‘Bates Motel’ season 5: What to expect from Norman, Norma, Rihanna, and more

Monday night will be bringing you the fifth season of “Bates Motel” over on A&E, and to say that this is a season like no other is an understatement. It’s the final season of the show, and executive producers Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse have a lot of fun things planned for fans in order to properly say good bye to the series.

For the sake of this article, consider this both a series of reminders of what’s happened … and a taste of what’s coming up on this enthralling-but-incredibly-creepy series.

1. The “Psycho” mythology expands – This is the first season where we’re really getting into that territory. While we cannot guarantee that the show’s version of this will be close to the Alfred Hitchcock movie (it’s certainly not going to be like that shot-for-shot remake that came out), there will probably be some crossover. Think of this as a thematic retelling.

2. Rihanna is coming aboard – The pop superstar is going to be playing the iconic role of hotel guest Marion Crane — and it may be fair to say that this is one of the best examples of superstar casting. The pop megastar is a fan of the show, so odds are that this was a huge help in getting her to sign on.

3. Norma’s dead – She died at the end of season 4, but that doesn’t exactly mean that she’s departing the show…

4. How she’s sticking around – She now lives more within Norman’s mind, so what could be interesting here is that this enables Vera Farmiga to play a more unhinged version of the character. No longer does she exist in a reality; instead, she’s now whatever her son perceives her to be. This could be a very different side to Norma, even though we have seen her become unhinged and some what creepy when she was alive as well.

5. There will be a hunt for Norman – Nobody’s going to just allow him to walk all over White Pine Bay, killing anyone and everyone he chooses, but the big question will be whether or not he will be captured.

Think of the video below as your last look ahead to the events of the season — this should give you a pretty panoramic view of some of the horror to come — this could be a creepy season to say the least, and it’s one we are very much excited to dive into starting on Monday night.

What do you want to see on this final “Bates Motel” season? Share some of your thoughts in the attached comments.