Bates Motel Recap: “The Truth”

by Jessica Grafer:

Bates Motel Recap: “The Truth”
Original Air Date (A&E): Monday April 22, 2013
Season 1 Episode 6

Wow.  Just wow.  The truth is such a tricky thing.  It can change depending on whose telling it and sometimes it’s just better not knowing.  Lots of stuff happens in this fantastic episode.

We start off with Norma in shock over finding out that her savior and love of her life is a major creep.  While Emma and Norman are discussing what to do, Norma tries to run off in her car to confront Zach.  Norman stops her and gets her to calm down.  He tells her that they will make him pay, they just need to do it the right way.  Emma really wants to take the girl to the cops or FBI or some kind of authority.  Norma and Norman convince her they will tell the police but they need to give the girl a chance to rest.  Meaning they need time to get that belt back, before they throw Zach Shelby under the bus.

Dylan fills his boss, Gil in about Ethan.  Gil is impressed with Dylan’s, “take charge” attitude and tells him how to get rid of the truck.  After Dylan ditches the truck and sets it ablaze his new partner in crime, Remo, picks him up.  Remo has been working for Gil for 23 years.  Quite the seasoned vet.  He and Dylan aren’t fast friends so we’ll see how this duo works out.

Dylan wants to help his brother out so he takes Norman to the boat and they find the belt and toss it into the bay.  While searching for the belt, Dylan puts it in Normans head that his father’s death was no accident.  Dylan tells him Norma killed him.  Dylan says I’ve got my place on the ocean and when we go back to the house, you’re packing your stuff and coming with me.  Norman doesn’t object.  Norman is a pretty smart cookie.  He loves his mother in a very unhealthy way yet he seems to know that she’s not right.  I love watching Norman struggle with all these emotions.  He wants to be with his brother, whom he has come to trust and care about.  He wants to be with his mother to whom he obviously feels loyal.  Plus he is struggling with his own inner demons.

While Dylan and Norman are disposing of the belt Zach shows up at the house.  He is missing Norma hardcore and wants a little somethin’ somethin’.  Norma is obviously repulsed but has to put on a good show.  Since she doesn’t want the boys to walk in on them, Zach suggests the motel.  Oh boy.  You can see where this is going.  While they, read he, is getting hot and heavy Zach hears water running.  They go to check it out.  Norma thinks up a lie too late and the Chinese girl opens the door.  Upon seeing Zach she screams and starts to run.  Zach, knowing now that Norma has been lying to him shoves her hard and then chases after the girl firing a shot.  Dylan and Norman come back.  Before Norma can fill them in on what’s been happening, Dylan drops the bomb that Norman is moving in with him.  Norma stares in disbelief and asks Norman if this is true.  Then she adds in an offhand manner, oh Shelby is here and he saw the Chinese girl.  She escaped and he’s running after her trying to shoot her down.  This alarms Dylan and he tries to get them all to get in the truck and leave.  Norman and Norma are discussing things such as, why would you leave me and did you kill my father when Shelby comes back.  Shelby orders all of them back up to the house to have  little chat.  Not sure if the Chinese girl is dead or alive.

At the house Shelby is freaking out.  He’s pacing back and forth.  He doesn’t know what to do.  Perhaps the girl is alive or maybe he just doesn’t know what to do with all these people who know his dirty deeds.  He finally decides this is all Normans fault and puts the gun, cocked, against Normans head.  Dylan and Norma try to calm him down.  This just pisses him off and forces him to take out his rage on Norma.  He starts smacking her around.  Norman is hearing everything muffled.  He seems to be pulling out of himself.  He’s watching Zach hit his mom when finally he gets up and tackles Zach.  Zach wasn’t expecting this and is knocked off his feet and a gun goes flying.  While Zach and Norman are fighting, Dylan gets up, gets the gun and starts shooting at Zach.  Norman is knocked out cold while there is a gun fight going on in the house.

Dylan gets hit.  Norma is trying to wake up Norman to get him out of the house.  Shelby gets hit, worse than Dylan.  Dylan starts to walk up to Shelby to finish him off.  Click.  He’s out of bullets.  Dylan runs up the stairs while Shelby fires up after him.  Norma has gotten Norman out of the house.  She gives a quick call to 911, only saying that someone is trying to kill them and giving the address.  She then hangs up and continues to get Norman to the car.  At this point while I’m watching, I’m thinking if Norma leaves Dylan I’m going to go ballistic.  I don’t know on what or who, but I’d lose my s*$! big time.  Norma is looking for her keys when she remembers they’re in her room.  Norman is way whacked out.  Maybe he got hit on the head harder than we thought.  Dylan is upstairs in his room loading his gun.  Shelby is tracking him down.  Norma tells Norman they are going to walk when you hear 3 loud blasts and see the flashes go off in the house.  Norma freezes in the car.  She stares at the house.

Someone comes walking out.  It’s Shelby!  Crap!  He’s pretty messed up.  He raises the gun and points it straight at Norma through the windshield.  Before he can shoot he falls.  Dylan comes running out of the house.  Woo hoo!  Dylan has won the shoot out at the Bates Motel.  I’m not embarrassed to admit I was super happy here.  While I like Zach Shelby’s character, I am much happier to see what happens with Dylan and the family.  Norma runs to Dylan and gives him the hug of all hugs.  He tells her, you’re safe.

Norma tells Dylan that she’s called the cops.  She wants to know what they should tell them.  Dylan says he’s tired of the stories.  He’s going to tell them everything he knows and be done with it.  Let the chips fall where they may.  Well, says Norma, you don’t know everything.  Norma explains what really happened the night Sam, Norman’s dad, died.

Sam and Norma were fighting.  Norman was in the kitchen making himself something.  Sam starts hitting Norma for making a comment about the cheapness of their home.  When Sam starts beating Norma, Norman goes out of himself.  He dumps whatever he was making in the blender out into the sink.  He takes the now empty blender into the living room and smacks his dad on the head with it.  Then Norman just stands there, staring.  Norma tries to talk to him and nothing.  Finally she puts him to bed and makes it look like Sam’s death was an accident.  Norman wakes up.  I remember in my first recap, I said he appeared in a daze, something wasn’t right.  Now we know why.

When Norma had finished her story the cops were just beginning to arrive.  Dylan asked her what’s wrong with Norman.  Norma doesn’t know.  She said it could’ve been an isolated incident.  As we’ve seen, that’s not the case.  Anyway you look at it Norman is innocent.  He doesn’t know what he’s doing.  Frankly I think he would be appalled if he knew.  Norma will go to any lengths to protect him.  She tells Dylan you can either get out of my way, or help me.  We know Dylan will help his brother.

Now I see Norma in a different light.  I still think she’s crazy.  She has a very strange narcissistic way and is a bit bi-polar.  She also has valid reasons for wanting to keep Norman close.  I feel a little more sympathy for her now.  What do you think?  Were we too harsh on Norma before, or should she loosen up the hold she has on Norman?

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.