Bates Motel
Season 4 Episode 3: “Til Death Do You Part”
Directed by Phil Abraham
Written by Steve Kornacki & Alyson Evans
Starring Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke
A&E
Air Date: Monday, March 21st, 2016, 9pm

Last week on Bates Motel, Norman (Freddie Highmore) went completely off the reservation, imagining he was speaking to his dead father, and that Norma (Vera Farmiga) was the one who killed Emma’s mother. He confronted his mother, and she was scared of him, walking around with a knife. Romero (Nestor Carbonell) decided to marry Norma. Emma’s (Olivia Cooke) transplant was a success. Norma, with the help of Romero, carted Norman off to the fancy insane asylum.

Spoilers below.

Bates Motel
Season 3 Episode 9: “Crazy”
Directed by Tucker Gates
Written by Steve Kornacki, Alyson Evans & Torrey Speer
Starring Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke, Kenny Johnson
A&E
Air Date: Monday, May 4th, 2015, 9pm

Last week on Bates Motel, the “pit” in question was a 23-ft deep monstrosity, that Norma (Vera Farmiga) thought meant Bob Paris (Kevin Rahm) was playing ball, but actually didn’t. In fact, he had his goons grab Norma’s little shrink/lover James (Joshua Leonard) to get the goods on her. And since she confessed all while on her bender, he had a lot to give up. Bob went straight to Romero (Nestor Carbonell) with this info. Needless to say, Romero is not pleased. Norman (Freddie Highmore) was really upset about what James said about him wanting his own mother. Come on, Norman! It cannot be that unbelievable to you. Caleb (Kenny Johnson) and Dylan (Max Thieriot) almost get killed gun running for Chick (Ryan Hurst). Caleb DID try to warn Dylan, but he couldn’t see past the money he needed to save Emma (Olivia Cooke).

Boardwalk Empire — The Complete Second Season
Blu-ray l DVD
CREATOR: Terence Winter
DIRECTORS: Timothy Van Patten, Allen Coulter, Jeremy Podeswa, More
WRITERS: Terence Winter, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, More
STARRING: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Jack Huston, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Anatol Yusef, Gretchen Mol, Paz de la Huerta, Michael Kenneth Williams, Dabney Coleman, William Forsythe, Anthony Laciura
HBO Studios
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2012

I’ve made my love for HBO no secret, with two of my all-time favorite shows going strong right now in Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, and a slew of others I’ve adored over the years. So instead of reviewing season 2 of Boardwalk on Blu-ray, I’ll just be swooning about it for a bit before sharing what bonus features there are to enjoy.

Where season 1 established the incredible collection of characters the show has to offer, season 2 expands on them (those who have survived, anyway), creating an intricately crafted web of often interconnecting storylines. The primary focus of the second season is again Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and James Darmody (Michael Pitt). But instead of being the boy Nucky helped to raise, Jimmy has reunited with his estranged father, the Commodore (Dabney Coleman), and is leading the charge to take control of Atlantic City and the alcohol coming in and out of it. As you might expect, Nucky isn’t fond of anyone trying to muscle him out of his position of power, let alone the man he’s helped to make who he is, and the two go to war. The results of this power struggle trickle down, affecting anyone associated with the two parties and leading to some interesting new business partners.