REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 4 Episode Eight 'Unfaithful'
REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 4 Episode Eight 'Unfaithful'
As soon as the episode starts, you can feel the tension as Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) starts throwing the questions at Norma. He's already suspicious, querying everything from the expensive new television set to why his room has been used for sewing curtains. It's another excellent way of throwing us straight into the psychology of Norman, as you can see quite clearly his feelings that he's being replaced in his mother's affections. Alex is a threat to the way he views 'Mother', and not one that he is particularly happy to let get in his way.
This cold atmosphere from Norman is reflected by the constant references to the heating not working within the motel. It's almost as though Norman's return home casts this chilly blanket over the Bates business, his frostiness towards Norma's new found happiness literally casting its shadow over the building entirely. The motel becomes like an embodiment of Norman's attitudes towards this relationship, which creates this foreboding atmosphere throughout the screenplay. It all feels gloomy, as though Norman is waiting to strike at any moment.
It's probably wise then that Alex has temporarily moved out. We all know what happens when you live in the motel and you become an enemy of Norman Bates, after all. You can't help but feel sorry for the married couple though; they are so deeply in love, and have this shared connection, and yet they're forced apart by mere circumstance. It gives their relationship a sense of tragedy, this idea that they can never truly be together because Norman will always be watching over them. They may have had freedom to explore married life whilst Norman was in the care home, but now that freedom has gone, and it's either reveal the truth or forever bottle up their love.
It's a choice made even harder when Norman shows up at Alex's workplace and demands he divorces his mother. There's a real sinister vibe to this, almost like watching a Mafia boss negotiating a 'business proposition'. It perfectly conveys just how much of a danger Norman is, this major feel of threat and intimidation that he conveys. You mess with Norman at your own peril, or else you face the consequences. In the world of Bates Motel, what Norman says goes.
Alex is not an easy man to intimidate however, and so himself and Norma continue their relationship. It leads to this tense scene where Norman is wielding an axe, and for one moment I genuinely thought this could have been the last we saw of Alex Romero. Thankfully he doesn't die, but God does that scene's tight writing and direction really leave you on the edge of your seat. I honestly think Alex Romero is lucky to have survived for another episode, because not many people can stand up to Norman Bates and live to tell the tale.
This is also the episode that finally gives us our reunion between Norman and Emma (Olivia Cooke), the first time these pair of characters have been seen together since Emma's lung transplant. Their reunion is sweet and honest, and absolutely true to their friendship. It allows us to see a more emotional side to Norman, full of happiness and relief for Emma, and being able to see his friend again after all this time. It's nice to get these little hints of a human side to Norman Bates, as we've seen his psychopathic tendencies frequently displayed in his behaviour, so these brief glimpses of humanity allow us to see a different aspect of Norman. It's an aspect that adds further dimensions and layers to Freddie Highmore's seemingly effortless performance, and shows that this man is still a human being despite of these terrible acts that he commits.
Overall, 'Unfaithful' is another impressive instalment in Bates Motel's fourth season. It's an episode that adds further tension regarding Norma and Alex's relationship, and Norman's discovery that they are married, whilst giving us a glimpse at a more empathic streak in Norman's personality, with Emma being the one outside of his family who Norman cares for deeply. Bates Motel is proof that a Psycho prequel can work. It just needs heart and authenticity to the tone of the original.
What are your thoughts on Bates Motel's eighth episode? Let me know in the comments section.
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