After last week’s shocking character cameo–Bradley is back!– this week Bates Motel picks up exactly where it left off. Norman stands on the bridge staring at a vision of Bradley. Is this her? Is this a dream? The two of them talk in her car. She had to come back because she’s broke and she doesn’t want to be dead anymore; she wants to come home. Norman eventually offers Bradley a place to stay at the motel but warns her that they have to be careful.
Meanwhile, Norma drives to Bob Paris’s house. She tells him that she will give him the flash drive and that Dr. Finnigan lied to him about Norman. but Paris reveals he had a P.I. look into Norman’s past and it’s suspicious. She tells him that she will do whatever he asks but please leave Norman out of everything but Paris tells her that she’s done calling the shots and Romero might beat her to getting the flash drive first. He poses an interesting question to Norma, though: Who really is worse: him or her?
Caleb shows up to Chick’s place furious for being set up and Chick apologizes but still asks for his money and his guns. Caleb is obviously pissed and tells them he doesn’t have either and asks for the money he’s owed for doing the job. Chick pulls a gun on Caleb and they fight which ends in Caleb winning and beating Chick really badly. He tells him to never, ever go near Dylan again or he will kill him. I have to say, I felt some major tension during this fight. I even jumped when Chick pulled the gun. Bates Motel has done the impossible here by making me care very deeply about all of these main characters; I really don’t want anything bad to happen to any of them no matter how questionable they might be.
Norma shows up to the police station and confronts Romero about not returning her calls. She asks for the flash drive back because she wants out and he tells her he’ll take care of it and that they’re done talking. Back at the motel, Norman and Bradley talk, pondering how she’ll tell her mom that she’s not dead. She asks him to tell her mom for her – oh snap – is Norman going to kill Bradley? She’s basically already dead as far as anyone in town knows. Hm… At the farm, Dylan finds Caleb with $50K in cash and a broken face. He tells him that he didn’t kill Chick, but he wanted to and that he’s going to split and he suggests that Dylan do the same.
Norman finds Norma in the basement clearing out all of his taxidermy things which obviously upsets him. She explains that the case against him might get reopened and that having dead animals all over the place might not make him look too good but Norman hisses back that maybe it’s her that doesn’t look too good and that maybe it was her who killed his father. Norma is shocked and upset and Norman leaves. He rides with Bradley to her mom’s house where she finds that her mother has remarried and completely redone their home. Worst of all, her room has been converted into a home gym. “I really am dead,†Bradley realizes. She’s really shaken up and Norman comforts her.
At the police station, Romero is confronted by an investigator about the flash drive. She mentions his mother’s name on the ledger and Romero explains what happened, but the investigator isn’t buying it. How did he get elected to sheriff in the wake of his father’s disgraced name? How much did he know about the dirty deeds going on in White Pine Bay? We know that Romero murdered Marcus Young in cold blood. What else has he done?
Dylan goes to visit Emma’s dad and presents him with the money for Emma’s transplant. He gives him everything, all $50K. Emma’s dad offers to pay it all back, but Dylan tells him that all he wants in exchange for the money him to never tell her it came from him. Dylan goes upstairs to talk to Emma and they have a real heart to heart about Caleb and who he really is to Dylan.
Across town, Bradley and Norman are talking. Bradley asks Norman why his mom never wants him to leave the house and he tells her it’s because his mother thinks there’s something wrong with him. “Is there something wrong with you?†Bradley asks. “Yes,†Norman replies.
Romero arrives home to find his house broken into only to learn that it’s Norma rummaging through his things looking for that flash drive. Romero tells her that he turned the flash drive over to the DEA. He’s done with all of the drama but all Norma can think of what this means for her. Romero begs Norma for the truth about her husband and she tells him it was her, that he killed him but Romero knows better. Norma lashes out at him and then, whoops! It’s time to make out. Or not and Norma shuts it down. This is so crazy, y’all!
Norma arrives home and has a meltdown in front of the motel as Caleb drives up to leave a guitar for Dylan. He tells Norma that he’s leaving and that he needs to tell her something about Norman. He recounts the time that Norman found him at a motel, came into his room and was acting as though he thought he was Norma. He warns her that Norman is going to hurt someone, says goodbye and leaves.
Inside Bradley’s motel room, Norman brings her a change of clothes. She tells him that she’s going to leave tomorrow and invites him to come with her but he says no. She takes a sleeping pill and asks him what is wrong with him. She apologizes for rejecting him when he told her he loved her and they start making out but Norman becomes distracted by a vision of his mother. He tells Bradley that he has to leave and once he’s outside the room, he sees the vision again. She asks him what he’s going to do about Bradley. The episode ends with Norman having an entire conversation with himself and walking up to the house arm in arm with no one.
The tension is rising and the season three finale of Bates Motel airs next Monday on A&E! What do you all think will happen? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
