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I'm not mad - except in the British sense of the word, like the Mad Hatter. In that way, I am mad. But there are plenty of mad people who function, some of whom are heads of state. So I think I can manage running a motel.
„
~ Norman Bates.
“
Thank you.
„
~ Norman to Dylan, his last words.
Norman Bates is the titular protagonist of Bates Motel, a 2013 TV series based on Robert Bloch's Psycho and its film adaptation by the late Alfred Hitchcock. He is based off of his original incarnation of the same name.
Norman is a complicated individual, as his psychological issues stem from watching his mother be abused by his father, causing him to have a strong need to protect Norma. As a teenager, Norman is shown to be mind-mannered, shy and even tempered, and at first doesn't want to start over in White Pine. He is polite around others, and is innocent charm gains the interest of those his age, such as Bradley Martin and Emma Decody. Though he can be well tempered, Norman is filled with anger at anyone who insults his mother, and often lashes out on a few occasions. His anger is mostly filled at anyone who insults his mother, as he has strong bond with Norma that borders on unhealthy and obsessive. Due to his abuse Norma has suffered, Norman is determined to protect her from anyone, and is weary anytime a man shows an attraction to her.
Though he at first appears to be a good individual, Norman is mentally disturbed and a troubled young man, and becomes more a villainous character as the series progresses. Though his disorder is ambiguous, he is prone to blackouts, suffers from visual hallucinations, is mostly anti-social, and dissociative. His split personality acts as his dark side, as it encourages him to murder his victims and have Norma take the fall of them. As a result, Norman believes his mother to be behind these murders, and is helping cover the crimes so she can safe. However, Norman has shown to be malicious without his split personality, as shown he threatens to expose Dylan of his crime, or becomes more possessive of Norma when she marries Alex Romero.
After murdering his mother, Norman becomes grief-stricken and denies her death, even going as far to take her corpse to the motel. He becomes more isolated as a result, causing his further mental decline, suffering from more frequent blackouts and hallucinating Dr. Edwards. However, Norman starts to realize his mental instability, and attempts to atone by having himself be arrested to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. His self-realization causes him to become suicidal, as he allows himself to be killed by Dylan, whom he thanks before passing on.
Victims[]
Sam Bates (unknowingly): Hit over the head with a blender. (in First You Dream, Then You Die)
Blaire Watson (unknowingly): Cut her throat. (in Midnight)
Jimmy Brennen (accidentally): Pushed down a flight of stairs. (in Plunge)
Bradley Martin (unknowingly): Head bashed repeatedly on a rock. (in Unconscious)
Audrey Ellis (unknowingly): Strangulation. (in A Danger to Himself and Others)
Norma Bates: Carbon monoxide poisoning. (in Forever)
Gregg Edwards (unknowingly): Through means unknown. It is implied that Norman killed Dr. Edwards due to the fact that he is missing and presumed dead-as well as the fact that Mother was worried about him knowing too much about her and Norman.
Jim Blackwell (unknowingly): Stabbed multiple times. (in Dark Paradise)
No matter where we go, things will always be the same, because you do things that don't make sense! You, you're crazy!
„
~ Norman to Norma.
“
Of course I wouldn't want to. I've never wanted to hurt anyone. Except you once in a while.
„
~ Norman to Dylan.
“
MOTHER!!
„
~ Norman's phrase.
Gallery[]
A young Norman holds his mother's hand as his father is raping her.
Norman as a teenager.
Norman making breakfast as Mother.
Norman realizes he has killed Bradley.
Norman steals Norma's body from her grave.
An adult Norman now managing the motel.
Norman putting up shower curtains.
Norman dressed as Mother.
Mother holds Caleb's hand.
Marion Crane hugs Norman.
Norman being strangled by Romero.
Norman trying to have a "family dinner".
Norman is reunited with his mom in death.
Norman dies in his brother's arms.
Trivia[]
This is Freddie Highmore's first villainous role, and his performance has received critical acclaim.
Some fans have said Freddie Highmore bears physical similarities with Anthony Perkins, the original player of Norman in the 1960 film produced by the late Alfred Hitchcock.
In the original book and film series, the Bates Motel is set in a different fictional location, being Fairvale, California, as opposed to White Pine Bay, Oregon in the TV show.
Norman's murder of Sam Loomis in the shower is a reference the Marian Crane's death in the original Psycho film by the hands of Mother. Though instead, Marion survives in the show while Sam is killed, and Norman is killing him in his original personality rather than Mother's.
It's implied in the show that Norman may be bisexual, given he tried to seduce Dr. Edwards as Mother during one of their sessions. There's also the fact that at another point in the Mother personality, he went into a gay bar and had sex with a man in his car while dressed as Norma. Some have argued that he only displays sexual attraction towards men in his Mother personality - however there is also the fact that in his own persona, he masturbated as watched Sam Loomis through the peep hole in his motel room.
It's almost entirely possible that Norman wanted Dylan to shoot him at the end of the last episode to put him out of his misery. This is evident when he stated "I just want to be with her, Dylan", which could have been his way of asking Dylan to send him to Norma. There's also the fact that when he lunges at Dylan and Dylan shoots him, he stabs the wall just to left of Dylan's head-indicating he never intended to stab his brother, but to just make it look like he was so Dylan would shoot him in self-defense. According to interviews with the creators as well as Freddie Highmore himself, this is most likely the case.
This is the third version of Norman Bates to die, although this version was killed in his youth rather than in an older age. The original literary version of Norman was killed in the novel Psycho II. The second version was off-screen in the 1987 TV Movie Bates Motel, in which Norman was never released from the institution and instead died of old age.
Unlike his film counterpart, this version of Norman started to develop his split personality "Mother" in his youth before Norma dies, whereas in the original movie it was mentioned his "Mother" persona only manifested as a coping mechanism after he killed Norma.
