Norma Plays Detective

Things are getting darker and darker on Bates Motel. I mean, obviously this was going to be the case, but the sweet, naive Norman we were first introduced to is no longer. Instead, we're looking at the makings of a cold-blooded killer, we're looking at the makings of the man who becomes Psycho. In the Season 3 premiere of Bates Motel, we saw Norman start to possibly embrace his killer side as he met prostitute Annika Johnson and she was not seen again, until a body was discovered lying face down in the water at the end of the second episode "The Arcanum Club." Now obviously we can't be 100% sure that's Annika's body in the water, because when Norma began investigating her disappearance she came across a sketchy hunting club for the wealthiest in White Pine Bay, and they looked to be involved in a few illegal, or at the very least creepy, activities.

When Norma didn't see Annika come out of her room in the morning, she started to worry about what might have happened to her, mainly because Norman seemed to be quite taken with her as evidenced by him creepily watching her changing through her motel room window.

So like any paranoid and worried mother (in this case she's mostly totally right), Norma began to investigate and what she found was much more complicated than we could have imagined. After going through her room, talking to the people at last place she was seen (the bar that Norman supposedly dropped her off), and interrogating her son who made some extremely suspicious comments about Annika's current state of being, Norma finally stumbled across an invitation to a party at The Arcanum Club.

Emma's father was apparently contracted by the club patrons for some taxidermy work as they were a hunting club, but he always found the place a little sketchy to say the least. Looks like he was right as when Norma found her way (snuck her way) into the club's event, she found some of the patrons having sex with prostitutes, and maybe it's just me but things didn't look so consensual.

Norma then ran into Sheriff Romero (these two happened to have quite the bit of romantic tension during the episode) who reluctantly agreed to help find out what happened to Annika so that Norma could go home and be safely away from the creeps at the club. Clearly Romero knows something about these weirdos than any of us do, but what makes him worried to actually take action against them? Is it just because they're rich and powerful?

Meanwhile during all this, Norman resumed a rather normal life by having a date with Emma that was a bit awkward, especially when Norman brought up whether or not Emma had sex with Gunnar and later basically stated that he didn't feel so warm and cuddly after having sex. So obviously the actual act of coitus doesn't satisfy him. See? Things just keep getting creepier with him. When Norma finally comes home after her investigation, Norman tells her he's been worried about her behavior and then states "Everything is going to be fine" as they walk away together. Is Norman starting to get cocky about how much he can potentially do? Told you guys, things are getting darker than ever.

Images: James Dittiger, Cate Cameron, screenshot/A&E