‘Bates Motel’ Spoilers: Freddie Highmore Calls Rihanna ‘Brilliant,’ Series A Love Story Between Mother And Son, And Norman Doesn’t Believe Norma Is Dead [Spoilers]

Bates Motel will return in March of 2017 to air the final ten episodes of the series.

Freddie Highmore, the actor who portrays Norman Bates, revealed some spoilers about Season 5 during San Diego Comic-Con 2016 last weekend, Showbiz Junkies reports. He explains that Rihanna’s acting is “brilliant,” and Season 5 will finally show the Norman Bates that the Psycho fans know and love. Freddie explains that the series told a love story between Norma and Norman and in a strange way, it is a beautiful story. And, he adds that Norman still hasn’t accepted that his mother is dead.

Freddie explained that as an artist, he is excited to work with Rihanna. He said that she is brilliant and takes direction well. He thinks they will be filming a teaser for the season in the next few weeks to include Rihanna in the photos and video.

Bates Motel spoilers have stated that even though Norma died in Season 4 Episode 9, her presence will still be felt in each episode. Mother lives in the mind of Norman and will be a huge part of the final ten episodes. Highmore explained that he doesn’t feel sadness about Norma’s death because she is still “very much a part of the storylines.”

Apparently, there’s a good reason for why she’s still a big part of the storyline–Norman has not accepted that his mother died. He still believes she is alive and well, and lives in the house with him.

“Norma has evolved, there’s no question on that, but in no way is Vera off the show. She is still there, in fact more than ever, because she lives in the mind of Norman.”

Highmore explains that at the end of Season 4 Episode 10, Norman had a hard time accepting the news that his mother died. A&E posted a video that reveals that he never meant to kill her, and the reality of her death is too much for him. He attempts to end his life, again, but in some way, his mind creates Norma’s presence to keep him safe. On some level, Freddie believes that Norman knows that his mother is dead, but he cannot accept it, so he chooses to believe that she is alive, and only he can see and hear her.

“In some way, Norman is deluded into believing that Norma is alive or at the very least, will come back for him in some way and they will live happily ever after.”

Freddie believes that the series is a masterpiece in the sense it has retold the story of Norman Bates without making the series a carbon copy of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. He feels a level of pride when talking about what the series has become and feels that he’s created his own character without copying Anthony Perkins version of Norman.

Bates Motel spoilers tease that Dr. Edwards will likely not be a part of the show for Season 5. Freddie explains that there’s no real place for the shrink in Season 5 as the whole point is of the series to drive Norman into madness. Dr. Edwards could prevent that, but it would change the whole story and isn’t the direction that Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse want to go with the show.

Freddie explains that for therapy to work, Norman would need to be committed to getting better–and at this point, he wants to live in Season 4.

bates motel at sdcc pic.twitter.com/4k7L84kJfy

— camille (@praisedtheIourd) July 21, 2016

In the end, Freddie said that no one is at fault for how it ends between Norman and Sheriff Romero. They both loved Norma and wanted her to be happy, but both failed her. Alex wanted to protect her from the evil he saw in her son. Norman wanted to take her away from this world after realizing that they were dysfunctional beyond repair.

“Norma Bates’ story is ultimately a love story–one that goes horribly wrong.”

Freddie says he enjoys attending the panel at Comic-Con each year. It gives him feedback from his long-time fans and a chance to speak to the media. Highmore explains that he tries to separate his personal life from his career as much as possible and doesn’t have any social media accounts. He doesn’t have the day-to-day interaction with the Bates Motel fans that Vera Farmiga and the other cast members do. And, from the looks of it, the Bates Motel fans love to hear Freddie take on his alter-ego, Norman Bates.

Stick with the Inquisitr for more Bates Motel spoilers, news, and casting updates.

[Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images]