Sheriff Romero gets rid of the body that the mysterious culprit planted in her bed at the ending from the previous episode. She gets flowers, but it is undermined with a card that says "See you soon" She considers this to be a veiled threat, but the Sheriff doesn't take it very seriously. She snaps and wants to move. If that isn't enough, Dylan's work buddies are smoking pot outside their rooms and her real estate agent apprises her that nothing can be done about the bypass. Meanwhile, Emma is working for Norma and gets orders to make sure they don't smoke the pot. Norman is still hung up on Bradley and has a disturbing dream about her. Norman tells Dylan about it and he gets a tad perturbed with what is revealed. Little does Norman know Bradley is now fawning over Norman's brother Dylan, using him to get into her Dad's office. She becomes devastated with what she finds. Norman's teacher, Miss Watson loves Norman's short stories and wants to get one of them published. Norman tells Norma that he likes it in White Pine Bay, but Norma is adamant about moving
Wow! What an episode. As I explained in a couple of reviews for some other episodes. I had seen all the episodes, up until episode 8. I hadn't seen 8, 9, 10. I was extremely impressed by this episode and sometimes blown away. Is this town messed up or what? There are so many things to mention here, but unfortunately you have a 1000 word limit. I'll do my best to explain my thoughts. You have been slowly getting to see Norman show signs of becoming who he is, but it's starting to be on full display. Watch the little things Freddie Highmore does in this episode, whether it's a facial tick or moving his hands slowly down Norma's backside during a hug before catching himself to realize where his hands are going. Freddie really pays attention to detail and I love it. If you're a true Psycho fan, you know where Norman's storyline is going, but it's gonna be a hell of a ride, I bet money on it. Norman is on his way to becoming a full-fledged loonie toon as Duane Duke from Psycho III put it. Even the Psycho fans who have complained about this show doing its own thing will lap this episode up. Wait until you see Emma explain about getting the feeling someone is watching her. Norman and Norma actually sleep together in this episode. In some circumstances, this is OK, but not here. If you've seen Psycho IV: The Beginning, you see many disturbing things with Norman and Norma, but I was still weirded out by it. It was effectively disturbing and twisted. Because Vera Farmiga is so gorgeous, I kind of envied Norman, but whoa. I wonder how far they are gonna go with Norman and Norman, about sexuality.
It is very intriguing to see how much they are gonna push the envelope. I figured Bradley's storyline would culminate sooner than it did, but I was way off course. It looks like she's gonna be in a prominent role going forward and I'm all for it. I love Bradley and hate her at the same time. She's such a manipulative, grade A slut at times with a very conniving way about her. She totally used Norman and has messed him all up, now she's going after his brother Dylan! I was like "Are you serious?!" The strange thing is she comes across as totally benign and genuine because she is messed up herself from her Father dying. It is a really complex character. I wonder what's gonna happen with Bradley and Dylan. Will Dylan betray Norman and sleep with her, pushing Norman to the brink, where he kills them both? It has many possibilities and I'm stoked to see where it goes. I hate to go here, but I do have some minor carps. I dislike this Jake Abernathy storyline. I am trying to give it a chance and it's not interesting me. Norma's character is amazing, but Jake Abernathy is boring in my opinion. It is revealed why he's doing what he's doing in this episode, but I had trouble caring. The end of this episode involves Abernathy and Norma and sets up things to come for the last episode of season one. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but unless they come up with something that knocks me on my ass with the Abernathy storyline, count me unexcited. I had trouble focusing in the finale with Norma and Abernathy and it brings the episode down a few notches. I'll give it one more shot though. Norma is evolving into her crazed persona nicely. She has the line of the episode. "Why do crazy people keep gravitating towards me?" THE IRONY! I'm beginning to wonder if the Sheriff is involved in the sex trafficking as well, considering he did nothing about Norma's situation or the pot smokers. Speaking of pot smokers, that's where the sharp sense of humor comes in for this episode. It gave me a few good chuckles.
Final Thoughts: Aside from the boring Abernathy storyline, this episode is as close to perfect as you can get. Funny, suspenseful, disturbing, creepy, and amazingly well acted. I'm really hoping everything ends with a bang the way this show deserves too. Psycho fans will love the sly little nods and people who aren't familiar with the movies should love it too. It comes highly recommend by yours truly. One more episode to go!
9.6/10
Wow! What an episode. As I explained in a couple of reviews for some other episodes. I had seen all the episodes, up until episode 8. I hadn't seen 8, 9, 10. I was extremely impressed by this episode and sometimes blown away. Is this town messed up or what? There are so many things to mention here, but unfortunately you have a 1000 word limit. I'll do my best to explain my thoughts. You have been slowly getting to see Norman show signs of becoming who he is, but it's starting to be on full display. Watch the little things Freddie Highmore does in this episode, whether it's a facial tick or moving his hands slowly down Norma's backside during a hug before catching himself to realize where his hands are going. Freddie really pays attention to detail and I love it. If you're a true Psycho fan, you know where Norman's storyline is going, but it's gonna be a hell of a ride, I bet money on it. Norman is on his way to becoming a full-fledged loonie toon as Duane Duke from Psycho III put it. Even the Psycho fans who have complained about this show doing its own thing will lap this episode up. Wait until you see Emma explain about getting the feeling someone is watching her. Norman and Norma actually sleep together in this episode. In some circumstances, this is OK, but not here. If you've seen Psycho IV: The Beginning, you see many disturbing things with Norman and Norma, but I was still weirded out by it. It was effectively disturbing and twisted. Because Vera Farmiga is so gorgeous, I kind of envied Norman, but whoa. I wonder how far they are gonna go with Norman and Norman, about sexuality.
It is very intriguing to see how much they are gonna push the envelope. I figured Bradley's storyline would culminate sooner than it did, but I was way off course. It looks like she's gonna be in a prominent role going forward and I'm all for it. I love Bradley and hate her at the same time. She's such a manipulative, grade A slut at times with a very conniving way about her. She totally used Norman and has messed him all up, now she's going after his brother Dylan! I was like "Are you serious?!" The strange thing is she comes across as totally benign and genuine because she is messed up herself from her Father dying. It is a really complex character. I wonder what's gonna happen with Bradley and Dylan. Will Dylan betray Norman and sleep with her, pushing Norman to the brink, where he kills them both? It has many possibilities and I'm stoked to see where it goes. I hate to go here, but I do have some minor carps. I dislike this Jake Abernathy storyline. I am trying to give it a chance and it's not interesting me. Norma's character is amazing, but Jake Abernathy is boring in my opinion. It is revealed why he's doing what he's doing in this episode, but I had trouble caring. The end of this episode involves Abernathy and Norma and sets up things to come for the last episode of season one. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but unless they come up with something that knocks me on my ass with the Abernathy storyline, count me unexcited. I had trouble focusing in the finale with Norma and Abernathy and it brings the episode down a few notches. I'll give it one more shot though. Norma is evolving into her crazed persona nicely. She has the line of the episode. "Why do crazy people keep gravitating towards me?" THE IRONY! I'm beginning to wonder if the Sheriff is involved in the sex trafficking as well, considering he did nothing about Norma's situation or the pot smokers. Speaking of pot smokers, that's where the sharp sense of humor comes in for this episode. It gave me a few good chuckles.
Final Thoughts: Aside from the boring Abernathy storyline, this episode is as close to perfect as you can get. Funny, suspenseful, disturbing, creepy, and amazingly well acted. I'm really hoping everything ends with a bang the way this show deserves too. Psycho fans will love the sly little nods and people who aren't familiar with the movies should love it too. It comes highly recommend by yours truly. One more episode to go!
9.6/10
