Wow. That was certainly a fantastic episode of Bates Motel. What is so interesting is that there wasn’t a lot of forward momentum in terms of the season-long arc, but there was so much progress made with character emotions in “The Last Supper.” It was a refreshing turn for the series and proved to be one of its best episodes since it began.
What made this episode nearly perfect is that we got to spend time with these characters, rather than just watch things happen to them. On top of that, they were all in the same place at once! The final scene at the dinner table is most likely the calm before the storm (since it’s clearly a direct reference to the biblical event), but it was nice to be able to spend some time with these characters before everything (likely) turns to shit next week.
First we have Romero, who notices that his dead mother’s name is on the drug ledger on the mysterious flash drive. Bob tells him that it’s actually his father who was profiting from the drug trade, so he has a discussion with his father (who is in prison). This was one of the weaker moments of the episode, but I’m betting it comes back in a big way in the final three episodes of the season.
This does lead to a great scene between a drunk Romero and Norma. After she picks him up from the bar, she drives him back home and he makes a move on her. She doesn’t fully reciprocate, but I’m betting they will become an item once Norman gets rid of Professor James.
Speaking of whom, James stops by the Bates Motel and Norma has him talk to Norman. It’s a fantastic scene, and Freddie Highmore nails every beat as James “shrinks” him. Also, I think this might be the first time anyone has ever called out Norman on his desire to have sex with his mother. That was a bold move on James’ part, and I’m surprised the series went there so quickly, but I’m glad they did. Bates Motel can only put off people noticing Norman’s psychosis for so long before it becomes unrealistic. Having James notice (and explicitly tell Norma to get Norman some help) was a blessing. We also got to see Norman crack a bit and try to choke James, so that was fun.
It wasn’t just James who noticed Norman’s fractured mental state, it was Dylan too. He confronts Norma after her mini vacation last week, and after he mentions Norman wearing her dress, she finally starts to listen. As we all know, Vera Farmiga is amazing and the main reason to watch Bates Motel, and this episode gave her so many great moments (I believe I said “classic Norma” multiple times while watching “The Last Supper”). This was Highmore’s show, though, and the final moments of the episode culminated in a supremely creepy scene. Norman walked into his mother’s bedroom and began to caress her arm as she slept. He is beginning his transition into Mother, and I can’t wait to see it.
On a slightly more depressing note, Emma is getting worse, and Dylan is going to start gun running for Chick to save up money for her lung transplant. This would have had more of an emotional impact if it didn’t feel so out of left field (when was the last time we even saw Emma’s dad anyway?), but Cooke makes it worth something. I’m hoping Emma won’t bite it before season’s end, but nothing is ever certain on Bates Motel.
“The Last Supper” delivered one of Bates Motel’s strongest episodes ever, and provided a nice calm before the storm that will inevitably his next week. Sometimes all the writers need to do is gather the characters in a room and let them be, rather than throw constant hurdles at them. This episode proved that tactic can pay off in spades.
Random Notes
- Marcus Young’s body is left in Bob Paris’ driveway. I’m guessing this will be more important next week.
- “Norman stop it you’re acting like a twit. It’s not masculine and it’s not attractive.” -Norma says what everyone watching Bates Motel is thinkin.
- “Well you are the manager so yeah, go manage.” -Norma being blunt.
- “Why does everyone immediately jump to ‘I died?'” -Norma, again.
- “What kind of a name is Gunner, anyway?” “A stupid one.” -And Romero finally gets a zinger!
- “That’s nothing new for Norman there’s always something dead in the basement.” -Seriously, Norma’s nonchalant way of stating the unusual is so entertaining.
- “It’s gun running. So on the running of guns spectrum it’s relatively mild.” -I’m not a fan of Chick so far, but this made me chuckle.
- “We all go a little mad sometimes.” – Norma finally says the infamous line from Psycho.
- In case you couldn’t tell, I thought there were a lot of great lines in this episode.
- Norman’s face when Norma gave Romero the seat at the head of the table was priceless.
- Here’s the promo for next week’s episode!
