REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 2 Episode One 'Gone But Not Forgotten'
REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 2 Episode One 'Gone But Not Forgotten
Bates Motel's first season finale may have been a tad underwhelming, but with its dark conclusion it left the show in an interesting place. Norman (Freddie Highmore) had committed his latest murder, and it was clear the second season was going to require the young psychopath to start covering his tracks.
What's perhaps unnerving about the way this season opener starts, however, is that Norman doesn't appear to remember making the kill. He's devastated at the loss, and committed to finding the killer. It's a compelling way to show just how mentally disturbed this young man already is, years before the events of Psycho. Norman is somebody who clearly needs some very serious help, and it's no surprise that this young man is already seeing a therapist by this point.
It's something that makes you question Norman's mother Norma's (Vera Farmiga) decision to let him drive behind the wheel of a car. Norman is surely the very last person you would want to throw behind what can, in the wrong hands, become a dangerous weapon. He's certainly not someone I would trust in the driver's seat.
We learn through his car journey that Norman has been visiting the grave of the person he killed every day since her death, and given what we as viewers know concerning her murder, there's something quite unsettling about that. It feels so wrong to see the victim's killer pay their respects, and the script plays on that brilliantly. It expects us to feel this way, and it feeds on it, constantly playing on that feeling throughout the screenplay.
This episode also deals with the bypass that has been teased throughout this show's run, and Norma is not happy. She discovers through her drive with Norman that the bypass is currently being constructed, and decides to join a town council meeting to raise her concerns. Of course, it doesn't go to plan, and the subsequent scene does a neat job at showing the sheer ferocity of Norman Bates' mother. She is not one to hold back when things are not going how she wants, to the extent of branding the leader of the meeting, Lee Berman (Robert Moloney), a 'd**k'. This is truly a great character scene for Norma, as it neatly demonstrates the determination and her drive to battle the odds, in the face of those who dare to cross her.
When she eventually turns to the dark side, and commits her first murder, it's really no surprise. The episode spends a great deal of time building up to Bradley going off the rails, that it only feels natural when the time comes for her to transition to criminal status. Sometimes things like this can feel forced, but here it absolutely doesn't.
Overall, 'Gone But Not Forgotten' is a strong season opener for Bates Motel's second season, effectively establishing Norman's mentally unhinged personality, and Norma's more fiery traits. There's some nice narrative build-up to Bradley's first kill also, nicely contemplated by Nicola Peltz's great performance. Was it really so wise, however, for Norma to allow her son to drive? That's just asking for trouble...
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What are your thoughts on the first episode of Bates Motel's second season? Let me know in the comments section.
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