Bates Motel season 5 episode 7: Did Norman kill Dylan?

Last week on Bates Motel season 5, we saw the departure of Marion Crane, but hardly the end of the story. Norman made another kill, and there were suddenly questions aplenty regarding if Sam Loomis would somehow come back to bite the character.

For much of this episode, we saw Norman and Mother running around trying to find a new escape-route to some of his actions. It’s not often that we end up seeing so much gravity and stakes with a character like Norma who’s already dead.

Then, there’s Dylan. We certainly feel for the guy. His relationship with Norman may be tumultuous (to put it lightly), but you did get the sense in the episode that he did everything that he could in order to ensure that his brother was in a place where he could be better … and also in a place where he wouldn’t hurt anyone. The more evidence Dylan collected, the more and more clear it became that the guy may be back to killing once more. He was struggling to get his meds, and even struggling to get everyone away from him. (Hence, the conversation with Madelyn.) In the process, Norma was encouraging her son to cut Dylan off, aware that he was sniffing around and asking some questions.

When Dylan finally did meet up with Norman once more at the end of the episode, he delivered the news about Sam Loomis. Norman, meanwhile, tried to distract him with dinner … which in turn brought us the most awkward dinner conversation ever as Norman tried to pretend that nothing was wrong at all. When Dylan forced him to tell the truth, Norman started to open up about Sam turning up with Marion Crane, and the night that they had together. He didn’t confess to killing anyone, though, and suggested that Sam and Marion left in the middle of the night.

Then, Norman told Dylan that he really should leave soon … which he took as an opportunity to push him further to get help. In turn, Mother took over, and for a moment it appeared that Norman was about to kill Dylan. A brilliant performance from Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga, which we’ve been saying for the entire season.

Also, Norma confessed that he killed Sam Loomis via a phone call to 911.

What did you think about this episode of Bates Motel, and do you think that the show is going to be able to pay off everything that they’ve been constructing over time? Share some of your thoughts in the comments!