Robert W. Sullivan IV

Here’s a teaser: “Unlike the original film’s and book’s counterpart, Marion Crane survives her experience at the motel in this episode. The iconic shower scene from the original film was duplicated in this episode. However, Sam takes Marion’s place of being the original victim and Norman is not his “Mother” persona when killing him. After Norman kills Sam, he says “Oh, mother, what have I done?” echoing the line “Mother, what have you done?” in Psycho. When Norman kills Sam, Roy Orbison’s (1936-1988) “Crying” (1962) is playing. The music is designed to conjure David Lynch’s film, Mulholland Drive (2001), in which Orbison’s song is performed in Spanish, “Llorando,” by Rebekah Del Rio in Club Silencio. In Lynch’s movie, the song terminates the dream world of Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) returning her to the real world of Diane Selwin (Watts again). In Bates Motel, the use of the song connotes the same thing: Norman becomes cognizant that “Mother” is another side of his personality–a dark vision–and that he has been murdering as her the entire time. Like Mulholland Drive, the music signifies the deconstruction the fantasy, returning the characters–Elms and Bates–back to their bleak realities.”