Bates Motel

:

Season 3
  • Network: A&E
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 18, 2013
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 113 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 132
  3. Negative: 14 out of 132
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User Reviews

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  1. brentwshelton1
    Mar 12, 2015
    10
    The characters in this show are amazing. Vera as Norma is unbelievable. We see how Norman is being warped and changed in front of her (so does she) and yet both she and us are unable to stop the process. She is a totally sympathetic character as is Norman. This show has all the pluses - great acting, great story, great character development. I've been watching since Season 1 and can'tThe characters in this show are amazing. Vera as Norma is unbelievable. We see how Norman is being warped and changed in front of her (so does she) and yet both she and us are unable to stop the process. She is a totally sympathetic character as is Norman. This show has all the pluses - great acting, great story, great character development. I've been watching since Season 1 and can't wait for this season to continue.… Expand
  2. marco34la
    May 7, 2015
    10
    Season 3 is definitely the best season so far. It really starts to get creepy and fun. Season 1 was great, S2 sucked , but again this season has totally redeemed itself. Great acting, great cast and really good writing.
    It's a great drama with a lot of craziness and moments that are truly unnerving to watch. I can't believe there's only one episode left!! Wish the seasons were 12-15    Season 3 is definitely the best season so far. It really starts to get creepy and fun. Season 1 was great, S2 sucked , but again this season has totally redeemed itself. Great acting, great cast and really good writing.
    It's a great drama with a lot of craziness and moments that are truly unnerving to watch. I can't believe there's only one episode left!! Wish the seasons were 12-15 episodes long.    … Expand
  3. ppinto
    Apr 11, 2015
    8
    Season 3 is much stronger than the rather weak Season 2. It gets rid of weaker plot-lines, the main arch for the season is interesting, well told and, more importantly, it does bear some relation to the development of the main characters. We finally get some glimpses of the House, the Mother, and Norman as we know them from Hitchcock's film. It is rather enjoyable to watch and it restoresSeason 3 is much stronger than the rather weak Season 2. It gets rid of weaker plot-lines, the main arch for the season is interesting, well told and, more importantly, it does bear some relation to the development of the main characters. We finally get some glimpses of the House, the Mother, and Norman as we know them from Hitchcock's film. It is rather enjoyable to watch and it restores the sense of purpose that one would expect from a series centered around the development of a psychopath.… Expand
  4. AxeT
    Jul 20, 2015
    8
    [For entire series] Moving the location to Oregon and the time period to contemporary was initially infuriating for this origin prequel, but then after just accepting it for what it was it's one of those guilty pleasures that stuck. Good storytelling and acting make this deranged little cash in endeavor well worth it, though Vera Farmiga over-acts through much of it.
  5. gmonster320
    May 17, 2015
    8
    In 30 episodes we've watched Norman and Norma's gradual descent into insanity (not that they had far to go to start with). And it's finally here. Norma, Dylan, Emma and Caleb all know something is seriously wrong with Norman but dont know how to fix it. Norman even admits that he is sick. As Norman slips into Mother more and more, I expect the body count to escalate next year. I justIn 30 episodes we've watched Norman and Norma's gradual descent into insanity (not that they had far to go to start with). And it's finally here. Norma, Dylan, Emma and Caleb all know something is seriously wrong with Norman but dont know how to fix it. Norman even admits that he is sick. As Norman slips into Mother more and more, I expect the body count to escalate next year. I just hope poor Emma survives. As long as she's around this family, she doesnt have to worry about cystic fibrosis killing her. For me the highlight this season was Vera Farmiga's performance. Is she doesnt win an Emmy, there is no justice in the world. I didnt expect to care so much about Norma. She's loving, manipulative, protective, hysterical and vulnerable all at once. She genuinely loves her son but it's also her love that accentuates his psychoses. The only criticisms I have of the show are the ancillary story lines. The stories about human trafficking, drug wars and the Arcanum Club fell flat in my opinion. I would love the show if it was just Norma and Norman together all the time. Of course that's what caused this problem in the first place.… Expand
  6. MattBrady99
    May 25, 2015
    8
    Norma Louise Bates: "Norman I will kick your ass to the moon and back".

    Bates Motel as a TV series has been pretty good so far, I mean it's a lot different from most shows base on a classic horror films. I know we Hannibal which is another TV base on movie and that's great as well. Season 3 as a season was pretty solid and as I said before this is very rare that this happens. Vera    Norma Louise Bates: "Norman I will kick your ass to the moon and back".

    Bates Motel as a TV series has been pretty good so far, I mean it's a lot different from most shows base on a classic horror films. I know we Hannibal which is another TV base on movie and that's great as well. Season 3 as a season was pretty solid and as I said before this is very rare that this happens.

    Vera Farmiga as Norma Louise Bates was the stand out of this season and she gave in my opinion the best TV performance of the year and she always steals the show in every episodes she's in. Her performance was Emmy worthy and I heard some rumors about the Emmy nominations and I hope there put her on the list because she owned it.

    For a while now I wasn't so sure of Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates because in the first season I thought he did okay. In the second season I thought he did better, I know it's suppose to be a slow build to his craziness but if I have to judge him playing the character I say he did okay, but in this season I sawed the real Norman Bates and a break through performance from Freddie Highmore. He played the harmless boy but really he's dangerous and he pulled that off really well.

    The writing was fine, the rest of the cast did good and some of the character's this time actually matted and wasn't forgettable as the other ones.

    Now for problems and these not a lot that I can name off: When I said about some of the character's matted, well these some didn't and those character's are not very interesting and don't do anything with the show. This was my other problem with the previous seasons and it's still happening in this season.

    Overall season 3 was a solid season just like the second season of the show.    … Expand
  7. Chimpsonson70
    Apr 20, 2015
    9
    Such an underrated show. It manages the difficult balance of humor and drama expertly. The characters are multidimensional and their dilemmas, are somehow, very easy to empathize with. Excellent acting and writing - truly original.
  8. justwibi
    May 18, 2015
    8
    For me, Season 1 is still the best season and of course 2nd Season is the worst. But, in this season there is big step moment for Bates Motel, and that's very great. And FYI, I really don't care about sub plot. I hope in Season 4, Bates Motel more focus in Norma and Norman. cause I don't care about that town, really!
  9. WorldofLucky
    Jun 12, 2018
    8
    I have to say this is the biggest surprise of a tv show that I have had. Far better acted, written, and was far more interesting then I ever would have given it credit.

    When I originally saw teasers and trailers for the show I assumed that it was going to be A&E's copy of a teenage CW show with teen angst and drama. I had absolutely no interest after catching the first episode because    I have to say this is the biggest surprise of a tv show that I have had. Far better acted, written, and was far more interesting then I ever would have given it credit.

    When I originally saw teasers and trailers for the show I assumed that it was going to be A&E's copy of a teenage CW show with teen angst and drama. I had absolutely no interest after catching the first episode because it dealt with Norman at a new high school. I was entirely wrong about the show.

    I had assumed it was only a teenager show mostly because the actor looks like, and it is a young Norman Bates, and they focused on his mom a lot in the beginning, but for some reason I assumed she wouldn't be a lasting character. I mean how do you make Norma Bates, AKA "MOTHER!" a regular character. Not only is she a regular (and she is there on screen until the last episode), she is on the same level as Norman and they are both great characters, acted by very good actors.

    There is of course a lot of drama, violence, death and insanity, but that is expected from a reboot prequel of the original movie "Psycho". It hit all the notes for me, including the surrounding characters, unexpected reveals and even though several key facts about Norman are changed it is definitely Norma Bates.

    The only thing I hesitate on, and this isn't a poor reflection it is still great, I would have handled the last 3 or 4 episodes differently. SPOILER ALERT: I would have not had the final 3 or four episodes end the way they did, wrapping up the storyline 100%, instead I would have changed a couple of things that would allow it to end, right about where the movie started. That however isn't a bad thing, just a style thing.

    Pros: Excellent acting, writing, and kept my interest over the five seasons, even if I cringed sometimes.

    Cons: I stylistically would have wrapped it up at a different point, but that is purely a dramatic choice.

    I am really glad I did start watching it, and I encourage others to give it a try.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Brennan
    Mar 9, 2015
    63
    If discovering the sinister particulars of how they'll get there [the film Psycho] is the driving force of Bates Motel, the surfeit of subplots might be seen as a series of speed bumps or potholes, slowing an otherwise ferociously entertaining two-hander at every turn.
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  2. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Mar 9, 2015
    80
    There is, periodically, a kind of daringly reckless, Lucille Ball-like slapstick physicality that Farmiga brings to the role, and it contributes a welcome lightness to the show’s often grim proceedings. By contrast, Highmore’s exceedingly subtle, adroit work is slowly filling in the portrait of psycho-Norman at a perfect pace for a weekly television series.
    Read full review
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Mar 6, 2015
    80
    As it starts Season 3 on Monday night, it has evolved into a deftly acted story of small-town dysfunction, creepy when it needs to be yet far more wide ranging than the movie that inspired it.
    Read full review
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