REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 3 Episode Three 'Persuasion'

 REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 3 Episode Three 'Persuasion'

In any Hitchcock-inspired piece of entertainment, the psychology of the characters involved is always the most fundamental part of the screenplay. It's essential for a script trying to capture the Hitchcockian vibe, as Alfred Hitchcock's films always made a case of exploring the mind.

Persuasion is an episode that understands this, and also comments on it in a very meta-textual fashion. It's an episode that continues this series' fascination with sticking our lead characters in unexpected locations. This time, it's the turn of Norma (Vera Farmiga) in a college setting, where she decides to study business and marketing. This leads to a hilarious moment where Norma accidentally ends up in the psychology class, and awkwardly shuffles her way out of the room. It's a cleverly weaved knowing wink at how psychology forms such a strong basis of this Psycho prequel, and a literal acknowledgement in the screenplay that writers Steve Kornacki and Alyson Evans understand that this is what made the original film work. Psycho was never a slasher movie, it was a film that explored the dark recesses of a serial killer's mind, which just happened to feature slasher elements. It's the mind of Norman Bates that is scary, not the tools at his disposal.

The teacher of the psychology course - James Finnigan (Joshua Leonard) - it seems understands something is up with Norma, which results in him leaving her card and suggesting she undergoes therapy (again). I hope we see more of this character, as I really like him. He's endearingly awkward but has this soft and caring side, and seems like somebody who genuinely wants to help.

The disappearance of Annika Johnson (Tracy Spiridakos) continues to loom large here, as Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) pays the motel another visit and interrogates Norman (Freddie Higmore) over the mysterious circumstances. This scene does a really good job at establishing the air of doubt being placed over Norman's insistence that he had nothing to do with it. You really feel that eye of suspicion being cast around Norman Bates, and yet his repeated insistence that he is innocent seems strangely convincing.

So convincing, in fact, that you actually start to feel sorry for and sympathise with Norman when his mother seems so convinced he was involved. Freddie Highmore really a acts his socks off, as Norman rages at his mother. You get a real sense of just how dangerous Norman is, and the power that he holds. When he loses it with both Emma and Norma, you can't help but wonder if he's going to strike yet again. It's an utterly superb performance and demonstrates exactly why Freddie Highmore was the perfect man for the job.

It's probably a major understatement to say that Norman goes totally off the rails here. Late into the episode, he gets yet another one of his visions of his mother, this time telling him to drown himself in the bath in order to enter the same mindset as when he was trapped in the box, and potentially remember whether or not he killed Annika. In a truly dark twist, Norman almost drowns and Norma has to bash the door down in order to rescue him. It's a truly disturbing reminder of how we are watching this guy who is very mentally unstable. This man is not well, and we know he's never going to receive the help he needs. He's a tragic case in a way, because had his mother admitted Norman's problems and sought help for her son she maybe could have avoided him becoming a killer.

Still, at least he didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of driving a ton of cannabis in the passenger's seat like Emma (Olivia Cooke). In a hilarious scene brought about by the motel receiving Dylan's (Max Thieriot) drug delivery, Emma ends up behind the wheel of her car, trying to disguise her appearance, as she takes the drug supply to her new farm. When it wants to be funny, this show has a great sense of humour. I like it when you see characters thrown in these awkward situations, as it works well for comedy, and helps to lighten the mood with a show like this, that otherwise is very dark.

Overall, Persuasion is another impressive episode of Bates Motel. It dives deep into Norman's psychology and shows just how disturbed he truly is, whilst also offering a fun glimpse into his mother Norma's new college life. It's an excellent entry in Bates Motel's third season, and demonstrates a strong understanding of the original source material from the writers involved.

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What are your thoughts on the third episode of Bates Motel's third season? Let me know in the comments section.