Bates Motel: Goodnight, Mother

"Goodnight, Mother" is the second episode of season four of the psychological thriller series Bates Motel, and the forty-second episode of the series overall. It was directed by Tim Southam with a script written by Kerry Ehrin. It first aired on A&E on Monday, March 14th, 2016 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, Norman Bates' psychosis takes a more dominant step as he now believes that it has been his mother, Norma Bates, who has been committing acts of murder and trying to blame it on him. Things come to a head as Norman realizes that something must be done about "mother". Nora makes a desperate call to Alex Romero for help. Meanwhile, Emma Decody's recovery from her lung transplant has Dylan Massett thinking about his future.

Synopsis
At the hospital, Dylan and Will Decody get the chance to visit Emma. She has a tough moment, but otherwise, is recovering just fine. Will speaks to Dylan and asks him think about his future, especially if it is one that may include Emma in it. He tells him that he is too good a man to simply be selling pot for a living.

Back at the motel, Norman asks his mother why she locked him in her room the previous day. She says that she needed him to rest and that she had run out to get some groceries. Norman knows this is a lie and challenges her, but Norma deflects the accusation. She doesn't care for the way Norman is acting. Alex Romero goes to Pineview on Norma's behalf to try and get Norman admitted. The manager of the facility is resolute about their waiting list, and Alex presents a large wad of money as a bribe. He later telephones Norma and tells her that he can get Norman into Pineview, but as he is eighteen, he must sign the commitment papers himself. He tells her that he had them faxed to the motel office. Norma is eternally grateful to Alex, but also worried as Norman is currently in the office checking in a family from Portland.

Norman finds the fax and his psychosis takes an even darker turn. He is now convinced that it was actually his mother who has been committing these murders and trying to pin it on him. The two have a confrontation with one another, and Norman expresses an uncharacteristic dominance over her.

It becomes clear that Norman is becoming too dangerous, and Norma fears for her safety. Norman lashes out over the notion of committing him to Pineview and begins chasing her through the house. Norma runs upstairs to get a gun she had concealed under her mattress, but Norman already got to it. She runs into another section of the house and locks the door. She frantically calls Romero on her cell phone and tells him that Norman is lashing out.

Norma then finds Norman downstairs in the basement at his work table. Norman speaks to her in an even, yet threatening manner. Before he can take any further action, Alex Romero and a deputy rush into the basement and take control of the situation. They walk Norman upstairs and say that they will have to take him to the county hospital unless he agrees to sign the commitment form. Norma pleads with Norman to sign the form, and he silently obeys. Romero puts him into the police cruiser and drives off.

Crew

 * Scott Kosar - Producer
 * Erica Lipez - Producer
 * Christopher Nelson - Producer
 * Tim Southam - Producer
 * Jamie Kaye Wheeler - Producer
 * Tom Szentgyorgyi - Consulting producer
 * Justis Greene - Producer
 * Steve Kornacki - Executive producer
 * Alyson Evans - Executive producer


 * Vera Farmiga - Executive producer
 * Tucker Gates - Executive producer
 * Kerry Ehrin - Executive producer
 * Carlton Cuse - Executive producer
 * Heather Meehan - Co-producer
 * Pete Whyte - Associate producer
 * Mark Wolper - Co-producer
 * Roy Lee - Consulting producer
 * John Powers Middleton - Consulting producer

Trivia

 * Actresses Fiona Vroom and Elizabeth Weinstein both appeared together in the 2014 dance film Step Up: All In.

Allusions

 * The man in Norman's hallucination is Sam Bates, Norman's father. Norman killed Sam in the pilot episode, "First You Dream, Then You Die". He also appeared in a flashback in "The Truth".


 * Norman accuses Norma of killing Bradley Martin. As far as Norma is concerned, she believed that Bradley had committed suicide. Norman killed Bradley at the end of season three in "The Psycho".


 * Norman also accuses Norma of killing Blaire Watson, his former teacher. Miss Watson had actually seduced Norman and Norman killed her in "Midnight".


 * The woman in the ice box is Audrey Decody, Emma Decody's mother. Norman strangled her to death in "A Danger to Himself and Others". Her death scene is shown in the "Previously on Bates Motel" recap at the beginning of this episode.

Quotes

 * Norma Bates: You had a bad day yesterday.

Episode links