Episode Title: “Gone But Not Forgotten”
Writers: Carlton Cuse & Kerry Ehrin
Director: Tucker Gates
Previously on “Bates Motel”:
There’s an open secret to the success of “Bates Motel.” The entire town of White Pine Bay is much, much crazier than Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga). Norman might be more murderous, but someone else may have actually surpassed him in that regard.
With the exception of Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke), all of the main characters on this show have killed someone. Even Dylan Massett (Max Thieriot), the sane member of the Bates family has the blood of at least two people on his hands, although revenge and the defense of his family were good motivations. The “Bates Motel” Murder’s row gets a surprising new addition in this episode. And this might not even be her first kill.
From this point on, there are full spoilers from “Gone But Not Forgotten,” so if you missed the second season premiere of “Bates Motel” then you should probably skip this review or else someone is gonna jump off a bridge.
Bradley Martin (Nicola Peltz) seemingly commits suicide in the opening teaser of the episode, But four months later, Bradley is revealed to be alive and in a mental institution shortly before her release. Meanwhile, Norman has taken the healthy approach to grieving… if healthy means lingering on Miss Watson’s death, revisiting her grave months later and spending all of his free time stuffing dead animals. Well… he certainly won’t become a serial killer in the future!
“Gone But Not Forgotten” neatly explained one the underdeveloped aspects of “Bates Motel” Season 1: why someone killed Miss Watson. So far, all of the direct hints seem to point at Norman, as he doesn’t seem to remember most of what happened between them and he has a “trophy” from Miss Watson’s last night: a few pearls from her jewelry collection.
But there are two other suspects to keep in mind: Gil (Vincent Gale), the local drug lord (and Dylan’s boss) who was Miss Watson’s jilted lover, and Bradley, whose murdered father was secretly having an affair with Miss Watson. Given what happens to Gil late in the episode, I think that we can rule him out of Miss Watson’s murder simply because it would be anticlimactic for her death to have already been avenged. That leaves Norman and Bradley as the remaining suspects, and my money is on Bradley.
Peltz’s performance as Bradley effectively conveyed her newly disturbed state of mind. Of course, Norman was completely oblivious to do this as he mooned over Bradley and pledged his undying friendship to her. There’s something inherently hilarious about Norman’s lack of self awareness. He sobs so loudly at Miss Watson’s funeral that it attracts unnecessary attention to himself. And Norman has no idea how crazy he sounds when he tells Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) that he thinks a “strange man” visiting Miss Watson’s grave may have killed her. Note that Romero never asks Norman for a copy of the photos. He knows exactly who that man is.
For her part, Norma is aware that Norman is veering into deeply disturbing territory, but she’s more upset that she had to hear about it from Romero than anything else. It makes Norma look bad, although she’s never needed much help for that. I love seeing Norma play off Romero, as she wants to unload her troubles on him but then she remembers that he doesn’t actually like her. That was very amusing.
Norma had the comedic highlight of the hour when she was rebuffed at the White Pine Bay city council meeting when she tried to speak out against the overpass that will cut off her hotel from prospective visitors. Because Norma has no social filter, she calls out the speaker as “a dick” and she openly states that the town is flush from drug money; which is something that none of them want to hear. Norma’s spiel about axe murders in that speech was also a classic moment. But it’s also hard not to feel some pity for Norma as she describes just how financially desperate she is despite the apparent success of the hotel.
Dylan doesn’t get a lot to do in this episode besides connecting the dots for Bradley and telling her that he’s staying away from her for Norman’s sake. Dylan’s relationship with his family has apparently improved, as he’s more cordial towards Norma (even as she refuses his drug money) and he also accompanies Norman and Norma to Miss Watson’s funeral. Although, with GIl out of the way, there may be a power vacuum in his drug organization. Perhaps Dylan will once again rise in the criminal underworld of White Pine Bay.
Which brings us back to Gil himself, who outed himself as a huge creep when he basically propositioned Bradley and he told Dylan how hot she was. Taking full advantage of Gil’s “little Gil,” Bradley seduces Gil before blowing his brains out.
Hardcore.
And that’s why Bradley may have also murdered Miss Watson. Think about it: why else would Bradley have been suicidal in the wake of Miss Watson’s death? Contrast that to Bradley’s reaction after murdering Gil. She had no problem killing the man who probably killed her father.
As the saying goes, “A good friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body.” So, Bradley “Batmans” her way into Norman’s house and bedroom to get his assistance in disposing of Gil’s body.
Looks like Bradley may be Bates material after all. Marry that girl, Norman!
