I will admit I am a bit late to the party when it comes to Bates Motel. But, it is never too late to binge watch shows on Netflix and now that I have I must admit it is a pretty decent show. That is for being a modern day prequel.
I think the bright spot is the cast with Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. I was skeptical about this show which is why I didn't watch it when it premiered last year. I wanted to wait and see what people thought and I had seen pretty decent reviews of it. I was nervous about Highmore, but I am the first to say he plays creepy and awkward perfectly. You really believe how socially awkward he is. Aside from his presence, I think Vera Farmiga is knocking it out of the park as Norma. She has a great mixture of crazy, protective, and being somewhat distant from reality. The only character I find somewhat annoying is Dylan played by Max Thieriot. I think it's more the character than the acting, but I had a lot of moments where I just wanted him to shut up and disappear.
Oddly enough, the modern day setting didn't bother me either. I don't think the qualities possessed by the original characters necessarily is outdated and Norman's psyche is just as believable in the year 2013 as it was back in 1960.
As far as the plot of the first season goes, I thought it was a bit interesting. Having two high school kids magically discover an Asian sex-slave ring in their small town was a bit unrealistic, but it was carried out with intensity. When the cops get involved and there is murder you pretty much are adding perfect ingredients for a nail biter. As soon as the second episode was over I was hooked and continued watching until episode six without a break.
The discovery of Norman having memory issues and forgetting things and imagining things is a nice setup for future seasons. It pretty much shows that his mother is just covering for him most of the time and her only objective is to protect him. That's enough to drive anyone a little crazy sometimes, eh?
Either way, I am really looking forward to seeing season two at some point. I think this show has a lot of promise if they stick to the elements introduced already.
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