Great episode for a lot of reasons. For starters, they are clearly setting up something much larger by actually setting up both Norman and Emma. It's pretty clear that Cody is manipulating him with sex to get him to do anything she wants. My guess, it will be killing her father for her. The fact that she brought him by her house so that he could witness that she is abused by his hands pretty much guarantees this is where the story is leading. As for Emma, her relationship with her new boyfriend is a bit murky as nothing has really be laid (except her) as far as motives. But if I were a betting man, he is using her to possible set up an even bigger drug buy and wants to use the Bates Motel as the site of the transaction. Really cool to see Kathleen Robertson pop up in this episode as Dylan's Boss. I haven't seen her in much of anything since her glory days on Beverly Hills: 90210. Also good (for the shows sake) is having Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) moving into Bates Motel. Now we should start to see more of his character. Up till now, it's been too far and few between. Nestor is an awesome actor. Time to utilize that.

I haven't given enough credit for what Freddie Highmore has brought to the role of Norman Bates. He is so good that one completely forgets about Anthony Perkins in the iconic role. This episode is just another feather in his cap as we are now starting to see more overt explosions of rage. When he snapped at Cody after Emma nearly drowned, it took me by surprised. Clearly their relationship is over now, especially after he found out that she told Emma his 'Blackout' secret. So, if they are over, does that pretty much wipe out the fact that Cody was using Norman to kill her father? Nope. He does that as well by pushing him down the stairs and breaking his neck. Well, that's what it appears to look like anyway.

Good twist at the end. The entire episode was in fact a set up for the reveal at the end. So "nothing" happens as Norman and Norma try to get Cody to go along with getting their "stories on the same page" so that Norma won't be questioned about his blackouts. A lot of maneuvering to get the Police to rule that it was self-defense and send Norman on his way home. Sure enough, once he is out of the woods and things seem to be clearing up for him, we learn that the blood work came back linking Norman to Blair Watson’s murder scene. I like to see how Norman and Norma dance around that and get people to buy into a plausible reason why his blood would be there. One last thing, up till now, Norman hasn't really gone out of his way to butcher anyone. But the day is definitely fast approaching. I'm 100% confident that his first victim of his premeditated nature will be Michael Vartan's character as his jealousy is going to consume him. Now you may be saying "first". Well yeah. I think that Blair was a victim of his blackout. When Norman kills Vartan's character, he will be very aware of what he is doing and have recollections about it after the fact.

Farmiga and Hightower have always had great scenes together and are the main reason why this show works so well. But now that Norman is exhibiting passive aggressive behavior toward Norma, their scenes have gone to a whole other level and it's f*cking electric. The boiling point is getting ever so higher and makes watching each episode a joy to experience because we really don't know what's coming. There is always a twist that takes it down another road with the characters, which of course is just delaying the inevitable. Brilliant writing all around. Even Dylan's story is getting more interesting, especially with him being tasked to take out Zane Carpenter which will eventually put Dylan at the top of the food chain, bypassing Jodi Wilson one day. Even Sheriff Alex Romero is finally getting in on the act with a solid arc that is going to come to head. Factor into the mix a Deputy that obviously is going to become a loose end about withholding evidence about Norman. Like I said, this is great stuff we are getting right now. Love it.

As I said in my previous post, what makes this show work (besides the exceptional acting from everyone involved) are the twist and this has another superb one. When the pearl necklace and the newspaper clipping falls out of Norman's pocket, you immediately go "oh sh*t, once Nick Ford gets wind of this, it's lights out for Norman". But, before anything can be done about this new found knowledge, Dylan kills Ford. Now I knew that the only way out of this would be to kill Ford. Just not as fast as it happened. The other great twist is that Norman, trapped in a box, is forced to remember exactly what happened on the night his teacher is killed. So, we the viewers finally get to see what happened as well. The only question that remains is how is anyone going to find Norman now? My money is on the Sheriff knowing where the box is and if he does, clearly is has some connection to it from his own past......but what?

Added Episode 10: The Immutable Truth

So I joined my wife to watch the last 10 minutes of the finale.

I thought you weren't watching any of Bates Motel. 

I thought you weren't watching any of Bates Motel. 

I'm not. The movie (In Their Sleep) I was watching, so I went upstairs to sit with her and watch the last few minutes.