REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 2 Episode Nine 'The Box'
REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 2 Episode Nine 'The Box'
Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore), it's fair to say, is one of cinema's most famous horror villains. He has been prominent in popular culture ever since his introduction in 1960s, and remains just as relevant today. So it's perhaps strange to see him become the victim to somebody else's villainous deeds.
Which is exactly what happens in this episode of Bates Motel, simply entitled 'The Box'. For Norman's kidnappers entrap him in - you guessed it - a box. And this is not where I expected this series to take Norman Bates. It's such a fresh and unique direction to take the character for an episode, to essentially make him this male 'damsel in distress, especially as it allows us to explore his psychology further when it prompts him to remember his murder of Blaire Watson.
It's a great episode for Norma (Vera Farmiga) too, as we see her reaction to discovering Norman is missing. Vera Farmiga gets so much material to work with, expressing the horrors of a mother who has lost her child, and she demonstrates just how good an actor she is. I really felt for Norma throughout this episode; it must be a truly awful scenario for a mother to be in, given that close maternal connection is being threatened, and Vera Farmiga makes you feel that devastation so clearly.
I do feel sorry for poor Emma (Olivia Cooke) too. She feels as though she has been invited into the family by being hired as a part of the family business, and yet nobody will let her in on anything. I kind of find myself agreeing with her when she says everybody is treating her like she's stupid. It does feel like that. It gives Olivia Cooke a great opportunity to showcase her excellent acting skills however. I'm not surprised she's become such a successful actor, as she really makes Emma feel like such a believable and endearing presence.
Elsewhere in the narrative, Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) pops by the motel, and voices his suspicions regarding Norman and Blaire to Norma. Norma's bad day really does just get worse. This scene is a really great dramatic moment though; it shows just how little Norma knows about her son and what he has been up to, and provides an interesting development for Alex and Norma's friendship. They're both aware that Norma's a disturbed individual, and they both seem to want to do right by him too.
It's made even better when it turns out to be Nick rather than Zane who Dylan ultimately murders. It's the perfect form of poetic justice, as the man who requests the murder is the one who ends up meeting his end. It's an aspect of the narrative that feels earned as we move into the second season's finale, and it's surely something that will cause ripples for the rest of the show's run.
Overall, 'The Box' is one of Bates Motel's strongest episodes; it's an interesting idea to turn Norman Bates into a male damsel in distress, and one that allows us to dig further into the psychology of this most iconic horror movie villain. The episode also gives us some strong character moments for Norma and Emma, and some truly gripping character conflict for Dylan Bates. It's an episode that sets up the Season Two finale perfectly, and sets the stage for what is surely going to be a memorable season closer.
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What are your thoughts on the ninth episode of Bates Motel's second season? Let me know in the comments section.
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