Bates Motel (TV Series) Unconscious (2015) User Reviews

The love of a mother to her son

[MattBrady099 · 8/10 · 25 May 2015]

Norma Louise Bates: "Norman I will kick your ass to the moon and back".

Bates Motel as a TV series has been pretty good so far, I mean it's a lot different from most shows base on a classic horror films. I know we Hannibal which is another TV base on movie and that's great as well. Season 3 as a season was pretty solid and as I said before this is very rare that this happens.

Vera Farmiga as Norma Louise Bates was the stand out of this season and she gave in my opinion the best TV performance of the year and she always steals the show in every episodes she's in. Her performance was Emmy worthy and I heard some rumors about the Emmy nominations and I hope there put her on the list because she owned it.

For a while now I wasn't so sure of Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates because in the first season I thought he did okay. In the second season I thought he did better, I know it's suppose to be a slow build to his craziness but if I have to judge him playing the character I say he did okay, but in this season I sawed the real Norman Bates and a break through performance from Freddie Highmore. He played the harmless boy but really he's dangerous and he pulled that off really well.

The writing was fine, the rest of the cast did good and some of the character's this time actually matted and wasn't forgettable as the other ones.

Now for problems and these not a lot that I can name off: When I said about some of the character's matted, well these some didn't and those character's are not very interesting and don't do anything with the show. This was my other problem with the previous seasons and it's still happening in this season.

Overall season 3 was a solid season just like the second season of the show.

Season 3 (9/10 stars): In Which Norman Takes The "Next Steps"

[zkonedog · 9/10 · 3 July 2019]

The first two seasons of Bates Motel are essentially one long story, establishing the relationship between Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) and her troubled son Norman (Freddie Highmore) at their new motel business in White Pine Bay (alongside all the other characters and goings-on). But when S3 opens with Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) burning the pot fields, it is clear that Bates Motel is moving in a new direction--and I would argue an even better one!

The most abundantly clear aspect of S3 right from the get-go is that Norman is now largely beyond saving in terms of normalcy. He is now basically the Anthony Perkins version from the Psycho film. There are scenes this season that will absolutely leave your jaw on the flow as they relate to the utterly strange Norman/Norma dynamic. Norman playing "peeping tom" and Norman flying off the handle into the arms of another man? It's all here! Easily some of the best character work you'll ever see in a televised drama.

Meanwhile, my main criticism of Bates Motel as a series is usually that all the "other stuff" surrounding the always-on-point Norman/Norma arc is a little hit or miss. But in S3, most of those work better than they have previously. A few examples...

-Romero coming to terms with who he is and what his father's legacy in him will be.

-Dylan (Max Thieriot) & Caleb (Kenny Johnson) building the cabin is likely a placeholder plot, to be honest, but at least provides the type of character development for both figures that the drug wars of the earlier seasons largely eschewed.

-Emma (Olivia Cooke) getting an opportunity for better health--yet questioning the risks that may spring from it.

The singular thing that doesn't work in S3? The return of Bradley Martin (Nicola Peltz) for a mini-arc. As much of a fan-favorite as she was in the early goings, it is clear now that the show has moved beyond her arc. Fortunately, these proceedings aren't drawn out and that arc's wrap-up is another key piece of Norman's legacy.

Also, the note I'm leaving on every season review of this series: Through S3, Bates Motel can still be thoroughly enjoyed as a Psycho prequel. Not the explicit intent, to be sure, but fans of that movie can absolutely marinate in the "what if" scenarios that this show provides.

So, I consider this third season of Bates Motel to be the best thus far (I gave the first two 8/10 stars each). The Norma/Norman material is magnificent, and all the other plots/characters are stronger than ever before. A show truly hitting its stride.

Season 3

[IPyaarCinema · 8/10 · 29 September 2021]

Review By Kamal K

The Bates family begins to tear itself apart in Season 3 of Bates Motel. This season Norma makes a desperate play to save her motel by blackmailing the town's main powerbroker with a flash drive that has incriminating evidence on it; meanwhile Dillon tries to go straight as a marijuana farmer and gives his father a chance to mend their relationship. Additionally, Norman's psychosis becomes more apparent as he begins to regularly talk to and interactive with his alternate mother personality. However, despite some really interesting storylines, the writing is inconsistent; starting and stopping several subplots that don't come to much. Yet there are some incredibly powerful scenes and exciting plot turns that are quite engrossing. While it's a bit disjointed, the Bates Motel delivers a chilling and suspenseful third season..