Bates Motel - The Convergence of Twain - Review: Mother Takes Over

Bates Motel's second outing of the season was a powerhouse indeed. Another true masterpiece involving fabulous acting, great camera shots and kept the story progressing pushing the walls closer on our favorite Psycho.

Let's be straight, I'll never feel a drop of compassion towards Caleb. He is trash and he could join a priesthood and he wouldn't have time to redeem himself for all the mess he did in his life. Still, Kenny Johnson knocked it out of the park in this hour. Caleb's reaction to the death of his sister and his breakdown at the cemetry was truly fascinating as Kenny's portrayal of pain and dispair touched even my tear glands and created a blockage in my tearducts.
Watching Caleb get drunk and trash the mansion was exciting and kept me on the edge of the seat, especially knowing that Norman is walking around the house as Mother. Eventually, I didn't expect Caleb to discover the frozen body or Mother to knock him down with a shovel. But I like the show is daring and pushing the story forward faster this season. It is just one more prove that the writers aren't kidding around and that we are in for a hell of a ride.
Still, one big mystery in this story is Chick's involvement. He seems to be recording Norman's psychotic state and maybe even intends to publish the story. Can't wait to see his reaction to Norman's full blown craziness.

Elsewhere in the episode, we saw a newish side to Norman. He went full stalker on Madeleine and got to know her husband, Sam formerly known as David Davidson. The douchey motel customer from last week turned out to be cheating bastard married to Norman's newest obsession. The scene where Norman and Sam meet again was truly exciting. Norman's confidence while having leverage over Sam was creepy and felt truly intense. Norman's confrontation with the french learning "Norma" was another perfect touch from the writer's side. As said in the "Dark Paradise" review, the writers are sometimes using "Norma" as the sane part of Norman confronting his crazy. A very intriguing line in the Norman-"Norma" confrontation was Norman questioning "Norma" if she is still in love with Romero. Does Norman have feelings for Romero? Norman's sexuality isn't truly defined and his split personality could create attraction towards man as well and how could Norman's secret feelings towards Romero change the story at the end.

I loved French "Norma" it was another nice touch from the writers, with them using the metaphor of passionate french lovers to portray Norman's feeling of betraying Norma, his guilt for developing feelings for Madeliene despite her being married and using the french accent during the double date. I loved all these fines by the writers, they are so on point this season. The double date was meanwhile an intriguing event, Joanne was really boring and the subtle eye-rolls from Norman were priceless. Norman's breakdown after they've mentioned Norma's passing was really emotional, I sometimes forget how much he loved Norma despite his crazy. Soon we witnessed another incredible performance by Freddie and Vera, during their bathroom scene. "Norma" climbing out of the bathroom window just made me laugh out loud. All this pressure on Norman to contain "Norma" eventually brought out MOTHER.

The bar scene where Mother took over is probably my favorite scene of the series so far. It was so well acted, directed and cut together. The flow of the lines, the way they synced Freddie's and Vera's voices, the transitions between Norman and Norma combined with the background low-key creepy music was simply on point, creating a scene to be remembered. The fines and attention to detail from both actors, especially from Freddie, created a lasting impression on me and I'm certain I'll be mentioning this level of acting for a long long time.

The Romero-Norman scene in the prison was another highlight of the episode. Both characters have something dark and dangerous within themselves, I like the contrast between their darkness. Romero is so masculine and threatening with his attitude and appearance while Norman is so creepily passive-aggressive in their relationship. Them sharing scenes is always marvelous. The scene in the prison wasn't an exception either. It felt like two powerful auras clashing against each other and I can't wait for the real battle to start. Hashtag GetRomeroOutOfPrison

Last but not least, Emma and Dylan discusses Caleb's leaving and their honesty in this dark and twisted world the show is set in feels unbelievably refreshing and intense. And even though they seemingly came to terms with them Caleb leaving, Dylan's face told a completely different story. And I'm sure he will look for Caleb rather sooner than later.

P.S. Sam dropped a major clue during the double date. His firm is located in Seattle and guess where Emma and Dylan live. A meeting is unavoidable?

Bates Motel's quality rose sharply this season and if these first two episodes are any indication what awaits in upcoming outings we are in for a wild wild ride. What do you think, will Caleb survive the next hour? Or will he be able to out Norman's crazy to someone? And what will be Chick's role in the big game? Feel free to sound off in the comment section and discuss what happened last night and share what you think will happen by the end of the series.