TV Review: Bates Motel S3, Episode #2 (The Arcanum Club)

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

EPISODE 2: The Arcanum Club

CHECKING IN: Fearing the worse (that Norman killed her), Norma (Vera Farmiga) searches for her missing Motel guest; Dylan (Max Thieriot) meets his new oddball neighbor while Norman (Freddie Highmore) is becoming creepier and creepier by the minute.

THE ROOM: I had lots of fun with this week’s BATES MOTEL episode as it delved further into the tomfoolery it set up in its prior seasons and its season 3 opener. So many memorable moments here… allow me to elaborate! Let’s begin with good old Norman, who with puberty in high gear has lost most of the innocence he used to have and is now being played (brilliantly by Freddie Highmore) as a pervert and a psycho covering his ass (from my perspective that is). I am very much aware that there is a possibility that Norman didn’t kill that poor call-girl, but if I go by Highmore’s unnerving performance (his mind seems to always be racing and his "evillll" stares when nobody is looking look suspicious), then that girl expired via his hands and he's simply trying not to get caught. But hey, I could be wrong, I have been before with this show…

Can this relationship get even more uncomfortable? YES!

Norman’s relationship with Emma (Olivia Cooke) also strived forward, with Emma wanting to move fast, direction bedroom (due to her illness I assume) and Norman holding back cause to him, she's a "good girl". I always found it fascinating that Norman associates sex with “bad” and that he is only aroused by “slutty” girls, which of course brings on shame and is why he kills them. Every time I think I have issues, I look at Norman and I suddenly feel sane again 😉 And am I going to mention that look of pure lust that Norman had when he hugged his momma? I guess I just did. Icky stuff! With that, I am happy to see that the show is evolving its incestuous theme. Should make for some gross yet gripping television down the road. Speaking of “in the family” business; Norma’s brother aka Dylan’s uncle/dad Caleb (Kenny Johnson) got to shine here! The character is starting to fascinate me for the sole reason that I am uncertain if he is genuine or not. We know the character's history but Johnson plays him in such an affable manner, that its getting hard to hate him. How much of a villain is he truly? Is the show pulling a fast one on us? Only time will tell. 

Moreover, this episode gave me a handful of TWIN PEAKS-ish moments that greased me right and slapped more set-ups my way for the future. The Arcanum Club scene screamed the brothel in Twin Peaks called One Eyed Jacks, the body floating in the water at the end made me think of Laura Palmer while Dylan’s new weirdo/dangerous neighbor (played by Sons of Anarchy's Ryan Hurst) made for an imposing figure tossed in the mix. That dude is going to be trouble! Add to all that all kinds of cool moments (like the awkward hug/almost kiss by Norma and Romero or Norma’s face filling with anger/dread after finding out that Norman may have killed again) and you get one hell of a well-rounded episode. 

Like father, like uncle, like son!

Any complaints? Yes but no. At first I thought it was a bit farfetched that Norma would actually break into the Arcanum Club to find that missing guest. But then I mulled on it further and realized that it was plausible because A- I had forgotten that Norma is a bit “out there”. 2- If I were in Norma’s shoes in terms of suspecting my son of having killed somebody, I would probably go to great lengths to prove to myself that it didn't happen.

All in all, the stakes were raised even higher in this week’s BATES MOTEL episode, and pretty much on all fronts at that! The game is afoot! PLAY BALL!

RANDOM THOUGHTS:  I’m actually starting to think that Emma will not last the season. She’ll push too far for sex and Norman will clip her. I hope I am wrong but that’s my two cents. She will be his first Marion Crane IMO.

Was I alone in cringing when Norman asked for a big freezer downstairs? If he gets it, we all know that it will be put to bad use down the road (maybe that is where he will stash Emma's corpse).

Do you think that the body at the end was the call girl? I do!

RATING ON 10

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