Our weekly recap of what’s happening in the world of the 5th season of A&E’s Bates Motel
The fifth and final season of A&E‘s Bates Motel is in full swing. This weekly recap series will catch you up with the series and offer personal thoughts from this writer, who is an unabashed uber-fan of the series…
Read Bates Motel episode 1&2 recap
Read Bates Motel episode 3 recap
Bates Motel Season 5, Episode 4: Hidden
One unique feature of this week’s episode is that it is directed by Max Thieriot, who plays Norman’s brother/cousin Dylan. He is fantastic in front of the camera, but I hope that this time behind the camera has given him the directing bug, because he has a really great eye for scene composition and movement. I am not sure if Thieriot is a lover of graphic novels, but the framing of the shots would lean towards that. That tone and direction kept the pacing of this episode chugging right along. A difficult feat for an episode that didn’t have the same explosive plot twists and game-changing moments (mostly in the form of murder) like the rest.
One particular stand-out moment was the breathtaking send-off given to Caleb by Chick. Last episode ended with Caleb being shot at by Norman but ultimately dying via Chick’s careless texting and driving. I know I keep reiterating this sentiment, but I cannot get enough of Chick as he is such a fascinating character. He is witty, smart, scary and oddly tender. I also find that his lack of discernible roots or age make his storyline that much more intriguing. While Viking-style funeral rites may have not been the best way to rid of Caleb’s body undetected, it was an absolutely beautiful vision and directed with a lot of care and love.
The dynamic between Norman and Norman Louise at this point is like an old married couple on steroids. It’s as if they could fight over the other person blinking at them incorrectly. This provides for some great scenes (which Vera chewed the hell out of this week!) accompanied by some even better dialogue. It all came to a head with an electric scene in the woods that I could watch over and over and is a season favorite for me so far.
The show winds down with one of the most uncomfortable scenes with so many layers of icky-ness that it went full circle and became down right impressive. This scene involved a very sexually-tense dinner and cake-baking session with the young Norma doppelganger Madeline Loomis, dressed in Norma’s clothes that Norman gave her. This is for Norman both a blessing and a curse and that push and pull was emoted all too beautifully by Freddie Highmore’s face. Both Highmore and Farmiga have such expressive faces that dialogue sometimes seems superfluous.
Alex Romero has slowly been making his way back to White Pine Bay and it has not gone unnoticed. In fact, his move has been being loosely tracked and highly anticipated by the authorities and Norman. It will be interesting to see the face-off between Norman and Romero, because I don’t think Romero has a good idea of what mental state Norman is currently in. Hell, Norman doesn’t know what mental state Norman is currently in! So next week will be interesting to see how this showdown will unfold. It also sounds like Sam Loomis will be back from Seattle shortly, so does this mean that his involvement in the story will start to take more shape?
Only a few days till we find out…