Review: Bates Motel ‘Trust Me’ – I Killed The Crap Out Of Him

Although ‘Trust Me’ is very focused on Norman, following him around for the majority of the episode, the best moments come when the camera pulls back a bit and we perceive White Pine Bay and the core of the Bates family from the point of view of Dylan, the disgruntled son. And with a much lower percentage of time spent talking or overtly alluding to Asian sex children, ‘Trust Me’ is the best episode of Bates Motel yet.

The Asian sex slavery is around, but it’s less of a plot device and more of a way to play with Norman’s reliability as a narrator. Was there a girl in the basement? He has a bruise on his ankle, but nobody’s sure whether that came during his escape or from the chained, drugged up Asian girl grabbing Norman’s ankle as he escapes. He definitely shows up to the house – we watch along with Dylan as he follows him to the house, repeating the closing sequence from last week, with a few added dramatic touches. But what does he see there? Norma goes to the basement while having a little sexcapade with Shelby, but there’s nothing down there. It’s hardly a sign of innocence: Shelby does way too much staring at the Norman brothers to be totally innocent, and I hardly think an intelligent sex trafficker would leave a girl in the basement (or evidence of it) when he invites a strange woman over to his house.

But even with those obvious hints of guilt (or at least reason for suspicion), we don’t really know what’s going on. We can’t get any insight from Emma – she’s conveniently on the sidelines this week, sick with the flu and therefore able to sit on the Asian sex slavery for a week. As much as I liked Emma’s character in the pilot, her absence proves to be a strength, allowing us to spend more time with Norman in and around the Bates mansion, which is considerably tense, considering the stresses Norman and Norma are facing from everyone.

A lot of this is expressed through Dylan; both Norman and Norma have strong emotional moments with him, Norman’s out of pure desperation for his sanity, and Norma out of frustration from the truths Dylan’s spitting in her face. When she sees he’s out of the house and finds out it’s because he’s with Bradley, he tells her bluntly “he’s out with a girl… and I hope to God he’s getting laid for putting up with your crazy ass.” He doesn’t quite spill the beans on what he really knows, but the scene does a great job further establishing just exactly why Dylan has such a negative opinion of his mother, as well as the mental claustrophobia Norma’s feeling under all the pressure around her (with a bit of unhealthy motherly obsession on top, for good charm). Her response to his comments is fascinating as well, and continues to slowly fill in the blanks on why Norma’s the way she is when she tells him “my whole life, I’ve had to put up with things” (though in principle, this is something EVERYBODY deals with) – and as we’ve seen in glimpses with Norman, when a member of the Bates family gets tired of putting up with something, they can completely lose control.

Unfortunately, the non-Bates material continues to be a wash: Romero’s mind games are paper thin (more posture than anything), and Shelby’s characterization is hardly nuanced, which makes him a difficult character to be interested in. He’s had sex with Norma twice, and he’s trying to take Norman fishing, talking about how he wants to protect her and take care of them – all while staring at everyone and generally being creepy in the least subtle way possible, particularly as he stares at Norma while she gets arrested at the end. Also, Romero’s investigation has been laughably convenient and remarkably fast, and without really establishing his character at all, he’s not much more than an empty threat at best (despite flexing his police muscles and getting her arrested… she won’t be behind bars at all).

As the material with the Bates family gets more intricate (and strange), Bates Motel continues to improve, driven by Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga’s performances (as always). With a much bigger focus on them in ‘Trust Me’, it does well overshadowing the flaws and general ridiculousness of the teenage hookers from the East.

Grade: B

Other thoughts/observations:

– in other news, Norman gets laid! Encouraged by Dylan to visit Bradley, Norman has an intimate experience – possible because Bradley finally took those stupid ass Sunglasses of Depression off.

– Emma’s father warns Norman that he better be a ‘decent’ man.

– Dylan: “You’re a real piece of work, Norma.”

– Norman insists his father wasn’t abuse: “he had his moments.”

– Romero gets people on the inside… he’s just got a gift or something.

– Norma: “I killed the crap out of him”. She’s still not comfortable with what she’s done, but she certainly knows how to describe it.

– Norman wears a red shirt to go to Bradley’s house (if I remember correctly?), which would suggest things will not end well between them.

– Dylan zings Norma after catching her with Shelby: “How are those new linens working out for you?”

– Dylan’s mild reaction to finding out Norma killed someone is hilarious – he’s not even surprised that she stabbed an unconscious man.

– apparently Norman’s been seeing things for a long time, something Norma insists she can protect him from (as she always does).