And the plot thickens…

After the mysterious death of Norman’s teacher Ms. Blair Watson, Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman (Freddie Highmore) welcome new friends into their lives. Norma meets Christine, a socialite who takes an immediate liking to her, and Norman forms a bond with Cody, a troubled girl whose rebellious personality is the exact opposite of Norman’s uptight upbringing. While Norma continues to oppose the construction of the bypass by forming an unlikely alliance with Nick Ford, a dangerous man who holds real power in the town, Norma’s estranged brother Caleb makes an appearance that disrupts Norma’s fragile relationship with Dylan (Max Theriot), who is dealing with troubles in his own professional life. Apparently, the drug bosses are becoming frisky and combative with each other following the death of one of their own and its up to Dylan and Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) to restore some sort of order in White Pine Bay’s drug trade.

I was very impressed with Bates Motel’s pilot season and I am even more astounded by its second season. The show just keeps getting better as more layers to Norman’s mental illness is uncovered. I think aside from the strong performances of the cast, the show was really able to explore the possibilities of Norman’s early life, his dysfunctional family, and his gradual descent into madness and this hooks audiences to the show, present company not exempted. What I liked about the progression of the story is actually the writers’ ability to leave audiences wondering about a question left as a cliffhanger in the final episode of last season — the death of Blair Watson. The question about whether or not Norman was responsible for it was not a main highlight of the storyline but it was always there, skimming the surface and ready to be brought out at any point of the season. The uncertainty of the answer made viewers obsess about it even as the Bates dealt with various issues that pitted them at the center of almost everything essential happening in White Pine Bay, and the manner in which the issue was resolved was absolutely brilliant.

The shifting dynamics in Norman’s family was also part of the show’s major draws. Whereas before, it was only him and his mother, Dylan — towards the end of the last season was already becoming the balancing factor in the dynamic, which was only torn down and rebuilt throughout this season. Dylan had a bigger role in Season 2 because much of the storyline revolved around him and his issues. The way he begrudgingly protected his family despite feeling like an outsider for the most part, was really sweet. Its a weird description for such a dark show but there were just moments where viewers would just want to give the characters a big hug. Sure, Emma was sometimes annoying in wanting to stick her nose in everything but she genuinely cared for the Bates so its not hard to forgive her. And I kinda liked her letting her hair down with Gunner, who was such a cutie. I’m a bit sorry that his character just disappeared.

I also loved the underlying sexual tension between Sheriff Romero and Norma Bates. These two were adorable in their encounters and I would very much like to see them get together in future seasons. It just worries me though when the characters I like get close to the Bates because a lot of them die. Seriously. But aside from the chemistry, these two actors were outstanding — Vera as the mother who would stop at nothing to protect her son and Carbonell as the lawmaker who is trying his best to bring justice to the crimes in his town.

All in all, Season 2 was much stronger because of the brewing distrust between mother and son as Norman learns about what he is and what he is capable of when he has his blackouts. As the series moves forward, it was cool to see Norman foreshadowing the Norman Bates of the 1960 Psycho, in which the series was inspired. The taxidermy in the living room, channeling his mother, and having monologues and the rage — all of it was excellently depicted by Freddie Highmore and while before he had an air of innocence about him because of his youth, there is no doubt that he is not normal, not by any stretch of the imagination everytime he flies off the handle. Its interesting to see how this show goes. There is just so much potential.