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TV Review: Bates Motel 5.2 “The Convergence of the Twain”
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Bates Motel
Season 5 Episode 2: “The Convergence of the Twain”
Directed by Sarah Boyd
Written by Alison Evans, Steve Kornacki
Created by Anthony Cipriano, Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin
Starring Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke
A&E
Air Date: Monday, February 27th, 2017, 10pm

Warning! Spoilers below for the last 2 episodes of Bates Motel!

Last week on Bates Motel, Caleb (Kenny Johnson) showed up on Dylan and Emma’s (Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke) doorstep, giving Dylan the mixed feels. Emma told Caleb to go. Norman (Freddie Highmore) was deep in his psychosis, living a happy life with the mother in his head, and snuggling with her corpse at night. The ruse created in his brain was that she was pretending to be dead. He found a wallet and figured out it coincided with a blackout. He met a cute married business woman in town, and hallucination Norma (Vera Farmiga) was jealous. “Norma” helped Norman get rid of the “missing” guy’s body. His phone rang and Romero (Nestor Carbonell) was on the other end.

Spoilers below.

Bates Motel 5.2 “The Convergence of the Twain” review: Norman visits Romero in jail because he knew he was “worried” about him – known because he send his “friend” to check up on him.

Romero: “I’m coming for you when you least expect it.” Later he gets beat up in the prison – inmates don’t really like cops.

Caleb took off and left a note, but Emma (ever the honest, good girl) told Dylan she had a talk with him. Dylan was sorta relieved and sad. She mentions she wishes the baby could know her mom too, but it’s better she lives in an “honest open world.” Oh Dylan. She’s too good for you.

Madeline (Isabelle McNally) wants to set Norman up with a friend when she “happened” to run into him at the shop across the street from hers. He meets her husband – “David Davidson,” but really Sam Loomis (Austin Nichols)… the guy who had an affair in the motel. Commence smirky looks from Norman and deadly looks from Sam. Death lurks behind that smirk, Sam. I’d be careful. Sam does threaten Norman, who pretends to back down.

Chick (Ryan Hurst) visits and Norman argues with Norma. She finds him annoying, but he thinks he’s niece. he has a business proposition. He wants to bring Norman animals for Norman to preserve and then they can sell it. Chick needs money. They become partners.

On the date, Norma shows up in the bathroom, and then waits in the car. they have a fight and “Norma” goes to a bar, and lays her troubles on the bartender. Caring for a mentally ill person can be so trying.

Caleb’s next stop was the Bates Motel to look for Norma (look closer). He saw the mess and the weirdness and went to stay at another motel. That person told him Norma was dead. He went to visit her grave. By the way, the words on the gravestone that end with “Love, Norman,” are a lesson in obsession. He did not believe Norma killed herself. He ran into Chick at a bar and they had argument. Caleb was in no mood. He told Chick that Norman wasn’t getting away with it. He went back to the house to confront Norman and found the petrified corpse, but Norman (Norma) knocked him out as Chick showed up. What?!?!?!? Now Chick knows Norma “is still alive.”

Freddie Highmore is a star as usual, balancing his crazy with fear with vulnerability (like his crush on Madeline).

My husband has a theory that Chick is supposed to be Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, and I suspect he’s right. If that is correct, then Chick will live. It’s not such a far off one – Chick wrote: “Even though she wasn’t there, except in his mind. She was dead. But what did that matter?”

The camera work, direction, and acting by Farmiga and Highmore, especially when switching scenes with each other to show her in his head are just magnificent.

What a crazy bananas episode, and it’s only the 2nd one. This season will be a doozy all right, and I will be sorry to see this series go.

Bates Motel airs Monday nights at 10:00pm ET on A&E.

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