Norma Bates (Bates Motel)

For the mainstream version, see: Norma Bates

"We came here to start over, and I am starting over."

- Norma to Norman

Norma Louise Bates (born Norma Calhoun) is the main character along with her son Norman Bates in 2013 television series Bates Motel. She serves as one of the two protagonists of the show along with her son Norman.

She is portrayed by Vera Farmiga.

History
Norma Calhoun was second child of her abusive father Ray and scared mother Frances who grew up with her older brother named Caleb Calhoun. As a child, her father would beaten Norma and Caleb which left them scars. Norma and Caleb often has consensual sex with each other, but when Norma wanted to stop, Caleb resorted to raping her from time to time, resulting in her being pregnant with her first child, Dylan. She later married John Massett who he become her first husband. Dylan never found out about his biological father and always thought John was his.

Years later Norma had an affair with Sam Bates and cheated on her husband which caused the marriage to dissolve so she left John with Dylan. Norma later married an abusive alcoholic, Sam Bates, whom she had Norman with. Sam was an extremely violent man, who often went into drunken rages and even threatened to kill Norman when he was a child and raped Norma once when the two of them tried to leave him. Dylan would later leave the family out of animosity towards Norma for always feeling like she favored Dylan more than him.

Trivia

 * In the novel and films, Norman Bates was Norma's only child.  She also had a sister named Emma Spool rather than a brother.
 * The show is set in modern day and retcons much of what was established in the original films. Farmiga's performance differs greatly from Olivia Hussey's in Psycho IV, with her being much more sympathetic and a lot less caustic and spiteful than the original interpretation. She is no less an overbearing mother however and so far is seen to have an unhealthy sexual interest in her son. She also appears to be aware, and more understanding, of Norman's trance-like episodes. In the show, she has another older son with whom she has an antagonistic relationship. This same son is uncomfortably aware of, and openly criticizes, her interactions with Norman.