Bates Motel: Inseparable

April 4, 2017 6:17 PM - Season 5, Episode 7

Norman and Mother come together as trouble looms large; Romero convalesces with the help of an old friend; trouble looms large.
posted by kittens for breakfast (2 comments total)

Finally catching up on the last two weeks, and 30 seconds into this one, I had to pause and come here specifically to say: "Jesus, Norman, turn the faucet off. You're wasting water" is possibly the greatest single line of dialogue ever written, especially considering not only every in-show thing leading to this particular narrative moment but also the metric tons of accumulated cultural history and iconography associated with it.

I mean, as a writer or actor re-imagining this specific scene (hey no pressure!), you've got like infinite ways to totally fuck it up and very few ways to get it right. This was exactly perfect.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:39 AM on April 14, 2017

OK, all done, and what a FANTASTIC episode. Twisty, turny, completely unpredictable -- and so full of laughs and pathos as poor Norman tries to navigate his relationship with Mother and keep her under control. The other great line was "if I had a quarter, I'd make a wish" after dumping Sam in the well. It's really fascinating to see Norman realize more fully that Mother is not the Norma he loves but a truly dangerous part of himself and that he needs to be stopped. His surrender resets the whole table. Bravo for these bold choices, show!

Great sneaky surprise about Dr. Edwards too -- and it finally resolves my "Oh come on, no way this doctor lets Norman out and never follows up afterward" objection. Thanks, show, for being too smart for that shit!

Although, geez, knowing everything he does about Norman, Dylan the responsible new dad seriously decides to hang out totally alone for days with his batshitinsane violent brother?
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:46 AM on April 14, 2017