Alex Romero was the former sheriff and "moral" center of White Pine Bay. Imposing and discerning, he gets involved in Norma Bates’ life after the death of Keith Summers. He was often partnered with Zack Shelby. Romero eventually marries Norma Bates, becoming the step-father to Norman and Dylan.
Following Norma's death at the hands of Norman, Romero vows revenge. He served as the main antagonist of the final season.
Biography
History
Romero grew up with Keith Summers. He was also a friend of Bob Paris, president of the Arcanum Club.
Season 1
When Romero and his deputy, Zack Shelby, visited the Bates Motel one night (soon after the murder of Summers), he is immediately suspicious of Norma Bates. (First You Dream, Then You Die)
After Norma and Norman dumped Summers' body, Romero and Shelby found Summers' hand in the lake. There were carpet fragments underneath caught in the watchband, and Norma and Norman were changing the carpets in the motel when Romero and Shelby had visited. The next day, Romero returned to the motel with a search warrant, but Shelby found Summers' belt underneath Norman's bed and hid it from Romero to protect Norma. (What's Wrong With Norman)
After the gunfight between Shelby and Dylan, Romero was first on the scene. Norma had no choice but to explain everything to him, from Summers' murder to the discovery of the sex slave business. Romero told Norma, Norman and Dylan what "the story" is going to be: Shelby killed Summers, and Romero killed Shelby. Therefore, Norma was cleared for killing Summers, and Romero received credit for Shelby's death. (The Man in Number 9)
Romero was visited at his office by Norma, asking him for his help with business matters, when he made it clear that he didn't cover up Summers' death because they were friends. After Norma tried to intidimidate him, Romero threatened to "burn" her if she ever tried to do so again. (A Boy and His Dog)
Norma informed Romero that Jake Abernathy threatened to kill her, Norman and Dylan if she didn't give him the money that Shelby owed him. Romero said he would take care of it and later retrieved the money from Shelby's garage. Norma arrived at the docks (the meeting place that Abernathy chose) and, while hiding, witnessed a confrontation between Romero and Abernathy. Romero, with the money at his feet, explained that he would let Abernathy continue his dirty business in White Pine Bay if he was given 50% of all profits. Abernathy agreed to his proposal and bent over to pick up the money. Quickly, Romero drew his gun and fired four bullets into Abernathy, who subsequently fell into the water (presumably to his death). Romero, who knew Norma was hiding there the entire time, told her that she was supposed to trust him. (Midnight)
Season 2
Romero was visited at his office by Norman, who informed him of a mysterious man he saw standing at Blaire Watson's grave. Romero questioned Norman on matters related to Watson's unsolved murder, making Norman uncomfortable. After Romero assured him that Watson's killer will be caught, Norman left. Romero later told Norma about this visit and suggested to her that Norman's obsession with Blaire is unhealthy. (Gone But Not Forgotten)
Romero, investigating the death of Gil Turner, visited Blaire Watson's father, Nick Ford. Romero asked him if he or his business was involved in Gil's death, when Nick pointed out that Romero seemed to be putting more effort into investigating Gil's death than Blaire's. Romero denied this, and later arrested Kyle Miller as a suspect. He eventually charged Kyle with Blaire's murder, despite Kyle insisting that there wasn't enough evidence. (Shadow of a Doubt)
Romero saw Zane Morgan on the street and gave him a warning about taking over for Gil in the drug business. He was later alerted to a burning house, which was implied to be his own house. (Check-Out)
Romero stayed at the Bates Motel due to his house being burned down. He spotted Zane again and attacked him, threatening and punching him. Norma later saw the cut on Romero's face and cleaned it for him; during this, she asked him if he knew anything about Nick Ford. Romero told her that Nick is in the drug business and that she should stay away from him. (The Escape Artist)
After asking Romero if she could call him by his first name, Norma asked him if he could help her replace councilman Lee Burman on the city council. Romero was unable to help. (Plunge)
Romero informed Norma that Norman accidentally killed Jimmy Brennan, and allowed her to visit him. He soon told her that Norman would not be charged with a crime. At home, he received a phone call from his new deputy, who told him that she had discovered new evidence linking Norman to the Miss Watson case. (Presumed Innocent)
Romero asked Norman about the night of Blaire's death, but Norman ran away from him. Romero threatened to tell Norma about the new evidence, and warned Norman that "this isn't just going to go away". He also became determined to find Zane, who had disappeared. He asked Dylan where Zane was, and Dylan replied that he didn't know. Romero shoved Dylan against his truck and asked again, but Dylan insisted that he didn't know. Romero then allowed Dylan to drive away. (Meltdown)
Romero asked an old friend of his father's to do a test on Norman to determine whether he killed Blaire or not. He later went to the Bates house to talk to Norman, who had been kidnapped by Nick. Romero told Norma about the evidence against Norman before leaving; he came back later, and Norma again told him that Norman was ill. He pushed past her and entered the house, forcing her to reveal that Nick kidnapped him. Once again, Romero promised to solve the problem. (The Box)
Romero encountered Dylan at the side of a road. Dylan told him that Nick was dead, so Romero took Dylan back to Nick's house, which was evacuated. Romero found one of Nick's employees looting the house, and asked him where Norman was. When the man chose not to tell him, Romero punched him and promised not to arrest him (so the man told him). Romero and Dylan then saved Norman and returned him home. They later entered Jodi Morgan's house and hid there, as Zane was coming there to talk to Jodi. After Zane shot Jodi to end an argument, Romero killed Zane. Later, the test "proved" that Norman was innocent in the Watson case. (The Immutable Truth)
Season 3
When the police cracked down on the illegal pot business by burning the pot fields, Dylan met with Romero to discuss the possibility of selling weed legally. Romero warned him that if he went down that road, he’d pretty much be on his own. (A Death in the Family)
Romero told Norma that he was leaving the motel and they shared a hug, with Norma telling him she felt safer when he was around. That evening, Romero caught her peering in a window at the Arcanum Club and told her he was there meeting council members. Norma spilled the beans about Annika going missing and admitted that Norman was the last person with her, which shocked Romero. He told her to go home. (The Arcanum Club)
When a woman's body was located in the marshes, Romero called Norma to the morgue for a formal identification. She confirmed that it wasn't Annika. He later met Bob Paris, president of the Arcanum Club, and an old friend. Romero revealed that a woman's body had been found and wanted to know if she had been working the previous night. However, Romero got no help from Bob and was reminded that his reputation was tarnished since the DEA torched the marijuana fields. Bob reminded him that would make his re-election campaign for sheriff mighty difficult. He visited the Bates home to question Norman about Annika. Norma was afraid and hesitant but Norman was happy to speak with Romero. Once Romero got the answers he needed, he left.
Later, he was briefed on who the dead woman was. While he was getting the details from an officer they were interrupted by a man, Marcus Young, who was there to announce to Romero that he would also be running for sheriff and he wanted to talk to Romero privately. Once they were alone, Young informed him of his background and let him know he intended to win Romero’s current title in the upcoming election. (Persuasion)
Romero found out that Annika was shot at least 20 minutes before she got to the motel, and that the car she was driving wasn’t registered to her but rather to the other girl who was recently murdered. He visited Bob’s house, but Bob wasn’t so forthcoming with information, though he asked if Annika had anything on her. Romero went straight back to obsessing over Norma’s involvement. When Norma caught him at the motel going through Annika’s belongings in her motel roomm, he called her out for lying, because he was sure she was hiding something. Norma, in turn, called him out for lying.
He interviewed a girl who apparently knew Annika and Lindsay, the other woman who was murdered. The girl opened up about how involved Lindsay was with Bob, to the point where the friend was asked if she wanted to participate in a three-way. She didn’t, so someone else stepped in: Annika Johnson. (Unbreak-Able)
He questioned a man at the lake about the murder of Lindsay and later met Bob Paris at a restaurant. Paris told him that Norma had a flash drive with important information on it. He tried to convince Norma to hand it over but she wanted to talk to Bob first, so Romero agreed to accompany her. (The Deal)
After Romero was shot in the supermarket parking lot, he was transported to the hospital. When he awoke, he told the nurse to hand him his phone and he contacted Norma to inform her that she was in danger. Marcus Young later visited him and told him that he still intended to be the next sheriff and could get Bob Paris off his back if he said that he was working for Marcus. As Marcus returned to his car and got in, the driver's side window was smashed by Romero using his IV drip stand, before her grappled with Marcus for his gun and struck him with several bullets, killing him. Romero moved him over to the passenger's sat, got into the driver's seat and drove off. (Norma Louise)
Norma came home from getting her phone repaired to find Romero there and he told her that an attempt was made on his life and that he needed the flash drive back. He went to Dylan's cabin where he got Gunner to hack into the flash drive and discovered his family name on the list. He questioned Bob Paris about it and later went to see his father, who was incarcerated. He eventually got Norma to pick him up and she took him back to the motel, where he fell asleep in one of the guest rooms. That evening he called up to the house to say that he was leaving, but Norma invited him to stay for dinner. (The Last Supper)
Romero went to the car dealership where Norma traded in her car and bought it back for her. She was absolutely delighted and kissed him, before running into the house to tell Norman. Romero approached the pit and noticed the size of it. He visited Bob Paris, who revealed that Norma had been lying to him and when he visited Norma again that evening to ask her how her husband Sam died. She told him that it was an accident in their garage but he didn't believe her. He said goodbye to her and walked off. (The Pit)
After Norma went to see Bob Paris to say that she would hand over the flash drive, he told her to talk with Romero. She went to the police station but he wouldn't hand it over. A DEA officer told him that they were looking for the flash drive and questioned him about his father. Romero returned home to find Norma ransacking his house and he confronted her, which led to a struggle after he admitted he had handed over the flash drive to the DEA. Romero pushed her up against the wall and asked her again how her husband had died but she stuck to her story that she was the one who did it and told Romero not to touch her before leaving. '(Crazy)
Romero checked in on the DEA meeting which saw them discussing plans to storm Bob Paris' house. He later visited Norma as she was locking up the motel and tried to make amends. As the DEA prepared to descend on Bob Paris' house, Romero phoned him to tell him what was happening and to get out of there. This led Bob to the waterfront where he boarded a yacht only to be confronted by Romero, who revealed that he was the one responsible for the deaths of Annika Johnson, Lindsay and Clay DuFont. When Bob told him that he was more like his father than he thought, Romero shot him dead. (Unconscious)
Season 4
After killing Bob Paris, Romero disposed of his body and watched the boat sink as he rowed away from it. When he got home, he placed Bob's money under his fireplace. Norma later called to see him and asked him if he would marry her, since he had insurance and she didn't, telling him she knew he fancied her. (A Danger to Himself and Others)
Romero called to the Bates house to talk to Norma about her proposal and noticing how worried she was about getting Norman into Pineview, he asked her if she was afraid to be alone in the house with him. She reassured him that everything was fine but when he went home, he got some money from under the fireplace and paid a visit to Pineview where he met with Vicki Monroe. He offered her money to admit Norman and when asked what relation he was to Norman, he told her that he was marrying Norma. He later phoned Norma to tell her that Norman would be admitted and that he would marry her if she still wanted him to. When Norman later unleashed his anger on Norma after finding the consent forms, she barricaded herself in Dylan's room and phoned Romero for help. He showed up after an altercation in the basement and took Norman away. (Goodnight, Mother)
Romero and Norma married at City Hall and he later moved into the Bates house, requesting a key to make it look that they were actually married. He later suggested to Norma that they go out for dinner. Norma said she had been married twice before and wasn't good at the marriage game. They arrived home drunk and he helped her upstairs to her bed and said goodnight, jokingly addressing her as "Mrs. Romero", which made her yell that she was keeping her name. When he went to his house to retrieve his belongings he found his old flame Rebecca Hamilton there. He revealed that he had married Norma. She told him that she hadn't heard from Bob Paris and was worried she was in trouble since she was dealing with his finances, but Romero said she was safe. After Norma returned from her meeting with Norman at Pineview, she was upset and Romero comforted her. She kissed him and said it was what she wanted. He reciprocated it and carried her upstairs to bed. ('Til Death Do You Part)
The following morning, Norma was very tense around Romero but when she was in her car she began to think of her feelings for him. Romero later received a call from DEA Special Agent Howard Collins, who said that Bob Paris was involved in illegal activities and asked if he knew Rebecca Hamilton. Rebecca texted Romero to ask him to meet her at the bank and when he arrived she asked if he killed Bob Paris, but Romero denied it. She told him that Bob had a safe deposit box and she had a key and he had the other. Romero returned to the Bates house and retrieved Bob's bag from the furnace, finding the key with his savings book. Later, he was happy to see Norma join him at the winter festival, but when they got home they found the house had been broken into. (Lights of Winter)
As Norma and Romero cleaned up after the break in, Norma wondered who would break in as she kept a low profile and thought Bob Paris had something to do with it, but Romero reassured her that it wasn't him, saying that he was still being blamed for the clampdown on the drugs in the town. He encountered Rebecca at a diner and said that he knew she was responsible for the break in and told her to stay away. When Rebecca showed up at the sheriff's department, she said that she was upset about him getting married since he never proposed to her. As he returned home, he heard Norma playing the piano and when she asked him if he killed Bob Paris, he didn't say anything but the look on his face said it all. She asked him why he did it and he said he had no choice. (Refraction)
As Romero got ready to leave for work, Norma told him how happy she was with him and they kissed. He later met Rebecca at a diner and gave her Bob's key, saying that he didn't want payment. However, when he arrived home and told Norma that Chick had arrived with the repaired window, she wasn't pleased. He was left confused when she screamed at Chick and when he left he asked what was going on so she told him everything about her past. She then told him to pack a bag and he asked where they were going. (The Vault)
The following morning, he and Norma lay together in bed before getting dressed. When he found her in the basement and she told him of her plans to convert the basement into a fruit cellar, he gave her Bob Paris' bag of money and told her to use it on the house. When the phone rang, he answered it to find out that it was Norman. Norman asked Norma why Romero was there but she lied to him.
While at work, Rebecca visited Romero to tell him that she's leaving for Indiana as her mother was ill but he asked her to stay due to the DEA investigation. When Norma returned home after visiting Norman, who wasn't very happy about her marriage, Romero surprised her with a 60" TV and she announced that Norman would be coming home. Romero wasn't happy that she didn't discuss things with him but he said that he wanted to be a good father. (There's No Place Like Home)
Romero moved out in order to give Norman time to readjust to being home with Norma. When Norma later called to the sheriff's department, Romero was wary of the visit and was surprised when Norman informed him that he was planning on getting a second job and insurance and insisted that he and Norma get a divorce. Norma eventually revealed that she and Romero's relationship ran deeper which caused Norman to throw up. Unable to fix the heating, they decided to sleep in separate rooms and Norman saw Romero return to the motel. He crept into the room next to Norma's and removed a painting from the wall before using a knife to widen a hole in the plaster, making it large enough so that he could spy on his mother and Romero having sex.
The following evening, Norma decided to invite Romero to dinner and Norman acted overly polite to the sheriff. Realizing how involved Romero now was in their lives, he took his anger out on his mother and she told him that she and Romero loved each other and he would have to deal with it. He stormed out of the house with Romero in pursuit. As Romero tried to talk sense into Norman, he made the mistake of asking if it was possible that Norma could love two men. Norman advanced on him with the ax but then took his anger out on a shed before storming back to the house and up to his room. A clearly shocked and frightened Romero told Norma that he would be staying the house for the night. (Unfaithful)
Worried about Norma being alone with Norman, he decided to seek help from Dylan so that Norman could be returned to Pineview. However, when Dylan told Norma the plan she confronted Romero and said that she could no longer trust him. She returned home and broke down in Norman's arms. As she got ready for bed, she wrote a note apologizing to Romero and left her ring with it in an envelope. A few hours later, Romero arrived at the house and was confused to find the windows locked. He went into the house and called out to Norma, but got no answer. He climbed the stairs to her room and when he opened the door he saw Norma and Norman lying together on the bed. He attempted to rouse Norma but got no response before smashing a window to let in some air. He carried Norma and then Norman out into the hallway and attempted CPR on his wife to no avail as Norman awoke. He looked at Romero craddling his dead wife and crying. (Forever)
When the police arrived, Detective Chambers questioned Romero who revealed he and Norma had only been married for two weeks and that she should question Norman about the death. He later showed up at the hospital to confront Norman and told him he would find out the truth. Visiting the man who serviced the furnace, he learned that he had met Norman and figured out that Norman must have overheard the conversation between him and Norma. He showed up at the morgue wanting to return the wedding ring to Norma and kissed her before saying goodbye. As Norma's funeral got underway with only Norman in attendance, he showed up and an angry Norman told him to leave before returning his wedding ring. Romero took it and punched Norman before being held back and told that the police would be called. Saying that he was the police, he angrily left and returned to work, grabbing his gun but was then arrested by the DEA for perjury. (Norman)
Season 5
Picking up over two years after events of the Season 4 finale, Romero was incarcerated at the Oregon Department of Corrections having been sentenced to five years imprisonment. His mysterious phone calls went unanswered and he was denied parole. It was later revealed that he had sent a private investigator to kill Norman but the man ended up dead at the hands of "Mother". (Dark Paradise)
Romero was surprised to see Norman visiting him, but Norman did not let on that the private investigator he had sent was dead. Romero told him not to get too comfortable all alone in his house before eventually beating up a fellow inmate. Romero told a doctor that he was still devastated over the loss of his wife and said that he had a responsibility to take care of her son so he wanted to be transferred to a work farm. (The Convergence of the Twain)
As Romero was being moved to the work farm, the officers stopped for a break at a gas station and he asked to use the restroom. However, he managed to seize the officer's gun and made him chain himself to the sink while he stole the man's jacket. He hitched a ride with another man and made him drive to a remote area before telling him to walk home and stole his car. When the car sustained a flat tire, he disposed of the car down a cliff and after walking for miles arrived on a remote property. While attempting to steal the car, a young boy held a gun to him and although Romero tried to say that he just wanted to keep warm, the boy shot him. (Bad Blood)
Romero told the boy to run inside and get a first aid kid. When the boy left, he escaped and managed to make it to a parking lot outside a block of apartments where he contacted the paramedics, saying that a neighbor had overdosed. After they arrived and rushed inside with a stretcher, he entered the ambulance and took some bandages. He tended to his wound and later showed up at Maggie Summers' house seeking her assistance. (Hidden)
As Romero woke in bed and was looking for some water, Maggie brought him some food to eat and told him that he had shown up three days prior and that she tended to his wound. When she later found him rummaging through her kitchen for his gun, she asked why he was looking for it and if it had something to do with Norma's death. (Inseparable)
After retrieving his gun from under a cushion that Maggie was sleeping against, Romero made it to the Bates property and entered the house. He found it empty and saw Norma's ghost on the stairs. He followed it upstairs to her bedroom and saw the floor in the hallway where he had attempted to give her CPR and then saw her ghost again at her dressing table before it disappeared. He fell asleep on her bed and later woke up when he thought he heard Norman's voice.
Following the sound of the voice, he tracked it down to the basement to discover Chick sitting in the freezer with a typewriter and Norman's voice coming from a tape recorder. Chick told him he had befriended Norma and Norman and revealed that Norman had dug up Norma's corpse after her death. Chick continued to push Romero's buttons until the latter shot him dead. (The Body)
Romero stole Chick's car and while filling it up with gas he was approached by a man who questioned him about the car model. Following this, Romero saw a headline on a newspaper that stated that Norman was in police custody. In spite of pleas from Maggie, he showed up at the sheriff's station and took Regina hostage before forcing the other officers to take him to Norman's cell. One of the officers forced Norman out and Romero attempted to choke him before a deputy told him to stop or Norman would die. Romero forced him and Regina into the car outside and at gunpoint told Norman that he was taking him to Norma's body. (Visiting Hours)
Romero made Regina drive along an isolated stretch of road until they came to a stop. He told her to head back towards town before ordering Norman to get into the passenger's seat. Norman soon revealed himself to be "Mother" and Romero held a gun to his head, telling him to shut up. When they got to a remote wooded area he made Norman march to the area where Norma's body was buried and Norman dug her up. Seething with anger, Romero punched him repeatedly in the face and pushed him aside. As he tenderly stroked her face and cried, Norman roused and struck him with a rock, repeatedly bashing him with it, before grabbing his gun and shooting him dead. Romero's body was later recovered by the police. (The Cord)
Killings
- Jake Abernathy: Shot four times in the chest. (in Midnight)
- Chuck, Sid, & Iggy: All shot to death. (in The Immutable Truth)
- Zane Morgan: Shot once in the chest. (in The Immutable Truth)
- Marcus Young: Shot once in the head. (in Norma Louise)
- Bob Paris: Shot three times in the chest and once in the throat. (in Unconscious)
- Chick Hogan: Shot once in the head. (in The Body)
Trivia
- In the original Psycho films Norma Bates was killed alongside her husband by Norman, but in this series Alex was spared. Also in the prequel/sequel Psycho IV: The Beginning, her husband is named Chet Rudolph.
Gallery
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