REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 5 Episode Two 'The Convergence of the Twain'

 REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 5 Episode Two 'The Convergence of the Twain'

If there's one person you wouldn't want visiting you if you were jailed in prison, it has to be Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore). The man is a literal 'psycho', killing all those who stand in his way in the name of 'Mother'. He's the single worst possible person to have any form of connection to, as he's the literal embodiment of what could happen if you were to lose your sanity.

Which is why you've got to pity Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) here. His one visitor at the prison is his demented Stepson, who has just found out that he sent his friend Jim to come after him. It makes for a compelling piece of drama though, as both try to dominate over the other. Make no mistake, these are two dangerous men - Alex's hands are not exactly calm either. It seems at first as though Norman has the upper hand, but then Alex tells him to watch his back, and you just know that Alex is going to hunt him down as soon as he is released.

Poor Alex has not had a good day in a while. He's just had bad day after bad day lately in this series, and things get worse still for him here, as he's beaten up badly by a fellow inmate. It harks back to that classic story trope of how much more dangerous a man who worked for the law being locked up with the criminals can be. These criminals already have a reason to hate him, as he's the reason why they are in there. As sheriff, he was the law, and Alex's poor choices mean he has to face up to that.

Norman's feelings for Madeline (Isabelle McNally) are a major focus of this episode, as she spots him in the coffee shop and invites him on a double date. I was not expecting the twist that her husband Sam (Austin Nichols) was the same man who checked in as 'David Davidson' at the motel. It's a brilliant twist as it creates a nice bit of tension as to whether Norman will spill the beans to Madeline about how Sam has been seeing another woman behind his wife's back, or if he will keep quiet. It's the ample opportunity for Norman to win Madeline from Sam, after all.

It's this tension that really brings the dinner date to life. The script is full of so many moments that make you wonder if Norman will expose Sam's unfaithful behaviour; as it turns out he doesn't, but I think Sam got very lucky. It's also confirmed that Norman's feelings for Madeline are because she looks like a young version of his Mum, as 'Mother' directly calls him out on it. It seemed fairly obvious, but it's nice to get that affirmation all the same. 

Elsewhere, Caleb (Kenny Johnson) finally finds out about Norma's death, and it feels like we were meant to feel sorry for him, but I just can't feel any kind of sympathy for this character. To me what he did to Norma was just too reprehensible, even if it was in the past, and I just find myself firmly on Chick Hogan's (Ryan Hurst) side, who very openly makes digs at Caleb's behaviour. I get that he's grieving but that is not and never should be used as an excuse for rape. 

Thankfully the episode ends on a much stronger note, as we see Norman in full 'Mother' get-up, wig and all. There's a very fun and clear call-back to the original Psycho, as Caleb goes down to the basement to find Norma's corpse staring back, as Norman as 'Mother' approaches him from behind. It's an extremely cool visual nod to finish this instalment of Bates Motel on, a moment that speaks to how zoned out from reality Norman is as a character.

Overall, 'The Convergence of the Twain' is another fantastic episode of Bates Motel. It gives us some excellent 'Mother' action, as well as a further glimpse at just how unlucky poor Alex Romero's life can get. Alex has to be leading the worst life out of any character in a TV Show, and that's saying something when you have shows such as Coronation Street where every character seems to become a convict.     

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