REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season Five Episode Six 'Marion'

 REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season Five Episode Six 'Marion'

With a prequel series like Bates Motel, it's inevitable that eventually it will catch up to the events of the previous film.  The previous episode saw Marion Crane (Rihanna) finally set off for the iconic motel, hinting at an episode which would cover events from the original for a new audience. This is exactly what we get with the sixth episode, entitled 'Marion', which as the title suggests features the iconic Psycho character prominently throughout.

What's interesting about this interpretation is that we get to see more from Norman (Freddie Highmore) and 'Mother''s (Vera Farmiga) perspective, whereas the original film's first twenty minutes are largely told from Marion's point of view. That means we get to dive deeper here into the internal thought processes of the iconic psychopath, and get a greater insight into the way that Norman views Marion and her world. We learn more about the feelings he displays towards her, and how it inspires him to try and shut 'Mother' out by telling her she's not real, only for his attempts to ultimately be in vain, as no matter how hard he tries he cannot escape her. As 'Mother' later tells him, Norman and 'Mother' are one and the same, and you can't have one without the other. 

This episode also features key moments regarding Marion's character, including the most iconic - but we'll get to that in the next paragraph. To begin, we see her finally arrive at the motel and notice Norman's taxidermy. For the most part this part feels very similar to the original, but updated for a modern audience with use of mobile phones and texting. Like the original, it is a good way to establish for Marion Crane that there's something very odd about this Norman character, a sense of that inner darkness which we have seen in the previous episodes of the series. We've already seen Norman's dark side, but Marion hasn't, and the taxidermy essentially an early warning sign for her that something is wrong.

The most iconic aspect of the original Psycho is of course the shower scene, and I'm not sure I'm a fan of the recreation of that sequence here. The actual cinematography is very strong, effectively acting as a shot-by-shot recreation, but the content leaves little to be desired. Instead of being stabbed through he curtain by 'Mother', here Marion is allowed to go free, something which really does not sit right with me. It's essentially rewriting film history, which should never be done; in any new take on an original source material the basic story should always remain the same, no matter who is telling the story.

It does give us some very good stuff with Marion discovering her boyfriend Sam's (Austin Nichols) two-timing ways. She understandably goes absolutely ballistic, smashing his car and driving off never to be seen again. This is probably Rihanna's best scene in the two episodes that she features, as she just totally lets loose and plays the role of a woman scorned well. You do get a feel for how much Sam's behaviour has destroyed her, and how utterly betrayed she is feeling by this discovery.

Sam, essentially, takes Marion's place as the unfortunate shower victim, as we get a reprise of the shower scene at the end of the episode. Norman appears as Sam takes a shower, and stabs him multiple times through the curtain, in what is probably Bates Motel's most gruesome sequence yet. It doesn't quite make up for the failure to follow through on Marion's murder, but it's still satisfying seeing this total sleaze-bag meet his end in this way. What he did by stringing Marion and Madeleine along, particularly in the case of Marion who he had claimed he didn't have a wife to, is an appalling way to treat women, and so it's hard to feel too sorry for him. Although rather interestingly Norman seems to regret this, as he utters the words 'Oh, Mother, what have you done?'. Is this a sign that he still wants to get rid of the 'Mother' persona from his life, as seen earlier in the episode?

This episode is also the one where Dylan (Max Thieriot) learns that his mother Norman has passed away, and those scenes are heart-wrenching to watch. Max Thieriot's performance really conveys this immense combination of sadness and grief at losing a parent, and the screenplay is so tightly written as he firmly denies his mother would have committed suicide. Whilst this is his grief talking, it's ironic that his grief is actually right in this instance. Norma didn't commit suicide, she did die as the result of actions by Norman Bates and he's totally on the right line. I just hope Dylan stays well out of the way of Norman, because I really don't want to see either Dylan or Emma (Olivia Cooke) come to a sticky end.

Overall, 'Marion' is a mostly great retelling of Marion Crane's story. Whilst its decision to not follow through on the shower scene ultimately proves disappointing, the rest of it impresses by staying true to the characters, and showing us the perspective of Marion's stay at the motel through Norman's eyes. It's also good to see the episode forward along Dylan's story with the discovery of Norma's death, as it suggests the show is setting the stage for what's likely going to be a great piece of drama regarding Dylan and his belief that his brother still needs help. Let's just hope Dylan doesn't bite the bucket.

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