S04.E02: Goodnight, Mother

[ganesh]

I think the body is in the pit. It's fairly sizable and Norma climbed out before really looking around when she heard the car pull up.

[ari333]

Was Audrey - was that her name? Emma's mom... was her luggage in the hotel room? Maybe she really checked out/left and the whole thing was a hallucination? Im so confused.

[islandgal140]

This scene cracked me up so much.

 

 

Norma in her rain outfit to go out into the pit was everything. Leave it to Norma to have a Paddington bear like complete rain ensemble. 

 

I resent A&E trying to make folks watch that Gawd awful Omen show by burying the Bates Motel preview in that program. 

Edited March 16, 2016 by islandgal140

[seacliffsal]

I think that Norman will go into himself at the mental health facility like he did at the County Hospital-he internalizes everything but is externally passive. Also, since he signed voluntary commitment papers, can't he decide to leave whenever he wants? I think he's going to fool the professionals and Norma won't give them a clear and detailed account of what he has done. As a previous poster stated, she has isolated him and hidden his actions. She doesn't seem likely to start being forthright at this time.

And, wow, the acting. Freddie (as Norman) when he really expressed Norman's anger was amazing.

[maczero]

This scene cracked me up so much.

 

 

Norma in her rain outfit to go out into the pit was everything. Leave it to Norma to have a Paddington bear like complete rain ensemble. 

 

I resent A&E trying to make folks watch that Gawd awful Omen show by burying the Bates Motel preview in that program. 

The rain gear was funny but I got a bigger laugh at how quickly she got up those stairs after Norman told her to get in the house.  Actually, that's when I found Norman his most menacing.  His stern tone and her meek response to it made it seem like Norma was a little girl being reprimanded by her father. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Bates Motel: Apparently You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, And You Can Leave, Even If You're Dead
The disappearance of a dead body sends Norman into even more of an overheated tizzy than he usually enjoys, and things progress between his mother and Alex.

[BooBear]

This episode was so dramatic and intense what with all the Norma/Norman goings on, that Dylan and Emma didn't really get a fair mention.  Of course Emma's father is going to do the dad thing and tell Dylan to straighten up and fly right or move on, as he should.  Dylan seemed like he was at a crossroad here, like he wants all good things for Emma, but he is not sure he is the one to provide them.  Dylan has lived hard and doesn't know anything other than what he is.  I think he wants to stay, but feels like he should leave to give Emma a shot at a better future.  I was glad Emma told him she wanted him to come back.  It was really the only bright spot in all the craziness!   I really hope things work out for these two crazy kids.

I ended up seeing this thread first so it wasn't as scary as it might have been live. Of course the "crazy" of Norman was terrifying and sad.  I suspect it is going to go like this. Norman will get treatment and everyone will think he is ok for a long time... but he will slide back but now, keep things to himself better and it will only be at the end that Norma and Romero will find out.

 

I was sad about Dylan and Emma. Dylan tends to think badly of himself and I could see that he feels (also being a result of incest) that he has to leave Emma now. I am afraid the writers have decided not to have them as a couple.  Or, if they will have them as a couple, it will be pushed off for a while.

[maczero]

I think that was intentional comedy.  She was so uncomfortable with Norman checking in guests she sprinted for the house.  

 

I'm glad Emma's father ended it with a compliment but I thought it was way too soon to tell the guy who PAID for his daughter's transplant to clear the runway so she could soar on outta Oregon.  I imagine in real life Emma would need to stay close to the Portland hospital for a while, and if Dylan is good to her, who cares if he has plans for a pot farm.  It's practically legal there, given the town's history.  If she were my daughter and she wanted to head off to Harvard or something, I'd be asking Dylan to go with her, not shove off.  

To be fair, there's been more than a few deaths associated with the pot trade.  Hell, Dylan was involved with most of them.  So I think it's reasonable for a father to not want his daughter to be mixed up in that.  Besides he didn't say stay away from my daughter he just suggested that he was too good for that line of work.  I do admit that the talk could've waited until his daughter was out of the hospital.

Edited March 19, 2016 by maczero

[Lady Calypso]

This episode was extremely intense by the last twenty minutes. I'm not surprised that Norman truly believes that Norma did the killings. He blacks out and he barely remembers what happens afterwards, besides occasional flashes. So for him to believe Norma did it is not far off. This is the first episode where I've felt like kind Norman and blacked out Norman are blending together. It's hard to see now when he's fully himself and when he's not. He's terrifying and creepy now, and that has mostly to do with the fact that he's truly mentally ill and he's far from the boy we've seen in seasons 1, 2 and even parts of 3. I actually think that he would have killed Norma to stop these killings, but what would happen when he sees Mother after that happens? Would he get freaked out that she didn't die, or would he accept it for what it is and embrace it? 

 

Romero is as good as dead now, and it's so sad. I think he'll definitely die by the end of this season. Now that he's marrying Norma, all that has to happen is to sign his death certificate with the exact date. He really wants to help, but Norma keeps withholding everything from him. He's going to die because of his lack of knowledge about Norman. I think he realizes that Norma is protecting her son, and he might be dangerous, but he has no idea. 

 

Dylan may be on the path to a new future with Emma, but I am so worried he'll still get killed by his brother. 

 

I think that Norman (or really, Mother) might find a way to fool the psychiatrists and get out of Pineview. That worries me greatly, because he probably should be staying in there for a lot longer than he should. I'm thinking that Norma may be ok with him staying in the facility, but she needs to be honest. I do think that she's afraid he'll be committed in a much worse facility for dangerous and violent mentally ill patients, though. Which I imagine he would be. That beautiful place probably doesn't hold the actual violent patients. 

 

So, Emma's mom is still alive then? And she might have gotten out by herself? Or is she truly dead and Mother disappeared in the middle of the night to bury her somewhere?