Bates Motel Review: Dreams Die First (Season 5 Episode 5)

Bates Motel Season 5 Episode 5 “Dreams Die First,” follows the original Psycho, and I’m so on board!

As we’ve reached the halfway mark through this final season of Bates Motel, everything is beginning to set in motion.

But first, Rihanna makes her debut as Marion Crane!

The anticipated debut of Rihanna is finally shown on this episode and she’s a rather interesting character. However, as far as Rihanna’s acting skills go… they are not as great as I’d hoped for. They could have been better, but not everyone is made to be an actor, right?

Her relationship with Sam Loomis is a hidden affair, and an affair she has no idea about. All she wants is to be loved by Sam. She doesn’t know that he is already married. He’s lying to both Marion and Madeline — this man is a total douche. Why are you doing this, Sam?

I am looking forward to the show diving more into Marion’s character. Can Rihanna live up to Janet Leigh’s portrayal of Marion from Psycho? Maybe, maybe not. But I’d love to see her try.

Norman’s state is growing more complicated, and it has me on the edge of my seat. He has made quite a few discoveries about himself, and I think it’s going to continue from here on out.

He’s coming to terms with himself, he knows everything is not normal, and he knows Mother is not around and it’s frightening him to the core. His encounter with his former therapist entails just that.

He hasn’t refilled his prescriptions in over a year, so maybe that could also be the reason why he’s like this. Wouldn’t that have explained it all?

Norman is more aware of himself now. It makes his arc even more intriguing as we reach the final five episodes of the series. He discoveries a revelation within himself that came to us as a twist.

This whole time Norman believed Mother was running off and doing whatever, but she’s been going to a bar and hooking up with random men aka Norma has realized this about himself and it becomes hard for him to fathom.

The revelation of Norman’s sequestered whereabouts is a twist I did not see coming, but then again it’s Norman Bates, so at this point anything that he does is as surprising as it’ll ever be.

But my curiosity with this is how will he move forward? His reality is piecing itself together and he knows it’s sending him down a path of constant anxiety and fear. He already has Alex Romero coming after him, this is all just added on pressure.

Just like I predicted in my review of Bates Motel Season 5 Episode 4, Sheriff Greene is slowly but surely on to him. She’s acting wary and very skeptical around him.

Meanwhile, Dylan and Emma’s bubble of calm married life bursts when Dylan shares information about Emma’s mother. I get that he was scared and didn’t want to alarm her about his suspicions of Norman’s involvement with her mother, but he should have mentioned this a long time ago.

Emma has the right to be mad, but I hope this fight doesn’t ruin them.

Although, there is one thing that sort of irks me about their isolated life. How do you stay a year and a half completely shutting yourself out from your own mother? That’s harsh, and that’s a long time.

Emma finds out about Norma’s death via the internet. Really? I’m so nervous for when Dylan finds out not only Norma is dead but Caleb is too.

Dylan will for sure know it was Norman that did it, because he knows his personality all too well by now. I’m guessing Alex won’t be the only person Norman has to worry about coming after him.

Other thoughts:

• Marion’s boss is so gross. No woman should be treated like that.
• I’m imagining what Marion and Madeline would do after realizing they’ve been played by Sam Loomis.
• Did you spot Bates Motel’s executive producer Carton Cuse make his cameo as the police officer that pulled over Marion? That was cool.
• “Dreams Die First” was directed by Nestor Carbonell, a job well done. I guess Alex is still healing from his gunshot wound.
• Where’s Chick?

What did you think of this week’s episode of Bates Motel? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Bates Motel airs Mondays at 10/9c on A&E.

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