S05.E10: The Cord

[Mick Lady]

Norman Bates comes home.

They're not giving us much for this last episode, and I just as glad!

[Mick Lady]

I'm sure you guys all know, but I want to give you a heads up anyway. There's a half hour wrap show after Bates tonight.

I'm sad already! Watching the marathon an A&E now. It's a perfect day for it here, pouring rain!

[Complexity]

I really, really don't want it to end. It seems to have gone by much too fast.

[Miss Chevious]

1 hour ago, Complexity said:

I really, really don't want it to end. It seems to have gone by much too fast.

I feel the same way. This last season especially has gone by at lightning fast speed.

[Complexity]

Three more hours Two more hours One more hour Just 20 minutes (!) until the finale. It seems so far away, but then it will be over far too quickly.

Just 5 more minutes! It's finally here. I can't wait to see how it ends, but at the same time, I don't want it to end.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Complexity

[Miss Chevious]

Almost ready. I'm making my ham and cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread now. And apple pie too.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Miss Chevious
Forgot the pie

[peacheslatour]

59 minutes ago, Miss Chevious said:

Almost ready. I'm making my ham and cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread now. And apple pie too.

Ha ha ha! Love it. We're having chicken pot pie. I suppose Coq Au Vin would not come amiss either. I wish Lupines were in season.

Edited April 25, 2017 by peacheslatour

[Kid]

Leave, Dylan, leave!!

[Complexity]

Norman is in a full blown psychosis. Love all the psychology in this show!

[Complexity]

OMG, no Dylan!

[jennyplayswithfire]

I can't watch!! Dylan is a goner...I can't believe they would kill him off....

[Spartan Girl]

Norman has gone bye-bye.

Dammit Emma, you should have told Dylan you love him!

[Complexity]

Just now, Spartan Girl said:

Norman has gone bye-bye.

Dammit Emma, you should have told Dylan you love him!

I think she was afraid he would feel closure if she did which would enable him to do something stupid. But it looks like he's going to do something stupid anyway.

[Kid]

I liked the ending.

[Complexity]

So that's it. Norman will be with Norma forever in death. I know I should be sad for Norman, but I'm actually happy because I think he's happy now.

And I'm so happy to see Dylan and Emma doing okay.

Good ending all around.

[Spartan Girl]

You really can't go home again.

This was a romantic tragedy of Greek proportions. It was so sad, Norman going back to the pilot like he was trying to redo the last five years of his life.

So typical of Mother to abandon him right when she screwed him over so throughly.

Is it weird that I liked the gentler, kinder ending than the Psycho one? I think it was better for Norman to willingly let himself be killed by Dylan a la Mice and Men and let himself go to Norma. And hey, Emma and Dylan are still together!

I honestly can't believe anyone would live in that house after what happened. I sure as hell wouldn't stay in the hotel.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[Lamima]

So the sheriff said to go to Norman's and Romero's houses. But then they weren't there. You'd think they'd be staking the motel out. That seemed like a plot hole.... that Norman got back to the hotel and putted around for that long without police showing.

Side note...."I played the shit out of Norma".... yup.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Lamima

[Complexity]

I find it interesting and brilliant that they resolved everything with such simplicity. We didn't have to see everything tied up. Once Norman was dead, everything else just faded away. We just needed to know what happened to Romero and Dylan/Emma. Nothing convoluted. Nothing rushed in to explain things. Just a clean, simple ending that resolved everything. Amazingly well done!

Edited April 25, 2017 by Complexity

[Kid]

3 minutes ago, Complexity said:

I find it interesting and brilliant that they resolved everything with such simplicity. We didn't have to see everything tied up. Once Norman was dead, everything else just faded away. We just needed to know what happened to Romero and Dylan/Emma. Nothing convoluted. Nothing rushed in to explain things. Just a clean, simple ended that resolved everything. Amazingly well done!

Well said!

[Timetoread]

I was shrieking thinking Dylan would die.  Then I shrieked seeing the brothers face off with weapons in hand.  Then, when Dylan shot Norman, I shrieked and wailed because unbeknownst to me, what happened to Norman really did matter to me.   What he deserved fell away and all that was left is who he was.  Good job show for hitting me in the soft spot until the bitter end!

[Chaos Theory]

Loved Romero's failed attempt st revenge and that he died in the first act.  You had one job Romero!!!!!

The love story always was between Norma and Norman anyway. 

The ending with Dylan shooting Norman just gutted me.

Awesome ending to an awesome series.

[Rear Window]

Norma at the dinner table was beyond creepy! But I love that Max Thieriot's wine made an appearance.

I'm still in mourning over Romero. I know he wasn't going to make it, but having Norman kill him and his body left out there was really sad. I hope he beat Norman to Norma in the afterlife.

[Cigale]

Max Thierot was great.   His performance was heartbreaking and poignant.  Bravo!

[Miss Chevious]

What a great finale. I knew Romero would either kill Norman or die trying. I also knew Norman's options of spending the rest of his life a convicted killer either behind bars or institutionalized wouldn't be realized. The only other option would be to be with Mother. Norman wouldn't be able to off himself, so there was no one other left to do it but Dylan. (Or Madeline Loomis in a fit of revenge). The only plot hole was that the Sheriff didn't immediately go back to the house but then we wouldn't have had the ending we had. I am glad it ended how it did. 

I'm going to miss checking in to the Bates Motel every week. Hope there's an Emmy in this for either Vera or Freddy. They definitely deserve it.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Miss Chevious
Wine

[Lamima]

I am going to miss this show so terribly.

[bistor]

23 minutes ago, Lamima said:

So the sheriff said to go to Norman's and Romero's houses. But then they weren't there. You'd think they'd be staking the motel out. That seemed like a plot hole.... that Norman got back to the hotel and putted around for that long without police showing.

Side note...."I played the shit out of Norma".... yup.

 

 

That bugged me, but I'm willing to let it pass because the final scene needed to take place there.

And yes, I loved it when Vera said that!

Edited April 25, 2017 by bistor

[Complexity]

I'm so glad Romero didn't kill Norman. It was fitting for Norman to kill Romero.

Romero was never all that honorable a man. When we first met Romero, he was already taking the law into his own hands (either literally or by enabling others to do so). I do believe Romero truly loved Norma, but rather than be honest about it, he allowed Norma to think he was doing her a favor by marrying her for the insurance. And when Romero had an opportunity to honor Norma's wishes, he disregarded them in order to exact his own self-centered revenge. That's not caring about Norma. That's putting yourself first.

On the other hand, Norman murdered people because of his mental illness. He did not do it knowingly, willingly, and consciously like Romero.

How dare Romero attempt to kill Norman right in front of Norma's dead body (okay, didn't mean a pun there, but it was fitting! LOL!). I'm glad Norman killed Romero right then and there.

[Mick Lady]

I loved the ending! Didn't predict any of it, but I'm so happy Emma and Dylan got their happy ending. Going off to rewatch now.

[VagueDisclaimer]

18 minutes ago, Complexity said:

 And when Romero had an opportunity to honor Norma's wishes, he disregarded them in order to exact his own self-centered revenge. That's not caring about Norma. That's putting yourself first.

By not letting her continue to enable her obviously mentally ill son? Who ended up killing her?  Okay.

Yes, Norman was very sick, but this wasn't a hero's journey for him or Norma. Living Norma was no saint either.

[zibnchy]

37 minutes ago, sisterspoon said:

Max Thierot was great.   His performance was heartbreaking and poignant.  Bravo!

Max needs an emmy for his work this season. And Freddie. This was a fantastic show and it never got the attention it deserved.

I'm surprised but I'm completely satisfied with the ending. Huge sigh of relief that Dylan survived and he and Emma seem to be working things out. Yes, I know they're fictional :-)

[Complexity]

2 minutes ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

By not letting her continue to enable her obviously mentally ill son?

I think there is a huge difference between enabling someone who's mentally ill and killing them.

[sleekandchic]

I thought Dylan's and Emma's 5 or 6-year-old daughter looked uncomfortably like Grandma Norma!  Glad the little family remained together.

I KNEW the mother and two kids (one named Dylan!) who showed up at the motel were red herrings, but, still, my stomach churned. Dylan saved them on his way to saving his brother.

Really great ending for me.  Just beautifully and poetically done. 

[gingerhorsesnaps]

Perfect, tragic ending.

I knew that Romero would die and was expecting it, but the way it happened...trying to avenge Norma, crawling away from Norman in the snow, his body just being left out there in the middle of the woods (not to mention the final twist of the knife reveal of Norma and Norman getting buried next to each other!)...oof that was hard to watch.

I'm so, so happy that Dylan and Emma got a happy ending. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was those two. Hopefully poor Dylan is getting some lengthy and intense therapy. Boy went through A LOT. It was devastating, but fitting that Dylan was the one to finally end it all. I was sick to my stomach during the whole dinner sequence. 

Everyone on this show deserves nominations. The acting has always been great, but this final season has been spectacular. What a great show.

[CynicalGirl]

I wasn't sure what to expect so I didn't even allow myself to speculate. I wasn't really surprised by Romero's demise, when he put himself in such a (literally) vulnerable position kneeling over Norma's body with a gun sticking out of his back pocket and Norman fixing to rise up like Michael Myers in Halloween. I was like, buh bye Alex.

And yeah, there was no great twisty ending, but I think this was the ending the show deserved. 

[truthaboutluv]

I loved it. Fitting end to the series and more importantly, the story of Norma and Norman Bates. This show from the beginning was always a tragic story and it ended as any great tragedy does. Happy to see that as I hoped, Dylan seemed to break the cycle of dysfunction and insanity. I'll probably have way more to say tomorrow but it's really late, since I stayed up until I got a working a link, since I don't have A&E. And I had to know how it all ended tonight. 

Two things, I cracked up when the woman sped out of the parking lot after Dylan told her she had to leave. Woman left dust. I wonder if she even bothered making the children pack. Second, my heart broke when they flashed back to the first season when Norma and Norman first moved to White Pine Bay. It was so sad to see who Norman once was - at the time when maybe with some help he could have been saved. He was so sweet and innocent and kind and dorky. But then it all fell apart. 

That ending was why I didn't want Romero to get his revenge on Norman. As Norman said to Dylan - this is how it all ends and how it should have ended. Everything about their family and story was so tragic that of course it would be Dylan to kill him and let him go be with Norma as he wanted. His whispered thank you to Dylan got me right in the gut. Norma and Norman both never stood a chance because both were so damaged that together it just created an unhealthy attachment that led to both of their demise. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[unoiamacutie]

This series finale was so sad. I'm going to miss this show and these characters so much. Dylan just lost his whole blood family. The only blood family he has left is his daughter now. And wow, I feel so bad for Norman, but at least he seemed to be at peace with his death and being reunited with his mother at the end.

Nothing on Norman's epitaph? I would have thought that Dylan would at least put something like, "A loving brother and devoted son" or something like that. But of course it probably wouldn't have sit right with the victims of those he killed.

Don't care for Romero though. I'm glad Norma and Norman finally got some peace in the end, and Dylan was finally able to move on from this madness.

[unoiamacutie]

Anyone else notice when Norman was carrying Norma's corpse down the stairs in the house they did that high angle shot? They also did that in Psycho 1 & 2.

Edited April 25, 2017 by unoiamacutie

[LocimusPrime]

I'm so happy that Norman died! Justice for all those souls he took! Burn in the hottest hell Norman. 

The only issues my girlfriend and I had with episode is the fight between 140lb pea sized shoulders,non combat trained Norman and Romero. Six or seven punches to the face and a couple in the car.....sorry but you would be knocked out. I had no idea Norman was really Wolverine. 

After seeing the body, and knocking out Norman, Romero should have just shot him in the face 2-3x.  

After Dylan hung up w Emma, I find it hard to believe that Emma wouldn't just call the Sheriffs to capture Norman.  There was already a task force from other agencies searching for Norman, they would have been there in no time.  In the real world, there would have been someone keeping an eye on the Bates Motel.

Dylan, next time a person has a knife and you have a gun keep out of lunging distance since you have the ranged weapon.  Just some future advice.  

Overall I'm happy for Dylan and Emma and wish Romero had survived.  I really liked Romero. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by LocimusPrime

[thuganomics85]

Sorry, had to wipe away a few tears there!

Close to a perfect finale as can be, in my opinion.  It actually went the way I figured a lot it would, but it strangely didn't matter to me, because it just felt right.  I had a feeling Norman wasn't going to make it, and it was either going to be at Dylan's hands or Norman would off himself, but it was fitting.  And I think them showing Norman stabbing the door meant that Norman never intended to kill Dylan: he wanted Dylan to end his life.  Sad, but I have to think that he was never, ever going to have a shot at a happy life, with Norma no longer in his life.  And I think in some ways, Norman knew he would always be a danger and needed to be stopped and, while maybe selfish, he would rather it be someone he loved like Dylan to finally stop him.  His whole death was fantastic.  Freddie Highmore and Max Thieriot killed it.  Well, they pretty much killed the entire episode.  And the season.  Fantastic show, all around.

Kind of love that they offed Romero in the opening act.  Kind of a fitting end for him too.  On one hand, his need for revenge ended up being his downfall and pushed him back into his darker ways.  On the other hand, he did get to see Norma's body one last time, so in some ways, he still gets closure.  But turning his back on Norman really was a costly and foolish move on his part.

Glad Dylan survived and it seems like he and Emma are back together and going strong.  Call me sappy, but I'm glad those two got a happy ending.  Yep, has far as I'm concerned, nothing tragic is ever going to happen to them, again!  They will live a long and happy life in Seattle!!

Remo!  Glad they were able to bring him back for a final scene.  Love that he his married now and has a success life as a legal weed grower!

Despite being dead, I'm glad they still had plenty of moments for Norma and Vera Farmiga to shine.  She's the best.

Only real complaint I have was why no one seemed to be watching the Bates Motel after Sheriff Greene said they were going to watch both Norman and Romero's house.  Did the uniform fall asleep in the car or something?

Overall, excellent ending to one of my favorite shows of all time.  Enjoyed all of it, and the last two seasons in particular was just some fantastic television.  Thank you, Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell for all of your great work (and the supporting cast too), and great job to Carlton Cruise and Kerry Errin for making what could have easily been a laughable disaster, one of the craziest, intense, dramatic, and even hilarious shows of all time.  This will be a show that will stick with me for a long time and I will no doubt revisit a lot.

[unoiamacutie]

Watching it again and I am surprised that they allowed Romero to say the F word on A&E.

[SayMyName]

1 hour ago, unoiamacutie said:

Nothing on Norman's epitaph? I would have thought that Dylan would at least put something like, "A loving brother and devoted son" or something like that. But of course it probably wouldn't have sit right with the victims of those he killed.

 

I think the perfect epitaph would be "Loving Mother".

Works either way.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Just like a psycho to bring a knife to a gunfight.

[Stringey]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Ha ha ha! Love it. We're having chicken pot pie. I suppose Coq Au Vin would not come amiss either. I wish Lupines were in season.

I like chicken and turkey pot pie. Usually though it's the Marie calendars frozen ones but they actually are very tasty.  Some cranberry sauce on the side goes good too. I am hungry now.

[Stringey]

3 hours ago, Rear Window said:

Norma at the dinner table was beyond creepy! But I love that Max Thieriot's wine made an appearance.

I'm still in mourning over Romero. I know he wasn't going to make it, but having Norman kill him and his body left out there was really sad. I hope he beat Norman to Norma in the afterlife.

Ha ha yeah it makes you think. How are they all going to be together lol. 

[LovesLinus]

Oh, I am gonna miss this show so much! 

What an amazing finale, just mesmerizing to watch. I think Freddie was fantastic in tonight's episode. It's amazing how the show can make you feel such empathy for a serial killer. The look on Norman's face when he knew he was dying & then said thank you, it ripped my heart out! I cried like a baby :)

I shouted at the tv too when Romero slammed Norman's head against the car, I couldn't stand him hurting Norman. Again, sympathy for Norman because I know he is mentally ill. Freddie did an awesome job of showing just how sick Norman was, so frail & yet so menacing.

I have watched since the very first episode & have loved every minute of it. I will miss it so much ?

[Bec]

I think I know why there was no stakeout outside Bates Motel. After Regina made her way back to the Sheriff's Department, she presumably told them where Romero made her get out of the car, then the sheriff would have pulled the stakeout from the motel to focus all the manpower on searching for Norman and Romero in the woods.

In the episode, we don't see Regina make it back until after Norman went back to the motel early in the morning. But that could be chalked up to "just because that's the order we see it in, doesn't mean that's the order these things happened in." It wouldn't have worked for the flow of the episode to stick Regina's return in the middle of Norman's sequence. Norman going next-level crazy, Dylan getting the gun from Remo, and Regina making it back probably all happened at around the same time.

Damn if I wasn't white-knuckling it through the whole episode going "OMG OMG OMG OMG..."

During the first sunny Norma sequence, I was like "they better not tell us everything that happened for the last 5 seasons was just a bad dream!" And then thankfully it became clear that it was only Norman ignoring reality to go back in time and start everything over in his head.

Emma knows the rules of TV. If you make any future plans at all, the person going off into danger will die for sure. That's why she refused to say "I love you" or make any assurances that they're still going to be together when he gets back. Way to keep Dylan alive, Emma!

I don't know why I didn't see Dylan killing Norman coming. Norman pretty much did kill himself by forcing Dylan to kill him. That shit's going to haunt Dylan forever, I'm glad he got to be back together with Emma and his kid, at least.

I envisioned Norman alive and locked up while his mind takes him to a whole fantasy world where he and Norma are living happily ever after. But the ending we got did bring the story to a close more firmly. No possible loose threads to make a sequel out of. That's for the best.

To think, when I started watching this show, I thought it was going to be some guilty pleasure cheese-fest where they kill a different victim of the week at the motel every episode. I wasn't expecting gripping human drama!

[unoiamacutie]

Well I just found out that the realtor at the end was Jiao. She was the Asian woman that Norman found in Deputy Shelby's basement that was apparently shot dead when trying to flee, but it looks like she survived and became a realtor selling the motel that she once stayed in.

[RedMal]

Now this episode finally made it clear. Bates Motel is my all time favorite drama series. When it was originally announced back in the day, I was ready to call it unnecessary and stupid before even seeing it. I only watched the pilot because Psycho is so amazing and I even love Psycho 2. The pilot was good, but the second episode is what really got me hooked and even though season 2 was a let down (although I enjoyed it more rewatching it), seasons 1, 3, 4 and 5 make up for it's flaws. My order for best to worst seasons is 5, 4, 3, 1 and 2. It's really rare to see show getting better over time. I only can think of The 4400 which did the same, when season 1 was good, 2 was great and 3 was bloody amazing. But then 4 took a step down, but it was still better than most shows.

But about the episode itself. I loved how we have been building up for Romeros revenge for the whole season and then it was done in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the finale was about the Bates family, as it should've been. I'm glad they didn't force Madeline in, even though she was a big part of the season, there wasn't any need for her anymore.

When Romero was killed and Norman started to relive the times when everything was still okay, my heart broke. It's borderline illegal for not nominating Highmore. He should win every Emmy there is. Finale was definitely his and Thierots show, both did phenomenal job. The shot of dead Norma and Norman with Dylan crying was outstanding, creepy and devastating. Now, I'm not usually a fan of the "character says final, meaningful words just before dying" cliche, but my god did I cry like a baby when Norman thanked Dylan.

So I guess Edwards, Caleb and Bradley will forever stay missing. Poor Dylan, he doesn't even know his father is dead too.

That F-bomb though. I guess they put it there, cause they knew there was nothing to lose anymore. But it was fitting at least.

30 minutes ago, unoiamacutie said:

Well I just found out that the realtor at the end was Jiao. She was the Asian woman that Norman found in Deputy Shelby's basement that was apparently shot dead when trying to flee, but it looks like she survived and became a realtor selling the motel that she once stayed in.

Didn't realize that. Are you sure? That seems kinda weird and dumb. But I let it roll, since the ending was just so perfect.

I just can't really make it clear enough how much I love this show. I wasn't that much of a fan of Cuse, since Lost turned into such a ridiculous mess, but Bates Motel is one of the most naturally evolving, well thought out and constructed show's I've probably ever seen.

I haven't been here that long, I was posting on IMDb previous seasons, but since they shut down the message boards, I needed to find another outlet to express my thoughts. Thank you all for providing such an interesting and respectable discussion over the season.

Edited April 25, 2017 by RedMal

[unoiamacutie]

Just now, RedMal said:

Didn't realize that. Are you sure? That seems kinda weird and dumb. But I let it roll, since the ending was just so perfect.

I'm certain. You can look at her page on the Bates Motel Wikia:  http://batesmotel.wikia.com/wiki/Jiao

[Complexity]

1 hour ago, Bec said:

I think I know why there was no stakeout outside Bates Motel. After Regina made her way back to the Sheriff's Department, she presumably told them where Romero made her get out of the car, then the sheriff would have pulled the stakeout from the motel to focus all the manpower on searching for Norman and Romero in the woods.

Good point! ?

Quote

During the first sunny Norma sequence, I was like "they better not tell us everything that happened for the last 5 seasons was just a bad dream!"

Oh, I was thinking the very same thing! My heart sunk while I just thought, "no, no, no way... they can't make it all a dream!" Then I was very pleasantly surprised to see how they did it. So well done!

Quote

Norman pretty much did kill himself by forcing Dylan to kill him. That shit's going to haunt Dylan forever

Yes, it will, but I think Dylan be okay in the long run. He knew it was Norman's choice and that it was the best for him: Norman is now with his mother which is what he truly wanted, Norma's body will be put back to rest, and the murders are finally stopped. All around, Dylan has a lot to feel good about. He experienced a lot of trauma killing Norman, but now all the worry about Norman's mental illness is finally over. Dylan can have some peace of mind there. He lost his brother and had already lost his mother, but there was always a separation between him and the two of them. Plus, Dylan is strong and resilient and has Emma and his daughter. Dylan will do fine. At least that's how I want to see it.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Complexity