Bates Motel in the rearview mirror

We all go a little mad sometimes.

~~ Norman Bates

After five seasons, the series finale of “Bates Motel” aired tonight. It’s been a wild ride and I feel the need to write a bit about it. (If you haven’t watched it and plan to, please note that there are major spoilers ahead.)

Some of you know that my favorite movie of all time is “Psycho.” Don’t read anything into that! There is just something about the movie that appeals to me on so many levels. The lighting, the way Hitchcock framed his shots, the perfect soundtrack, the masterful performance of Anthony Perkins, and of course, the classic shower scene.

In other words, those were some big shoes to fill.

What a pleasure to watch the show live up to its source material and see it develop into a genuinely interesting backstory of the movie and the characters. There were many twists and turns along the way, with the biggest coming at the very end of tonight’s episode. What I didn’t expect was that they would move past the ending of the movie and show the ultimate fate of Norman. I think it was a stroke of genius, because I watched thinking that I knew where everything ended up, and it was a genuine surprise to see where it went.

One of the best things about the Norman Bates character is that despite his murderous nature, Anthony Perkins played him as a sympathetic, even likable character. His boyish charm, his nervousness, his smile...you want him to be okay and it’s heartbreaking when you realize just how damaged he is. Freddie Highmore as Norman in the TV show understood that and played it perfectly. In tonight’s finale, Norman (with his poor bloodied face) drives Norma’s corpse home and relives the good times of the past. He is lost in his memories and has obviously had a very serious break with reality. It made me cry to see his battered face and his bewildered smile.

Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates was also incredible. Of course, Mrs. Bates never got a genuine word in the movie, but Farmiga created this amazing, destructive, enabling force of nature that was Norma Bates. She was funny, she was loving, she was messed up, she was irresistible. She was Mother.

A character who wasn’t in the movie was Sheriff Alex Romero, played by Nestor Carbonell (he of the dreamy eyes). He was a perfect addition who became a surprise love interest for Norma when Norman was off getting some much-needed mental health attention. It was a beautiful thing to see their love blossom and grow (Christ, that sounds sappy...but that scene at the Winter Carnival when they first realized that they had real chemistry was magical!) and when Norma died, Romero’s grief and fury was palpable. His vow of revenge upon Norman wasn’t consummated, and we had to say goodbye to Alex tonight. But damn, that final scene with him and Norman was intense!

Other characters not from the movie were Norman’s brother Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Norman’s friend Emma (Olivia Cooke). Dylan and Emma end up together and their story arc was rich and interesting. I feared for Dylan tonight but the ending to the brothers’ story was fitting. Dylan did his best to help Norman and I believe he truly loved him. His face when he walked into the dining room and saw Norma...what a perfect reaction of horror and sorrow and some major nausea! I think it broke Dylan’s heart to do what he had to do but there really was no other way, was there?

I don’t mean to rehash the entire episode but those were some salient moments for me. The entire series was inventive and intelligent, fleshing out the story of Norman and his mother, providing so many interesting subplots that all came together perfectly in tonight’s finale. I really wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but they did, and in a very satisfying way. Would I have liked to see at least a couple more seasons with these characters? Of course! But you can’t always get what you want, and in this case, I think it was the right decision. The story played out in a perfect way, giving us so much backstory in the previous seasons, and then things really coming to a crisis point in the last few episodes of this season. We were rushing to the inevitable end, and it was the right time to finish the series.

Obviously, they won’t read this, but I want to put this out there: thank you to the entire cast and crew for a job well done. I was skeptical of a show premised on my favorite movie, but you allayed my fears. It was brilliant.

Farewell, Norman. Forever in my heart.

We all go a little mad sometimes

We spent a nice afternoon with my folks today. They took us out to eat at their favorite Chinese buffet, although I'm afraid I didn't eat my money's worth. I was feeling a little oogy this morning, and I joked about piling some Chinese food on top of it. It really was a bad idea, which should have been obvious to me. When I can only eat two crab rangoons, you know I'm off my feed. Feeling better now. Who knew that beer has soothing properties to the stomach? Better than Pepto.

Then we got to see their new house, which is in a place where most of the yard maintenance and all of the snow removal is taken care of by the grounds crew. It was really nice, and I think they'll enjoy it. I know they hate leaving their log house on 16 acres, but it's getting too much for them to care for, and I think we're all happy that they're moving into town rather than staying out in the boonies. I don't think they'll be moving until the log house sells, though, so I hope they can get through this winter okay.

Now we're watching Illinois put the hurt on Michigan (sorry, Miss A!) and waiting for the Notre Dame-Washington State game in about a half an hour. Go Irish!

~~~~~

Happy Halloweenie, everyone! I trust that you have your list of orgies parties ready, and that you have been working on your mad incantation skillz. This is your time to let your dark light shine, so step to, people, step to! Those babies aren't going to sacrifice themselves, you know!

In honor of this special day, I'm putting a horror movie clip up here. Those of you who have been reading me for a while know that I do love my horror movies, and I thought I'd pay tribute to my favorite of all, "Psycho." ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is the godfather of the modern slasher movie, but "Psycho" still rules my roost as favorite.) I know it's nothing new, and everyone has probably seen this movie several times. But for me, it's still the ultimate subtle creep factor movie. Anthony Perkins, may he rest in peace, was the perfect Norman Bates: shy, bumbling, but sort of sweet and charming...too bad he had some mommy issues. The final scene of him sitting in his jail cell, that look on his face, still sends a chill down my spine, as does his exclamation when he finds Marian's body. "Mother! Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!" (And of course, the quote that I used for the title of this entry.)

Although tame by today's standards, I still feel that Hitchcock's subtlety provides the perfect psychological chill, and it's a movie that I can watch over and over. Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack is iconic, as is the infamous shower scene. Her final thud onto the floor of the bathroom, her face planted on the tile and her dead eye looking into the camera...man, that is some good stuff. Well, you know what I mean. I don't want to sound like a total...psycho...here. It's just a great movie, masterfully done. It still gives me a lovely little frisson every time I watch it.