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"What's Wrong With Norman" is the third episode of the first season of Bates Motel. It aired on April 1, 2013.

Synopsis[]

Dylan learns there is more to his new job than he originally thought; Emma and Norman make a shocking discovery.

Summary[]

05-norman-collapses-into-ms-watsons-arms

Dylan states he has a new job, not mentioning it's guarding the large marijuana field that was discovered. Norman passes out in the classroom while seeing images of his teacher, Miss Watson tied up somewhere. During these flashes there is also a glimpse of Norma tied up in the same way. At the hospital, the doctor wants to keep Norman overnight for further observation. Norma has to leave the hospital to receive the new carpeting for the motel.

While at home, Sheriff Romero presents a search warrant, looking for evidence relating to Keith Summers' disappearance. Bradley shows up at the hospital bringing Norman a plant, simply returing him the favor and thanking him for visiting her father during such a hard moment for her. She then decides to join him In watching an old movie while sitting next to him in his hospital bed. They bond over the similar loss of their father figure. Norma leaves home with the sheriff and deputies still searching and returns to the hospital. Against the doctor's wishes, she takes Norman home.

Norma-pushes-norman-in-wheelchair

After returning home, Norman tells Norma that he kept Summers' utility belt which is now missing. Norma tracks down Deputy Shelby. He tells her not to worry and assures her everything will be alright as he then invites her to his house for dinner. Emma arrives at Normans house where Norman explains that he is not feeling well. But Emma is persistent and convinces Norman that they should continue their investigation on the young Chinese woman, so her life is not forgotten about. They both go back to motel room 4 where Norman found the sketchbook to begin with. Emma explains that the previous owner of the motel Keith Summers was not a pleasant man to say the least, and was most definitely not a man you would want to be stuck with in an elevator.

nNorman receives a text from Bradley jokingly stating they share custody on the plant she gave to him when in the hospital. After a further investigation Emma and Norman find a Chinese enscripture under the sink in the motel room. Later, Dylan has another talk with Norman who again claims that Norma is smothering him. Dylan offers his advice, and let's Norman know that he should explore the world around him, and tells him to 'get out more'. Dylan then apologizes for Norman trying to 'kill him' with a meat tenderizer. Norman, appearing to have no remembrance of the event, then apologized to Dylan, still not believing him, but still led to Dylan forgiving him, in which case they both laugh it off. Norma has dinner with Deputy Shelby at his home. Shelby reveals that he took Keith Summers' belt without the Sheriffs' knowledge because he wants to protect and care for her, which results in them making out.

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Feeling safe, Norma back at home tells Norman what Deputy Shelby proposed to her as Norman claims that he may just be using her. At school, Emma tells Norman her interest in finding out more about the women depicted in the sketchbook he found by informing the police but Norman advises her not to. Then while in bed, Norman sees a image of Norma beside him advising him to go search for Summers' belt at Deputy Shelby's house. While searching for the belt, Norman discovers locked in the Deputy's basement one of the women depicted in the sketchbook.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Also Starring[]

Notes[]

  • This episode was watched by 2.8 million viewers.

Episode Guide[]

103 Episode Guide 1

On Dylan's first day on the job, Ethan takes him deep into the woods, where they will be standing guard over the pot fields. They bond as night falls, and Dylan reveals he knows nothing about his mother's childhood.

Emma tells Norman that she's frightened that the men with guns will come after them and admits that initially she was just using the search for the dead girl as an excuse to hang out with him. Now that she knows the story is real, she wants to take action. Norman blows up at her before storming off to class. In class, Norman has visions of images from the manga, but in place of the young girl he sees Ms. Watson, bound and gagged. The images intensify, and he collapses in his teacher's arms.

At the hospital, Norma denies that Norman has a history of blackouts. When she runs home to sign for the new carpet delivery, Bradley shows up and hops into the hospital bed with him to watch a movie.

As Norma signs for the new carpets, Sheriff Romero arrives with a search warrant. She hurries back to the hospital and takes Norman home, against doctor's orders. Norman makes a beeline for his bedroom to discover that Keith Summers belt, usually hidden under his bed, is gone. He tells his mother. Confused and upset, she tells Norman that she'll be right back, and leaves.

Emma stops by and convinces Norman to help her continue the investigation. The number four is repeated frequently in the manga, so they go to room four to look for clues. In the bathroom they find a Chinese character scratched under the sink. Norman is distracted from the search by a flirtatious text from Bradley.

Norma tracks down Deputy Shelby, and confides to him that she really needs a friend. Shelby's on duty, but tells her to come to his place for dinner to discuss things. She returns home to get ready for dinner, and tells Norman that Shelby knows about the belt.

At Shelby's, Norma learns that he found the belt and hasn't told anyone else. He asks her if Norman killed Keith, and she says no. He has feelings for her, and wants to protect her and Norman. He tells her that she has nothing to worry about, and they kiss.

Dylan returns home late that night to find Norman watching TV. The two bond as they talk about their messed up family. Dylan mentions Norman attacking him with a meat tenderizer, but Norman doesn't remember. He assumes Dylan is joking.

Norma gets home and wakes Norman to tell him what has transpired. Norman doesn't like the idea of Shelby having power over them. She asks again why he kept the belt. He tells her he likes to keep mementos. Norma is still confused; why would he keep a memento of such a horrible experience?

At school, Norman briefly talks to Bradley at her locker before getting interrupted by Emma. The Chinese character they found is "Jiao" which translates to "beautiful". Emma tells Norman she's going to police, and he has a meltdown. He tells her not to do it. He yells that the girl being real doesn't change anything; she's still sick, and he's still who he is. He apologizes, tells her he can't deal with it right now, and leaves.

Norma sits at the end of the Norman's bed and tells him he was right about Shelby. If they let him keep the belt, he'll have power over them and will be able to make them do things they don't want to do, just like his father did. He says he knows what he has to do: get that belt. As he speaks the words aloud, Norma disappears. He's talking to an empty room. Norman walks out into the night.

He gets inside Shelby's house and finds a set of keys to the dark and grimy basement. A disco ball sends light creepily across a dingy bed. He opens another locked door and finds a young girl, passed out, in nothing but a shirt and underwear. She grabs his arm and asks him to help her. At that moment, Deputy Shelby pulls up to the house, and heads inside.

Production Notes[]

In this episode, we get a longer look at the pot fields that keep White Pine Bay in business, as Dylan heads to work for the first time. You might be wondering how they crew got that shot, or at least how they got away with it. Property Master Terry Weaver clears things up... sort of. He says, "All the pot was created from existing silk plants augmented with moss 'buds' attached. Or was it real??"

When Norman sneaks into Deputy Shelby's home, he makes friends with Shelby's adorable pet dog, Clementine. Well, ok, Clementine was sort of terrifying. Luckily for Norman, Shelby keeps a baseball bat next to his bed, and baseball bats keep doggy teeth off of people parts. Weaver says that the dog wasn't just scary, it was a real pro. "The puppy was a trained psychotic. Seriously. It went from cutsey tail wagger to psycho Cujo death machine. It chewed up three wooden bats during that sequence. The trainer could make the dog snap from happy to insane to happy all day long."

103 Episode Guide 2

Emma and Norman have been trying to learn more about this supposed sex slave operation, and in this episode, Norman stumbles across indisputable proof when he finds the girl they've been searching for in Shelby's basement. Or should we say creepy dungeon? Weaver recounts how it came together: "Jiao's chamber was constructed in a real house. With added video cameras, an ankle chain bolted to the floor, and no windows, it made it real homey. The owner of the house liked the room and kept it... hmmm."

Jiao is played by the talented actress Diana Bang, who has a serious acting range. Not only is she frighteningly believable as an abducted victim of a sex slave operation, you can also see her perform as part of the Asian Canadian sketch comedy troupe, Assaulted Fish.

Learn more about Jiao. Download her complete sketchbook for free exclusively on the iBookstore and dig deeper into the secrets of Bates Motel.


Videos[]

Gallery[]

Promotional Pictures[]


Season 1
#101 "First You Dream, Then You Die" #106 "The Truth"
#102 "Nice Town You Picked, Norma..." #107 "The Man in Number 9"
#103 "What's Wrong With Norman" #108 "A Boy and His Dog"
#104 "Trust Me" #109 "Underwater"
#105 "Ocean View" #110 "Midnight"
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