Review of Bates Motel

This show far exceeded my expectations. It didn't go the slavish remake/homage route, nor the adaptation route but combined both elements to create something wholly its own and, simultaneously, warmly familiar.

I'll admit i was a bit puzzled by the beginning structure but it all served a purpose. The first two seasons give us an insight into the world and mind or Norman and his mother that sets up an excellent psychological basis for the madness that comes. This results in a payoff that is well earned rather than cheaply copied.

Vera Farmiga as Norman's mother is absolutely wonderful. I'm glad they handled her with care and nuance. Instead of a cartoon character of smotherlove, we get a strong-willed, caring, and loving mother who's heavy handed approach is soundly based on her own experiences. She is flawed, despite this love. At times temperamental, manipulative, and overbearing but it's all done with a heart for her son. This enables us to view not only Norman at his darkest in a sympathetic light but also the looming specter of his mother.

In the end, the show was less a crime thriller like its source material but a tragic family drama. A spellbinding disaster waiting to happen