Bates Motel episode review — 4.10 — Norman

Original air date: May 16, 2016
Director: Tucker Gates
Writer: Kerry Ehrin

Rating: 8/10

This is my favorite episode so far. Even with Norma gone — or perhaps even because she’s gone — the Norman-Romero relationship has never been more fascinating.

Norman looks like he’s just ready to snap at any moment, and Romero’s kind of the same, even beating Norman at his mother’s funeral. He’s doing everything he can to try and prove that Norman killed his mother, and he might even have a lead or two.

The funeral itself and the preparation for it is pretty interesting. Norman breaks protocol of the funeral home and insists on seeing his mother’s body.

He is the sole attendee of the funeral (until Romero comes to beat his ass), and he wants it that way. Of course, he also takes her body home from the cemetery afterward.

This episode is just great. Highmore and Carbonell give truly powerful performances, and I even really enjoyed the scene with Norman on the phone with Dylan, where he refuses to tell him that she’s dead.