3. The Plot
By now it should be obvious that there is a lot more to the plot of
Bates Motel than the story of how Norman Bates went crazy. In fact, take the relationship to
Psycho out of the picture and you have a pretty strong premise for a show already. An emotionally fragile boy and his unstable mother buy a motel in a small town populated by criminals and psychopaths. Within days of their arrival they are forced to cover up a murder and in their attempts to escape police attention they unwittingly become more and more drawn in to the dark secrets of their new home. Doesnt sound too terrible, does it? And that isnt even touching on the real overarching story, that of how the boy is driven to murder and insanity. What is clever about the writing is how nothing feels disconnected or unnecessary. Every subplot is effectively woven in with the others, creating a complex and intoxicating tapestry of intriguing story strands. The show goes to great pains to illustrate the toll that all of this is taking on Norman, and particularly on his relationship with his mother, which was not exactly healthy to begin with. Add to this his delinquent half-brother Dylan, a very interesting addition to the mythology clearly conceived as a counterpoint to Normas domineering nature. Dylan offers a different path for Norman and, despite how unpleasant and messed up he obviously is, he seems to be the only character who cares for Norman unconditionally. If I was to hazard a guess as to where this series will end up, it will be with Norman having to choose between his mother and brother. Dylans days are almost certainly numbered, but I for one cannot wait to see how that comes about. This is the kind of show where you become desperate to see what happens, which is bizarre for a story where the endgame has been public knowledge since 1960. But again, it just goes to show how well constructed this series is.