‘Bates Motel’ episode 2 review: Meet Norman Bates’ brother

On tonight’s episode of “Bates Motel” we met Norma’s other son, Dylan, for the first time – Norman’s half brother.  Norma had Dylan when she was 17 and left his father to be with Sam (Norman’s father) and it has strained Dylan and Norma’s relationship in a big bad way.

Dylan has come to the motel because he’s in trouble and needs Norma’s help, but she has made it clear that she doesn’t want him there and is pushing him to get out so she can focus on giving Norman a better life.  When Dylan meets up with a local that’s making mad stacks of money it seems that Dylan won’t be going anywhere and tries to find a way to get in on the cash.

The police find Keith Summers car on the motel property and start asking questions, leaving Norma getting caught up in her own stories. When deputy Shelby asks her out, she accepts in hopes to win at least one of the officers over, but Norman becomes jealous that she’s going out with another man (who looks creepily like her older son Dylan).

Dylan and Norman get into a massive physical fight in the kitchen after Dylan calls his mother a vulgar name and when Norman goes at Dylan with a meat tenderizer, Dylan realizes just how mentally unstable Norman really is. After Norma sees Norma’s face from the fight with Dylan, she asks Dylan to move out, but instead he tries to blackmail her, saying that he will tell the insurance company the truth about the nasty relationship she had with Sam – implying that she killed Sam for the insurance money.

Norman has a class project to do and he partners up with a girl named Emma and while up in his room she finds the book of drawings hidden under his bed.  She asks to borrow the book and Norman lets her, but after reading through the book Emma tells Norman that the drawings from the book are real and that this happened to these girls right here in town. Emma and Norman head out into the mountains to see if they can find some of the pictures from the book and they find a cabin, but before they can go inside they are chased off.

What did you think of tonight’s episode of “Bates Motel”?  Leave us a comment and tell us if you want to see Norman’s brother stick around or not.

Photo: A&E