User Reviews

We have one episode left of this series and I found it interesting that they completely slammed on the brakes as they set up for the grand finale.

With season 5 having been Bates Motel's version of "Psycho," which I think they've done a good job at, I'm trying to figure out exactly what direction they're planning on going here. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. "Psycho" ended with Norman finally getting caught and sent to a mental institution after the detective explains to the people that he has D.I.D. and that the Mother personality has almost completely taken over.

With the last couple of episodes leading up to a court case thanks to Norman rebelling against Mother and turning himself in, Mother has taken over completely in order to try to get them out of this sticky situation and man is she cunning and manipulative. Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore are at their absolute best as they both switch out constantly, often mid-conversation, yet it's impressive that the transitions are seamless as Freddie and Vera are both successfully convincing us that they are the same exact character.

We'll find out next week how this is all going to go down, but this episode chose to be quiet. Much of the episode was focused on Dylan and Emma and their reactions to learning that Norman killed Emma's mother, which Emma doesn't take lightly at all. And at this point we really feel bad for Dylan as he has to try to figure out what he should do as he knows his brother is a good person that has done bad things because of D.I.D., even though he doesn't know what it's officially called. Dylan is trying to get him into the mental institution where he belongs, but he's having a hard time trying to reconcile with Emma. I mean, when your wife is furious that your brother killed her mom, trying to get your brother into a mental institution instead of on Death Row seems like you're on the opposite side as your wife, which is extremely hard. I really felt the emotion and tension between Emma and Dylan. As much praise as Vera and Freddie have deservedly received, let's not forget how fantastic Max Thieriot and Olivia Cooke have been, especially in this episode.

My favorite part of this episode is the arc that Emma goes through. She starts the episode by being angry at everything after she learns Norman killed her mother. Then there's the tension between her and Dylan. Then as they go their separate ways for a moment, Emma deals with the death of her mother as she has her cremated and spreads her ashes. That seems like the moment that brought her peace. Then she goes to approach Norman in jail where she figures out that Norman isn't Norman at this point, but is instead Norma. The scene where Emma tells Norma that she misses Norman really got me. It's a powerful moment that successfully expresses the tragedy behind this whole situation as we get a glimpse of what could've been.

We finish the episode with the official finale setup. Alex breaks into the jail and rather easily breaks Norman out and forces him and the lawyer girl to drive to where the body of real Norma is. Honestly I felt this moment was a bit cheesier that they meant it to be. I get that he's the former Sheriff and all, but it seemed way too easy for him to break Norman out. I was laughing a bit more than I should've because it was just too ridiculous.

But I suppose I should see where this goes before passing judgment. Overall I'm surprised that more didn't happen in this episode given that there's only one episode left in this whole series, but I loved the scenes between Dylan and Emma in this episode and I really loved that final interaction between Emma and Norman. I'm excited to see what they have in store for us next week. I still have no idea how they're going to end this show, which I appreciate. I'm envisioning about three or four different potential endings in my head and I'm really curious to see which one they go with!