The story of Norman and Norma Bates before the events of Psycho.

For months this has been on my Netflix recommendations and I never got around to watching it mostly because I loved the movie Psycho so much, I was afraid this show would ruin it. I wish I saw it when it was on TV because it’s now one of my favorite shows. This show gets better and better with each episode. There’s not one bad episode in each season. The characters are all great, storyline is wonderful, and the suspense is nerve racking. Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates is spot on! His awkwardness, emotions, and manners are exactly like Anthony Perkins. Vera Farmiga is phenomenal as Norma. She can be controlling but she has been through a lot in her life to understand why she’s like that. In the movie, Norman is the only child but in the show he has an older brother named Dylan. At first, I didn’t like him at all. After a couple of episodes I started understanding his place in the series. By far my favorite character out of all the main cast is Emma Decody. She’s smart, caring, brave, and all of her actions her understandable. I liked her character growth more than anyone on the show. The biggest question people wander before watching this is: “Do I need to watch Psycho to understand Bates Motel?” You don’t have to but the writers tend to throw easter eggs in certain scenes that are pretty cool to catch about the movie. If you’re looking for a show to binge through or love Alfred Hitchcock, definitely watch it!

My favorite episodes from each season:

S1 E8: A Boy and His Dog

S2 E6: Plunge

S3 E6: Norma Louise

S4 E8: Unfaithful

S5 E9: Visiting Hours