Bates Motel Recap: “Ocean View”

by Jessica Grafer:

Bates Motel Recap: “Ocean View”
Original Air Date (A&E): Monday April 15, 2013
Season 1 Episode 5

Well, Norman got laid!  Dylan really wants his brother to just be a normal kid.  The look on Norman’s face as he comes walking home in the morning is priceless.  He is the epitome of a normal American teenage boy.  Just bursting with happiness.  Too cute.  The warm fuzzies last until he gets home and finds out that his mother is in jail.  Instant downer.  Poor Norman.  The two times that he has tried to have normal teenage fun, major things have gone wrong with his mother.  The first time she was brutally raped and now she has been arrested for the murder of the rapist.  We know with Norman’s mental state he is blaming himself for everything.  I wonder if his days of teenage bliss are over already.

Norma is a complete bitch when Dylan and Norman go to see her.  She makes Norman feel worse and tells them both to get out.  She doesn’t need their help.  When Shelby brings food he is unreadable.  I like to think it’s because of the camera in the cell that he was stonefaced.

Emma takes Norman to the bail bondsman after he finds the deed to the hotel.  While they are waiting for “Jonn” to come back, Norman tells Emma he has found the girl from the Manga book.  Emma of course, starts “freaking out all over Italy” and Norman tries to get her to calm down.  He tells her, they’l help the girl after he makes sure his mom is safe.  At this point Emma steals a kiss.  It’s obvious Norman is head over heels for Bradley but Emma has got it bad for him.  Before Norman goes in to get bail settled, Emma asked if his mom did it.  Norman tells her no.  Later that night, Norman texts Bradley about how nice it was to see her the night before.  The only response he gets, is from the bondsman telling him, mom will be out in the morning.

Norman is waiting outside the police station with flowers and mom’s purse.  Norma storms past him and says she’s walking home.  Typical Norma fashion she uses the silent or rude comment treatment on Norman.  He stands by her putting up with it all.  When they meet at an attorney’s office, Norma freaks out saying she’s not going to provide a defense because she’s not guilty.  Who runs these DNA tests?  I want to run my own tests!  Norma acts like a um, psycho and ends up walking out of the office.  Norman tells her she was being unreasonable.  She’s trying to sabotage her case.  You don’t care about me, Norma screams at him.  When I was home, crying and worried, you were out getting laid Norman!  Ouch.  Norma tells him that Dylan is trying to turn him against her.  Norman says he’s just worried about me.  Norman lets mom know she scares him.  Norma responds in her loving mother way with, get out of my car!  If I scare you so much get the hell out of my car!  Ten miles from home Norma pulls Norman out of the car and leaves him on the side of the road.

Luckily here comes big brother on his motorcycle.  Dylan gives Norman a ride home and Norman just loves it.  The childlike awe is back on his face as they speed along the highway.  Back at home, Dylan tells Norman that their mother lives for the drama and she won’t ever change.  At some point we all leave our parents, he tells Norman.  Dylan also mentions that he’s going to get his own place.  One with an ocean view.  If Norma is convicted he wants Norman to move in with him.  If she gets off, he still thinks Norman should move in with him, but it will be his choice.  To this end Ethan decides to loan Dylan the $5,000 of his own money.  Ethan feels Dylan is good for it and wants to help him out.  Right after this happens, one of the derelicts who owes the people they work for money comes up to the side of the truck and shoots Ethan in the neck.  Dylan quickly gets his buddy to the hospital, but is extremely worked up over the shooting of his friend.  Dylan leaves Ethan at the hospital and spends the night driving around.  He sees the derelict walking alone and runs the kid down.  Dylan seems a little bit bothered by what he has done.  Just a little bit.  I’m thinking the guys he works for, will be pleased with this action.

Zach meets with Norma in private.  He starts to tell her that they can’t see each other for awhile.  Norma goes to leave.  She’s freaking out when Zach grabs her and says, “I love you, you idiot”.  He tells her, that he’ll think of something to get her out of this.  He is a fast worker.  Back at the station that night, Shelby sends the receptionist on an errand in the back room.  Whiles she’s back there, he steals the famed, carpet fiber evidence.  Romero is going to be pissed.  Later the attorney calls Norma and tells her the prosecution has no case.  They’ve lost the evidence.  Norma is back to her um, bubbly self and is happily talking to Norman again.

Norman calls and leaves a message for Bradley.  It’s pretty brutal.  Desperate.  When Norma tells Norman that she’s pretty sure Zach got rid of the evidence and saved her, Norman is not impressed.  “Mr. Wonderful saves the day again” are his exact words.  Norman leaves and Emma is there to take him away.  While Emma is trying to tell Norman her theory about the missing Asian girl, she notices Norman keeps looking at his phone.  When she asks him what’s up, Norman tells her that he and Bradley are an item now.  Emma is upset but tells him that unless she changes her relationship status, it was only a hook up.  Norman does not like that but it seems to make Emma feel a bit better.

Emma tells Norman that Summers had a boat and if Shelby needed to hide someone, maybe he would hide them there.  Emma and Norman search the boat and just when you think they’ve got nothing, BAM a beat up Asian girl falls out of a cabinet.  Norman and Emma take her back to the motel.  While they are cleaning her up, Norma bursts in the room.  Norman tells her that this is the girl.  Norma still can’t believe it.  She gets a newspaper clipping of Zach Shelby and shows it to the girl.  The girl is instantly upset and says that is the man.

I, for one, am confused.  So, Norman does see some things that aren’t there but we won’t really know what’s real and what’s not until things are explained to us.  It’s a fascinating way to view a story.  My views are going to be constantly changing as to who is good and who isn’t.  I’m still on the fence with Zach Shelby.  I don’t want to believe it’s him but…

Jessica Grafer has loved the “darker” things since she was old enough to pick her own books. She is a contributor for DarkMedia who covers Revenge and Bates Motel. She loves to walk the book store shelves and pick up whatever catches her eye. She is a movie lover with a great range in her tastes, and appreciation for all genres. Jessica is a writer and has several things in the works. You can follow her quirky Twitter posts at @scarletbe and check out her blog.