Tara Ariano March 28, 2014 Share March 28, 2014 Norman shares a family secret with Cody; Dylan is caught in Zane's escalating war; Norma teams up with a mysterious man in an attempt to stop the bypass. Link to comment
Bec April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 Damn Dylan, couldn't you have shot at the drive-by shooters without standing directly in the path of their speeding car? Though I guess part of the point of that was he is feeling pretty suicidal right now. Especially after he called Norman and Norman didn't pick up. Aww... Nobody called his family after he got hit by a car during a gang shooting? I was kind of hoping to see Norma and Norman's reaction. Emma needs to read scarleteen. Asking Norma about having sex for the first time was majorly awkward. Romero and Norma has serious "first they hate each other, then they love each other" chemistry. Hee! at Romero smiling at Norma's tale of hitting a real esate agent with her purse. I'm intrigued by this new boss. She seems more competent than Zane already. Link to comment
Charlotte Vale April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 "I'm gonna go stop the bypass." Ha! Vera Farkakta* is a goddess, I adore her: I want Norma Bates to be my scary, crazy best friend. And every scene with her and "Sheriff Suddenly Susan" is 18k gold. * Yiddish for "crazy," which Vera Farmiga plays so brilliantly 3 Link to comment
chives April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 I loved Emma in this episode. She was so sweet and genuine. The scene with Norma was awkward but endearing. Gunner seems like a good guy and I hope he doesn't hurt Emma. I'm not so sure about Cody though. I feel like Norman will kill her or her dad, or they'll kill someone together. I'm glad Norman has a friend though, and it's super cute that they're working tech in a musical together. 1 Link to comment
Tara Ariano April 1, 2014 Author Share April 1, 2014 Let's talk about the episode's looks! Link to comment
Kristen April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 I loved Emma in this episode. She was so sweet and genuine. The scene with Norma was awkward but endearing. Emma is too good for that town! I have a feeling in my gut that's she's going to get screwed (literally and figuratively) by this guy she's seeing right now, and it makes me sad. Link to comment
ari333 April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 I'm worried for Emma and way too invested in this show in a weird unhealthy way hee. Love it. And I generally hate dramas. Link to comment
peacheslatour April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 I've said it before and I'll say it again- I love the way Norma dresses. (Well, except maybe that awful denim suit). 1 Link to comment
AlliMo April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 Norma and her rattling on to "Big Daddy Romero" about what a scary badass he is was adorable. I love Norma and her complete and utter lack of a filter. When Emma asked Norma about sex, all my alarm bells went off, but the way that Norma handled it so sweetly, especially considering her own experiences, was beautiful. The tiny catch in her voice when she said, "IF it's with someone you care about" killed me. Vera Farmiga is friggin' amazing. 1 Link to comment
ganesh April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 One of the more subtle things about the episode is that it wasn't all zomg Emma teh SEX! Emma likes the guy, she's not totally in love with him. Norma wasn't all, "You can't have sex ever." If you feel like it's the right time and you like the guy, go for it. Link to comment
DangerousMinds April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 I've said it before and I'll say it again- I love the way Norma dresses. (Well, except maybe that awful denim suit). Me too! I adore everything she wears. It's a bit retro, but looks very modern to me as well. I want her wardrobe (and Vera's body to carry it off). Link to comment
peacheslatour April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 Me too! I adore everything she wears. It's a bit retro, but looks very modern to me as well. I want her wardrobe (and Vera's body to carry it off). Check out Heart of Haute, some kind TWoPper sent me a link to their website. IT IS TO DIE! Link to comment
chives April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 Emma is too good for that town! I have a feeling in my gut that's she's going to get screwed (literally and figuratively) by this guy she's seeing right now, and it makes me sad. I think so too. Gunner really seems too good to be true. So far, almost everyone in white pine bay has turned out to have some kind of ulterior motive. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Emma got hurt. :( Link to comment
Bec April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 We already know what's wrong with Cupcake boy (when did we find out his name is Gunner? I must have blanked on that): he sells pot. And apparently he has ambitions to expand into having his own pot farm someday (yeah, good luck with that, I think the local drug kingpins will not look kindly on anyone edging in on their territory). But on this show? Selling pot is only a minor flaw. No big deal. I would be more concerned for Emma's safety if he is selling meth. Does anyone care that the city council guy was killed in a car "accident"? Me neither. For a second there, I thought Romero was going to deliver bad news to Norma about her son being in an "accident". By the way, love the post about the looks of Bates Motel. I actually didn't think Norma's demin(?) suit is so bad. It has a nice shape to it. Unfortunate material, but nice shape. I covet Emma's "I'm about to have sex" blouse/cardigan. Link to comment
Viqutorious April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 This show makes me feel uncomfortable and intrigues me. That is difficult to do. The writing & acting are fantastic. I never really looked at the wardrobe, after reading this thread I will pay more attention. Link to comment
Sakura12 April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 I love the relationship between Emma and Norma. She's not her daughter so she doesn't care if she has sex, but she does look out for her and is happy to give her advice. The actors on this show are so great, I do feel uncomfortable watching Norman and Norma interact and I worry for anyone that is with Norman when he gets angry. 1 Link to comment
Aquarius April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 OK. It's official. Dylan is my current TV boyfriend. When Remo dumped the water on him, I kept saying, "His shirt is wet! That must be uncomfortable! Shouldn't he take his shirt off?" I don't know that my husband was amused. I loved Emma getting some. I especially loved when she goes to take the oxygen off, and Cupcake says, "Is that going to be alright?" And she says, "Unless we're going underwater. We're not, are we?" And he says, "Not that i know of." Hee. I hope he turns out to just be a sweet pot selling guy with some farming ambitions, and not someone who is going to do Emma harm. For reasons I don't fully understand, I hate Romero, so I did not enjoy the exchanges between him and Norma. Although she was great. "I'd be outta town right away because I figure you'd be on my ass." And I have to say, I agree with Romero on one thing. DON'T DO MY LAUNDRY WITHOUT PERMISSION. They're called boundaries, Norma. I know you don't believe in them but others do. I hope Sir Drug Lord will be out of the picture soon. At the rate that the drug kingpins fall in this town, I might get my wish. Cody is a snot but she is a huge improvement over Bradley. She has a personality, however unpleasant it may be. And I'm sort of interested in finding out her backstory. 1 Link to comment
Joystickenvy April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 Pretty much everything Norma in this episode was made of win. Loved the little touch of her getting her heel caught in the dock. Her interaction with Emma was sweet, but also sad. The scenes with sheriff guyliner were fun. She has much better chemistry with Romero than she did with Shelby. I really hope cupcake boy isn't secretly evil. Looks like Dillan made a good impression on the new boss. Not really feeling the Cody storyline, though I agree either her or her dad is gonna get Normanized. I'm not sure which is more likely though. Norma doesn't like Cody, so if Norman has another Norma episode, seems like Cody could be the victim, unless Norman witnessing her dad being abusive triggers the whole Norma abuse flashback thing, which case Cody's dad is a goner. I don't think we're really supposed to care about town council guy. I think that was just supposed to be Norma's first realization that maybe sheriff guyliner was right about her new ally. 1 Link to comment
solotrek April 2, 2014 Share April 2, 2014 When Emma asked Norma about sex, all my alarm bells went off, but the way that Norma handled it so sweetly, especially considering her own experiences, was beautiful. The tiny catch in her voice when she said, "IF it's with someone you care about" killed me. Vera Farmiga is friggin' amazing. I was so worried that Norma was going to say something "Norma-ish". But it was such sweet advice I was genuinely surprised. I really hope cupcake boy isn't going to harm Emma. Their scenes are kind of sweet and give the show a nice normal relationship it sometimes needs. Of course for all I know next week will have him be an awful murderer who works closely with Nick Ford or something. Link to comment
sugarbaker design April 3, 2014 Share April 3, 2014 I'm worried about Emma too, not that she's getting laid, every girl should have a good looking guy who's good in the sack break her heart. I'm worried her storyline has nothing to do with anybody else's storyline, well not yet anyway. Link to comment
Cheetosandchoc April 4, 2014 Share April 4, 2014 I just started watching season 1 on Netflix I am officially HOOKED. Wanted to add my love of Norma's wardrobe. Check out ModCloth another website with vintage a feel. Normans eyes creep me out! Link to comment
peacheslatour April 4, 2014 Share April 4, 2014 Cute stuff Cheeto! Also check out Heart of Haute. Link to comment
green April 5, 2014 Share April 5, 2014 (edited) We know the death of Ms Watson was left a mystery. Could be Norman but why not show it if it was. So after seeing more of Nick is it? Watson's father anyway. I'm starting to suspect he had a hand in his own daughter's death maybe. Darkhorse pick right now but this episode showed he is a ruthless killer regards the town official no one cares about. And he is coldly leading Norma into danger as he uses her. Consider his daughter was bringing a bad rep to him not only because she was sleeping around with half the town thus the butt of endless male jokes. But also because her main squeeze seemed to be Gil who was the boss (as opposed to the "big boss" in the shadows) of the other weed cartel. So she was literally sleeping with the enemy. And her sleeping around with everyone habit must have been born of a troubled past perhaps stemming from childhood with him. (Is no one normal in this town?). Add in the fact that 3 whole months after her death Norman stubbles into him at her gravesite. Was he grieving or both grieving and starting to feel guilty? Also if his name is Nick he needs to find another one because Nick doesn't fit him. He needs something maybe longer and that sounds more oily and sinister. Did the writers ever really think out this whole weed cartel thing? Growing and selling grass alone hasn't really been "sinister" since before the 60's. And before the show even started medical marijuna was easily available from about half the doctors around who would happily write scripts for their patients for a fee no doubt. Then way before this season started both Colorado and, next state up from this show's home in Oregon, Washington, makes it totally legal. So why act like it is the 1930's or something? Maybe the cartels going out of business angst will be covered in Season 3. But really they should have gone with something viewed as more sinister from the start like meth or heroin. Meth labs blowing up right and left give better visuals anyway. But I think less killing period and more scary suspense a la Hitchcock's approach would reap far better rewards down the road when Norman actually starts to get his future into high gear. Edited April 5, 2014 by green 1 Link to comment
peacheslatour April 5, 2014 Share April 5, 2014 green, I agree with everything you said. Pot is just not that much of a boogie man any more, especially compared with human trafficking. They should have had them cooking meth, but then Dylan's involvement would be more problematic as they are trying to make him a sympathetic character. But, we all rooted for Walter White, so maybe it would work. Link to comment
Bec April 6, 2014 Share April 6, 2014 I think marijuna's "pretty okay" reputation these days is exactly why the writers choose pot cartel instead of other criminal activities. Pot itself is not intended to be scary, but the cartel is still dangerous. The writers wanted Dylan to get mixed up in the criminal world, but he still has to look good to the audience. I sure wouldn't look at him the same way if he got involved in human trafficking. For all that marijuna has been on the news, I'm still not familiar with its... manufacturing process. I'm probably not alone in this. Learning about stuff like trimmers has been educational. Hee. As for Meth... Breaking Bad kind of has the market cornered right now when it comes to sympathetic meth-dealing characters. It's too fresh on everyone's minds. If they try to pull the same thing here (as in having sympathetic characters get mixed up with meth), everyone will think "Breaking Bad!" Not good for a new show trying to do its own thing. And I guess other well-known drugs are a bit dated when it comes to their prominence in popular culture at the moment. Opium? Too 19th century. LSD? Too 60s. Cocaine? Too 70s. Crack Cocaine? Too 80s. Heroin? Too 90s. Ecstasy? Too 00s. Problem though: I associate marijuna with comedy, so I have a hard time taking the pot cartel on the show seriously. Pretty much everything I've watched that had pot in it used it for comedic effect. Even this show had Emma get high off a cupcake. I'm not sure I'm even supposed to take Zane seriously, despite his killing sprees. Look at the way he dresses. Maybe the new boss will be better. I'm still not sure how any of this drug business ties back to Psycho. Link to comment
solotrek April 7, 2014 Share April 7, 2014 (edited) I think marijuna's "pretty okay" reputation these days is exactly why the writers choose pot cartel instead of other criminal activities. Pot itself is not intended to be scary, but the cartel is still dangerous. The cartels are very very dangerous actually. As an avid backpacker/hiker, one thing we worry about most especially if we head out to the west coast (trails in California & Oregon) are the pot growers. They're usually armed to the teeth, have flood lights all around, and are not afraid to hassle you or worse shoot at you. Don't associate the people who smoke it with the people who grow it. I haven't gone hiking in the west since legalization of marijuana happened, but from online forums, it's still sketchy and dangerous. The only thing scarier to run into on trails would be mountain lions. Edited April 7, 2014 by maculae 1 Link to comment
green April 7, 2014 Share April 7, 2014 (edited) Point I was making about the weed cartels is that that they are on the way out period first with medical weed and now with legal pot period. I agree it has been dangerous to either hike or drive through certain areas on the west coast but that will be changing quickly with the quickly changing laws. Show hasn't kept up with things very well. It just takes me out of the show everytime we get into scary pot growers cause they are a dying breed. And it will really make the show seem really dated first time it is sold to syndication. Only solution is to face this dilema and have the cartels scramble themselves to find something else illegal to take up asap. They should have made these cartels into heroin dealers. That still has the sinister factor and is the latest and biggest new (aka rediscovered) drug which is starting to subplant meth and most other drugs because of it's cheaper price. Heroin could be imported along with Asian slave girls as the cartel diverifies it's holdings. Then Dylan doesn't discover the slave girls until he is in too deep. But Dylan has already murdered by pick-up truck someone when he killed his first buddy's killer last season which wasn't self-defense at that point as I recall. The deputy I give you. But the other dude wasn't trying to kill Dylan even by a Florida stand your ground definition. Then he is accessory to first degree murder with Zane shooting the stuffed-in-the-trunk guy. Now he goes all crazy shooting at the drive-by guys in the middle of town endangering innocent bystanders. He is already a moral and ethical goner at this point. I have no problem if people find Dylan sympathtic due to his background story. But I'm sure at least 95% of all real murderers have similiar hardluck stories so he isn't some sort of unique exception to the rule case. These are his choices. He doesn't suffer from blackouts. He chose this path. And he could have hopped his own version of the "bus to Boston" himself. But he didn't. Everyone has problems in other words but not everyone kills trying to solve them. Edited April 7, 2014 by green Link to comment
solotrek April 7, 2014 Share April 7, 2014 Only solution is to face this dilema and have the cartels scramble themselves to find something else illegal to take up asap. I think you just found the new storyline they'll mine. The dying pot cartels go into the more dangerous drug trade (heorin or something new) bringing in people more experienced and dangerous than them. Or, maybe the pot cartel is dying and that's why they're doing human trafficking now. I agree it has been dangerous to either hike or drive through certain areas on the west coast but that will be changing quickly with the quickly changing laws. May sound weird, but I can't wait for the day where the bear spray I carry is there only for bears and not people. 1 Link to comment
Joystickenvy April 8, 2014 Share April 8, 2014 Increased competition for a smaller market could explain some of the over the top behavior. My impression was that they are into a number of illegal activities, of which pot is just one. Just read an article about how Mexican drug cartels have started growing more poppies because of the drop in wholesale weed prices, so if they were really that worried about it they could take that route, but this town is so whack I don't think they are exactly going for realism. Link to comment
Bec April 8, 2014 Share April 8, 2014 Cartels are going to get edged out of the weed market eventually, but I don't think they're about to go gently into that good night. It's gonna be a rocky transition period, to say the least. People getting into the legal weed biz still gotta be wary of cartels. Real life isn't going to change overnight; fiction doesn't have to either. Should the show acknowledge legalization in Colorado at all? Doing so would really narrow down what year it is on the show. Not a good thing if they are going for timeless. Maybe ignoring the "in the news" stuff wouldn't be so bad. Even if the weed stuff is a bit dated to the point of being like it all took place a few years ago. It can be kind of like watching movies set in the alcohol prohibition era. Still good. I have to think the writers must have done their research before deciding what drug the town trades in. So it shouldn't come as a total surprise to them that legalization could be an issue, right? 1 Link to comment
DangerousMinds April 8, 2014 Share April 8, 2014 I think marijuna's "pretty okay" reputation these days is exactly why the writers choose pot cartel instead of other criminal activities. Pot itself is not intended to be scary, but the cartel is still dangerous. The writers wanted Dylan to get mixed up in the criminal world, but he still has to look good to the audience. I sure wouldn't look at him the same way if he got involved in human trafficking. For all that marijuna has been on the news, I'm still not familiar with its... manufacturing process. I'm probably not alone in this. Learning about stuff like trimmers has been educational. Hee. As for Meth... Breaking Bad kind of has the market cornered right now when it comes to sympathetic meth-dealing characters. It's too fresh on everyone's minds. If they try to pull the same thing here (as in having sympathetic characters get mixed up with meth), everyone will think "Breaking Bad!" Not good for a new show trying to do its own thing. And I guess other well-known drugs are a bit dated when it comes to their prominence in popular culture at the moment. Opium? Too 19th century. LSD? Too 60s. Cocaine? Too 70s. Crack Cocaine? Too 80s. Heroin? Too 90s. Ecstasy? Too 00s. Problem though: I associate marijuna with comedy, so I have a hard time taking the pot cartel on the show seriously. Pretty much everything I've watched that had pot in it used it for comedic effect. Even this show had Emma get high off a cupcake. I'm not sure I'm even supposed to take Zane seriously, despite his killing sprees. Look at the way he dresses. Maybe the new boss will be better. I'm still not sure how any of this drug business ties back to Psycho. Hmm, I would've called ecstasy "too '80's". I also think pot cartels can be incredibly dangerous and sinister. Just look at the violence in Mexico. 1 Link to comment
DittyDotDot April 13, 2014 Share April 13, 2014 (edited) Should the show acknowledge legalization in Colorado at all? Doing so would really narrow down what year it is on the show. Not a good thing if they are going for timeless. I think that's the idea--timelessness. Norma/Norman's fashion sense, the house and motel and the pot business give the show a sense of operating out of our time. But then they mix in the cell phones and such to make it seem more modern. I think this sort of dated quality is exactly what TPTB want, I don't think they want us to really pin a time period on this. Edited April 13, 2014 by DittyDotDot Link to comment
peacheslatour April 13, 2014 Share April 13, 2014 I think the only political scene they care about is White Pine Bay politics. It's a world unto itself. Link to comment
Bec April 13, 2014 Share April 13, 2014 Come to think of it, the Bates family has inadvertantly taken down the human trafficking ring. Maybe the writers intend for them to do the same to the town's drug cartels, which is why they made it a type of cartel that could be on the way out (and the Bates just help deliver the killing blows). By the time Marion Crane checks in, Norman Bates will be the most dangerous thing left in this town. he goes all crazy shooting at the drive-by guys in the middle of town endangering innocent bystanders. He is already a moral and ethical goner at this point. I was definitely thinking "Don't just shoot all willy nilly in the middle of town! You might hit innocent bystanders!" But. I still don't think he's a moral and ethical goner at this point. I'll take this to the Dylan thread. Link to comment
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