Bates Motel

Checking in means checking out what's in store for the second season, and the tantalizing possibilities are gleaming like the surface of a highly-polished knife blade.

The direction and writing are subtle but intriguing, like Highmore's innocent grin.

Their [Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore as Norma and Norman Bates] scenes together vibrate with awkward energy and pent-up rage, even in seemingly simpler moments, like an afternoon driving lesson--what could possibly go wrong?!--and an audition for a local musical. The scenes without them, though, can be serial momentum killers.

Bates Motel developed into a watchable, character-driven thriller in its first season. As season two begins, it seems poised to maintain that same level of quality.

There’s not a lot going on in Bates Motel--a couple of murder mysteries, the slowly evolving picture of Norman’s true nature--and there’s no guarantee that the show will be able to keep its delicate balance of humor and spookiness, without pushing Norma and Norman into caricature. For now, though, it’s inherited the “Dexter” mantle as the serial-killer show to watch.

With an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to storytelling that drags the focus away from the one relationship worth watching. Indeed, much of the credit for the show's kooky appeal falls solely to Farmiga.

Bates Motel remains such a well-acted show that it discourages casual viewing more and more with each episode.

Many of Norma's freak-outs have a black streak of over-the-top humor, and it's in those moments that Farmiga and the show shine. The dramatic material, especially that involving the young cast, still feels slight and unengaging to me.

So far, several story lines of small-town secrets and drama have fanned out and fizzled, making it hard to tell if “Bates Motel” wants to be compellingly chilling or just tediously unnerving.