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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 |
Norman Bates is the protagonist villain of Bates Motel, a 2013 TV series based on Robert Bloch's Psycho, and its film adaptation by the late Alfred Hitchcock. He turned into the main antagonist from Season 4 onwards after he went insane and killed his mother, Norma. His split personality and hallucination "Mother" acts as the Big Bad and primary antagonist of the fifth season, as "she" begins to take over Norman and influence his actions in a bid to keep him to herself. He is based off of his original incarnation of the same name.
He was portrayed by Freddie Highmore, and occasionally by Vera Farmiga (who also played Norma) as Mother.
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 (accidentaly): 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 (unkowingly): 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)
- Sam Loomis: Stabbed repeatedly. (in Marion)
- Alex Romero: Shot repeatedly. (in The Cord)
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 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 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 insetead, Marion survives in the show while Sam is killled, 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.
- 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.