‘Bates Motel’ Mini Recap: Is Norma Really Dead?, Say It Isn’t So!
Bates Motel fans are, no doubt, in shock right now. This week’s mini episode recap contains dreadful news… news that was pretty much inevitable right from the start. Norma Bates is dead, or is she?
Saying this wasn’t a good week in White Pine Bay is an understatement. According to Vulture, Norma and Norman ended up doing what they do best, clinging to each other in times of adversity. What led to them banding together (in Norma’s bed) to discuss the possibility of leaving Bates Motel behind and moving to Hawaii to start over, you ask?
Crossed Mother. #BatesMotel pic.twitter.com/zZ6mNrGRcy
— Bates Motel on A&E (@InsideBates) May 10, 2016
It’s like this. Norma’s marriage to Sherriff Romero took a downturn after she found out that her loving husband tried his best to get Dylan to help him get Norman recommitted. Going to his office to confront him about what he had done did not go well. Alex told Norma her son was a danger to society, she disagreed. As recently reported by the Inquisitr, an almost identical scenario played out last week.
Back home in the kitchen, staring blankly into the refrigerator, she told Norman he was right. Her marriage to Alex wasn’t working. Norman acted genuinely sorry. Norma ran to him, sobbing her eyes out. Later that night, after she wrote Romero a note telling him “I will always love you no matter what,” and talking to Norman again about their possible move to a warmer climate, Norma fell asleep.
Yay! #BatesMotel Monday! @InsideBates @KerryEhrin @CarltonCuse @CarbonellNestor @maxthieriot @RamboDonkeyKong pic.twitter.com/yUucK5n6IL
— Vera Farmiga (@VeraFarmiga) May 9, 2016
When that happened, Norman snuck out of the room and went down to the basement. He turned up the furnace, staring at the flames for what seemed like forever. He then shut all of the vents in the house and locked the front door. As carbon monoxide began to fill every room, he went back upstairs and returned to bed with Norma.
Shortly afterwards, Alex pulled up past the Bates Motel, climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. No one answered, so he used his key and went inside. He called for his wife but received no answer. He went upstairs to Norma’s room, opened the door and saw her and Norman sleeping. He called her name and tried to wake her.
Romero finally smelled gas, broke a window, and carried her out of the room. What took the man so long, right? He went back and got Norman. While performing CPR on Norma, Norman begins to come to. He sees his stepfather crying and begging Norma to wake up. Still no response. Is Norma really dead? At this point, it’s a mystery.
By the sound of an Entertainment Weekly interview, the proprietor of the Bates Motel has really and truly met her demise. Kerry Ehrin, one of the showrunners of Bates Motel, was recently asked how they decided to kill Norma off. She explained it like this.
“It was very much born out of the characters. We asked, ‘In what possible circumstance would Norman ever hurt Norma or kill her?’ And what we really love about it is that he is actually trying to fix things for them in the only way he can think of. How he goes about that is in the most gentle way possible.”
However, it’s important to remember that with shows such as this one, things aren’t always what they seem. In next week’s episode, the final one of the season, there’s always a chance Norma will miraculously survive.
What are your thoughts about this week’s episode of Bates Motel? Were you totally surprised by the ending? Feel free to leave your comments below.
[Photo by Michelle Faye/A&E]
