After ten episodes of exploring the lives of the Bates family, the finale to season one of Bates Motel is here. While it didn't have a proper set up with last week's episode, the first half of this episode does a lot of making up for that. The latter half is filled with answers and many pay offs. The biggest payoff of them all, the one which this whole series is based around, was also done with great care, really showing off the strengths of the show.
Midnight begins with Norma going to Officer Romero, asking for help in dealing with Abernathy. Although Romero says that he will handle the situation, she can't find it in herself to trust him. With Norman, he has decided to take Emma to the school dance, but seems to still have an interest in Bradley.
There are a number of character payoffs that are very well done, such as one involving Dylan or discovering the reason why Norma has become the woman she is. Probably the biggest character payoff in the show involves Emma, which is very emotional. All season, she has to deal with her feelings for Norman, but she knows that he doesn't care about her the same way. She has been pitied all her life for the disease she has, so to see her finally stand up for herself is very moving and powerful.
Of course, the star of this entire drama is Norman Bates, who is going through a complexity of emotions throughout the episode. They are handled so perfectly and they feel just right. If even one of the beats weren't hit properly, the entire episode may have fallen apart. Another great thing is that they do not go for Norman's happy ending, but instead he gets the reward he deserves. And through this, the biggest payoff of the night happens to the audience, especially those who are the fans of Psycho.
For a finale episode, they spent a lot of time covering their bases, and it seemed confusing as to where they were going for a while, but they managed to pull it off in a very clean fashion. Each major character doesn't necessarily get what they want, but what they deserve to have through their actions. There are also very subtle hints that link us to season two of Bates Motel, which will hopefully be as strong as this season.
Bates Motel - Midnight gets eight stars out of ten.
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