or more) her way out of a situation. Like with Dr. Edwards (who was gay), Or with her proposing to Romano one random morning because she had 48 hours to find a doctor and needed his insurance. Of course too, she doesn’t know how any of these processes work. It’d take a considerable amount of time to get added to Romano’s insurance. It’s like when she walked back into the fancy psychiatric care facility and was like “I’ve changed my mind. So yes, please. Norman can stay here.”
In less Norman-y news (who spent most of the episode strapped down in a state hospital under observation), Emma’s lung transplant was successful. So now it’ll be interesting to see where they take her and Dylan. I’m just assuming everyone on this show, except Norman, will die by the end so I’m very curious to see what they do with Emma now that she’s, essentially, survived this heath scare. Will she rise from the ashes just to get murdered or is has she always been destined to die from health complications?
“A Danger to Himself and Others” gave us Norman as a full-fledged psycho. All while hammering home just how badly Norma’s been taking care of him. Or not taking care of him, as it were. It was a fairly basic episode, overall. Not many new plot threads other than Norman’s care and Emma’s operation. So I have less of an overall idea regarding the trajectory of Season 4. But it was still good. Particularly the final murder.
