Warning: The following contains major spoilers about the Bates Motel finale...
Don't scroll through any further if you haven't watched the final episode of Bates Motel. I spoke to star Freddie Highmore about all that transpired, from Norman's confrontations with Dylan and Romero to his final act of delusion. Was Norman fully crazy in the end? Did Dylan intend to kill him when he arrived for dinner? Here's what Highmore had to say...
IGN: In the end, Norman died. Was this the only option for him? We know how much he didn't want to be locked away.
Freddie Highmore: I think so. I think it's sad when you realize that Dylan was pitching his dream and what he wanted, what he had hoped would transpire between him and Norma and Norman and wanting them to all be together. It's sad because everyone had the same dream, really. They all wanted to be together. They all wanted to have their family intact. They loved each other but that wasn't enough. That's not just the tragedy of Norman and Norma, but Dylan as well. He wanted to be there with them but it just didn't work out. But if you look at it all as a love story between Norman and Norma, this was the happy end. It was the only way it could end. They had to be reunited and this was the only way for that to happen. I think though that the last scene had so many great beats in it that it summed up what Bates Motel was always about. Dylan's expression of his desires, but also Norman when he said "If you believe hard enough, you can make it that way." That line seemed so key to me and so heartbreaking because that's what he believed. But it's also something that we all can latch onto. We're almost taught it as we grow up, that if you have a dream and you keep working toward it that it'll come true. If you work hard enough then things will turn out okay.
That idea is shattered by the end of Bates Motel, that love isn't enough. That you need something more. It's not just nature. It's not just what you make of your life, but it's the cards you've been dealt. For an ending, it can seem in many ways romantic and it buys into the illusion of dreams and desires and subscribes to striving toward love, there's also a practicality and an honesty to it that stops it from going overboard and becoming too indulgent. In my opinion anyway. Norman's line is also a line that sums up Norma's attitude just as much as Norman's. That's what the two of them always thought. That they didn't need anyone else and they could make it all work together. Of course, you can always say "Oh, well they did wind up together" [laughs] - together in Hawaii. And then we get Season 6 in Hawaii, which is their version of heaven. The Bates Motel then becomes a lovely shack on the beach and they go surfing every day.
IGN: It's also sad when you think that when Emma went to visit Norman for the last time, she didn't get to see Norman. She hated him so much when she found out about her mother, but do you think she forgave him in the end?
Highmore: I think so. I think it was also a necessary scene for them to have, the two of them, and I think everyone had a conclusive end one way or another. It's funny, like you mentioned, that Emma's last moment was with Mother instead of being with Norman, but in a way it brought her closer to Norman than a conversation with Norman ever could.
IGN: Norman and Romero were never going to have a long, heartfelt moment together. How did you feel about how it all went down with the two of them? It was a pretty violent final scene for them both.
Highmore: Yeah, you know, you feel for Romero too. I would always tease Nestor [Carbonell], my on-screen rivalry, that no one cared about him and that their love story was insignificant compared to Norman and Norma's, but of course they shared something very special too. But unlike Dylan, Norma, and Norman the combination of Romero, Norma, and Norman was never a possibility. It could never have worked out. It was a dream that people saw from the beginning could only end badly. But everyone was a dreamer by the end, really. Everyone is acting based on those dreams and their powerful love for other people . Even though the show, at the very same time they're all doing that, tells us that it's not the wisest decision. [laughs] But I love how Dylan's end is so strong too. It's that question of whether to not he knew what he was doing or if he did it by choice or if it was an act of self defense. To me, it was a very active decision on his part, to choose to kill Norman in that moment because he knew that's all that was left.
IGN: Dylan did bring the gun with him though. Was there a part of him that wanted to be the one to kill Norman? That if Norman had to die, it should be him who does it?
Highmore: I'm don't think either of them necessarily knew the ending of the scene before they started it. I think it surprised the two of them equally, the way that it ended up. Also, Norman's only slightly insane at the end, but not wholly. All of that craziness with him imagining things being back to the way they were, like a reset, and unintended humor in that, that I've felt has always been so vital to the show. And Tucker Gates, our director for the finale, who's directed so many other episodes as well, did a brilliant job of digging it out and setting up certain shots that just came off as funny. Like Norman waking up in the snow and the camera pulling back to reveal that Romero's there, and we see all three of them there and Norman thinks that he's back at home. It was just wonderful. Tucker was so inspirational in me wanting to direct, and I tried to emulate him where I could with the things that he brought to the show. As well as my own ideas. But just keeping that look that he'd established from the very beginning.
But in terms of that last scene, in terms of Norman's attitude when he enters it, I think that he is wholly committed to this idea, like we saw in the premiere, that he's living in this fantasy world. He's living there, in this new house, and he's going start over everything with Dylan. But ultimately we get to know that he's not as insane as we thought. When Dylan starts pushing him, we start to see the cracks appear in this vision that Norman's created. The one that he's subscribed to. So we see that he knows deep down what he's doing. That it's this performance that he's subscribed to. He knows it's not real. It's not the reality that's in front of him. That's what's interesting to me about the ending. It's almost like a test. Can he live the life that he wants to live in this world? Could other people accept it and just leave him alone and ignore him? Of course, he can't. But there's a part of me that likes to think that he's not as crazy as we're led to believe.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at http://ift.tt/2aJ67FB.
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