HOLLYWOOD—Norman Bates might be one of the scariest sociopaths in movie history so imagine fans reactions upon the discovery that the series chronicling Bates transition to the dark side was revealed? Yep, the “A&E” series “Bates Motel” is back for its third season.
The first season had a few dark moments, the second season highlighted that darkness even more, as the relationship between Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman (Freddie Highmore) took a disturbing turn in my opinion. Season three kicked off with a creepy scene with Norman and Norma sleeping in bed together. Dylan (Max Thieriot) was shocked a bit to see his mother and brother sleeping in the same bed. When called out on the situation, Norma deflected as usual. Her world got turned upside down when she received a call from a lawyer informing her that her mother had passed away. Her reaction was quite coy in the beginning of the episode, but the audience soon realized Norma loved her mother more than she was willing to show.
Norman was not happy to be starting his senior year, so much to the point that Norma was forced to cause a scene in front of other students. Its apparent Norman is quite disturbed because while at the lunch table he hallucinated a bloody Ms. Watson talking to him. That forced our precocious one to run home in a fury to his mother who comforted him just as a new tenant arrived at the hotel, Anika Johnson.
Norman was immediately smitten by the sexy young lady. I have a feeling that infamous shower scene will involve her! Dylan met up with Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) to talk about starting a legit drug farm considering the DEA is burning farms left and right in the city. Seems like drugs is what everyone does in this town. Norman and Anika bonded over family history as he fixed her ceiling light. This girl has no idea of the danger she is playing with.
On his way home, Dylan found himself being followed by a vehicle, which turned out to be his estranged father Caleb (Kenny Johnson). To say Dylan was a bit upset that his father attempted to bridge a relationship with him after what he did to her mother was an understatement. They begin to slightly bond when he gave his dad a ride to gather car parts and he showed up at his cabin.
Norman flipped a bit when his mother told him it was not a good idea for them to sleep in the same bed, but she later revoked on that declaration when Norman found her sobbing over her mother’s death. It was a treat to see Emma (Olivia Cooke) back in the mix getting a bit closer with Norman as the friends planned to go on a date. Dylan got a bit of an earful from both Caleb and Norma who shared a bit of family history that had him a bit frightened in my opinion.
Norma was quite disturbed when she caught Norman spying on a naked Anika as she was showering. Yeah, Norman is indeed increasing the peeping tom and creep factor. The episode wrapped with Norman taking a ride with Anika to her ‘workplace.’ Emma a bit torn by what she was witnessing left the hotel, just as Norman returned, but Anika was not with him. Hmm, wonder what may have transpired between the two? I can definitely sense some a darker tone in season three of the series. “Bates Motel” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on A&E.
