Bates Motel (season 2)

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Bates Motel (2013–2017) is a drama thriller television series developed for television by Carlton Cuse. Kerry Ehrin and Anthony Cipriano and produced by Universal Television for the cable network A&E. The series, being a "contemporary prequel" to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho (based on Robert Bloch's novel of the same name), depicts the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in the film, albeit in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.

Gone but not Forgotten [2.01] edit

Norma Bates: You're a teenager, it's summer. You should be out, I don't know, playing baseball or going to swimming holes or something normal.

Norman Bates: I don't think mourning the death of someone who had been special to you is particularly abnormal!

Norma Bates: Oh, I am just a little concerned that you seem obsessed with...[looking at Norma's taxidermy animals]...morbidity or something. I mean, you spend your days equally mooning over a dead teacher and taking apart dead animals. It's just weird.

Norma Bates: You've got to stand up for yourself in life. You can't let the world run over you.

Norma Bates: Look out there. We did that. All those cars, all those people out there in our motel, all of them, every single one, found us driving along the main road. Remember that first night we got to turn on the "No vacancy" sign?

Norman Bates: Uh-huh.

Norma Bates: You remember what that felt like?

Norman Bates: Yeah.

Norma Bates: We started over. We came here to do it, and we did it, and I'm not letting anyone take that away from us, okay? I will figure it out.

Bradley Martin: I want to know who killed my dad.

Gil Turner: I don't know who killed your dad.

Bradley Martin: I find that hard to believe. You worked with him every day. You must know something. Who his enemies were, if someone had it out for him.

Gil Turner: How old are you?

Bradley Martin: Old enough.

Gil Turner: I'm sorry about what happened to your father, but all I can tell you is stuff you don't want to hear.

Bradley Martin: Try me.

Gil Turner: Your father was a shitheel. He was out for himself, he had no loyalty to anyone, and that's a bad move in this business.

Norma Bates: You're a dick!

Lee Berman: Excuse me?

Norma Bates: Yes, I just called you a dick, because that's what you are! I'm stuck here now because I can't sell my property because of your stupid bypass! I'm underwater! No one told me that before I bought it. Maybe you should talk about that at a city council meeting. Or maybe you should talk about the fact that your fancy town is run on drug money. Maybe that would be worth talking about as opposed to crazy house moms whining about whether or not their kids have read about ax murderers and whores. Welcome to the world, ladies! There are ax murderers and whores stuffed under every rug, so your kids better read up on it and get educated, because that's what life is! It's a cesspool you claw and scratch and fight to swim out of, but you never get to the top!

Shadow of a Doubt [2.02] edit

Alex Romero: You know, Nick, I tolerate certain things, and believe me, I know the nature of the business that fuels this town, you know? Violence goes with the territory, but not this. I'm not gonna sit by and let things get out of control between the two families.

Nick Ford: I can't help but wish you'd use the same level of effort to catch Blaire's killer. But then she was just a school teacher, not some big player in the drug business. I understand your priorities.

Alex Romero: That's not the case at all, Nick. We're working on it.

Nick Ford: It's been four months and nothing.

Alex Romero: I, you know, your daughter didn't live a simple life, Nick.

Nick Ford: I know exactly the kind of life my daughter lived. I know. You know, we all work together, Alex. We all try to respect each other or accommodate each other, and because of that, things in this little town are pretty nice. But it's not a given. It's not written on some stone tablet somewhere that that's the way it has to be.

Cody Brennan: You do errands for your mom. Well, aren't you a dying breed.

Norman Bates: Yeah, I, uh I guess we're all doing that, too.

Cody Brennan: What?

Norman Bates: Dying. You know, I mean, once we're born, that's what we're doing, right?

Dylan Massett: Who is this guy?

Remo Wallace: Zane? He's a lame-ass poser. Thinks he's a character out of Scarface. He's the brother of the big boss, a guy who shouldn't be in the business who is.

Dylan Massett: What was he in prison for?

Remo Wallace: Our buddy Zane was running the shipment down to our distributors in Las Vegas. Got clocked doing 95 and they pulled him over.

Dylan Massett: What kind of idiot speeds with a carload of weed?

Remo Wallace: That's my point exactly.

Caleb [2.03] edit

Norman Bates: I like doing taxidermy. It's sort of "building" stuff, just rebuilding something you take apart first.

Zane Morgan: So, Paco and Tony. Doing them as what, payback for us taking out Johnny? Is that it? Is that the message?

Dylan Massett: I think that's pretty likely.

Zane Morgan: Okay. What would you do about it? Just tell me.

Dylan Massett: I don't think I'd do anything. I think I'd just stop. It's a zero-sum game. You just win until you lose again. It never ends. I'd just concentrate on having the best product and moving it. That's all.

Zane Morgan: I agree. That's very important. I also think that if they thought that Johnny was worth two of our guys, then two of our guys is worth ten of their guys or maybe twelve. Or however many I can get in one place at one time. And that right there, that's very important too.

Dylan Massett: What did you go through?

Caleb Calhoun: I kept waiting to grow up, get bigger than him, but it just never happened. You know, I mean, for all I knew, every family was like ours anyway. But I'm a man now, so I get it, you know, how worthless he must've felt. But I wasn't a man then, and Norma sure wasn't. And he just took it out on us. Such a pretty little kid. Such a trusting girl, and I couldn't protect her. I mean, she wants to forget it happened, forget me, and I get that. She wants to blame me. I mean, I blame me too. I always have.

Dylan Massett: You'll do anything to get your way!

Norma Bates: I've never gotten my way, and that includes being your mother!

Check-Out [2.04] edit

Alex Romero: I thought it was time for us to meet. I'm Alex Romero.

Zane Morgan: Oh, yeah. You're that guy with the God complex.

Alex Romero: [to Zane] Well, a guy like you, Zane, I could just see making some big mistakes, just taking things a little personally and feeling like he had to prove himself, you know, by yelling the loudest and doing the most damage, taking the most scalps. Make sure people took him seriously 'cause nobody does.

Norman Bates: [in the 'Mother' persona, to Caleb] You raped me over and over. I was your little sister. I loved you. You should have protected me because I had no one to protect me.

The Escape Artist [2.05] edit

Alex Romero: [to Zane] When you least expect it, I'm gonna show up, and I'm gonna burn you and your little business in the ground.

Norma Bates: So why exactly did you need to beat up someone?

Alex Romero: Let's just say I had my reasons.

Norma Bates: Don't you ever get tired of being so stoic? Seriously, you never wanna talk about anything. It's a little boring.

Alex Romero: So's being dead. You learn not to shoot your mouth off in this business.

Norma Bates: Okay tough guy whatever... I get it. Sometimes it just feels good to wail on someone. I whacked the shit out of the real estate agent who sold me this house when I found out that I couldn't unload it. I did it with my purse, it felt great!

[Romero smiles a little]

Norma Bates: Oh, my God!

Alex Romero: What?

Norma Bates: You smiled. I thought your face was paralyzed.

Alex Romero: Uh-huh. I'm pretty sure I didn't smile.

Norma Bates: God, you're contrary.

Alex Romero: Oh, and you're not?

Plunge [2.06] edit

Alex Romero: Uh, listen. It's a little awkward, but I think you should be made aware of it.

Norma Bates: What?

Alex Romero: Well, sometimes at night, when you have your light on in the bedroom, you can see right through those curtains.

Norma Bates: You can?

Alex Romero: Yeah.

George Heldens: Okay, there's this old John Ford movie called The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and it's about this young, idealistic lawyer who goes to this wild west town to civilize it.

Norma Bates: Yeah, I know that movie. I love it.

George Heldens: So do I. Anyway, I always identified with that guy for some reason, the lawyer. He was brave, and he cared about people and justice, so I went to law school.

Norma Bates: And then?

George Heldens: And then my ex-wife found out how much public defenders make a year, and suddenly, I was at a white-shoe firm doing mergers and acquisitions. Trust me, you can only do that for so long before you start sounding like Scrooge McDuck.

Norma Bates: [about a council member's death] It's so sad.

Nick Ford: It's sad. And convenient.

Norma Bates: Well, I would never say someone dying is convenient.

Nick Ford: Well then you'd be lying. Or ignorant. There are many times, Norma, when death is convenient.

[after Norman saves Emma from drowning]

Norman Bates: What the hell do you think you were doing telling her to do that?

Cody Brennan: I didn't know-

Norman Bates: She could've died and it would've been your fault!! Everyone isn't just some toy for you to play with!!!

Cody Brennan: ...

Gunner: Listen man, she didn't know-

Norman Bates: Shut up and stay out of this!!!

[Norman stares Cody down and she backs away ashamed]

Presumed Innocent [2.07] edit

Max Borowitz: I'm sorry I missed that last meeting when you called Lee Berman "a dick."

Norma Bates: Yeah, well uh, I'm a little embarrassed about all that now.

Max Borowitz: Don't be, he was - God rest his soul.

Alex Romero: Jimmy Brennan, he grew up here, so I knew him for a long long time, and he was angry for pretty much all of it.

Zane Carpenter: If you're gonna sleep with my sister, manage your expectations.

Dylan Massett: I don't...

Zane Carpenter: Yeah, sure, I know. It's just, uh, it's not her first below her pay grade.

Cody Brennan: My aunt already cleaned out the guest room, she said. She has 5 cats, so her place probably smells like cat pee, instead of beer and smoke. Man, I can't wait until I'm 18 so I can pick the way my place smells.

Meltdown [2.08] edit

Norma Bates: How dare you? How dare you give me orders, come into my house when I'm not here, act like somehow I'm beholden to you?

Nick Ford: That's because you are! You're just too ignorant to realize it. Who do you think got you that seat on the City Council? And what do you think happened to Lee Berman? You are beholden to me.

Norma Bates: [about Dylan] We don't really talk, we had a falling out.

Nick Ford: Then for no other reason, you need to see him and fix that. I lost a daughter; I was estranged from her when it happened. I can tell it's the most horrible thing that ever happened to me. Talk to your son. Do it while you can. Do it right away.

Dylan Massett: Here I am, talk.

Nick Ford: For future reference, Dylan, in business, as in life in general, pleasantries are an important part of how people communicate. It helps to define common ground.

The Box [2.09] edit

Norma Bates: [to George] You want to know why you don't get me? Because you can't get me. You will never get me. You think you know what life is, that it's something you just stay on top of with your soft words and your nice summer jacket? You come from a whole world of people who are not real. You don't understand anything. You're just sleepwalking through life. You have no real troubles. You sit there in your little playhouses with your cocktails, and you judge the rest of us.

Declan Rogers: My reputation's killing me. It's only because I'm old and still at it.

Alex Romero: No, it's 'cause of the way you conduct a test. There's nobody better. You can always ferret-out the truth.

Declan Rogers: No, I can't force anyone to reveal the truth. I can just tell you if they're lying.

The Immutable Truth [2.10] edit

Alex Romero: [to Zane] You remember what I said? About burning you down? Well, I'm a man of my word.

[Romero shoots Zane]

Norma Bates: I bought tickets to Montreal, to fly. We can leave tonight.

Dylan Massett: You can't do that! That's insane!

Norma Bates: I don't know what else to do!! ...I got three tickets, I want you to come.

Dylan Massett: ...You bought me a ticket?

Norma Bates: ...I'm sorry Dylan! I'm so sorry! For everything. For how you were born. For how I handled it. How I shut you out. It was horrible of me and I'm so sorry.

Dylan Massett: It's not your fault Norma. You were just a kid.

Norma Bates: I didn't know what I was doing. But as horrible as it was, I wouldn't trade it for anything because you're here now and you're beautiful and you're a miracle that someone like you could come out of all that. And I wouldn't give you up for anything.

[They embrace]

[Norman is trying to kill himself]

Norman Bates: I'm sorry mother. I didn't mean to hurt you but I am gonna do this and you're not gonna stop me.

Norma Bates: Why!?

Norman Bates: Because I don't wanna be who I am. And I don't wanna hurt you. There's something wrong with me. I'm bad.

Norma Bates: You're not bad! You're innocent! You've never meant to hurt anybody in your life.

Norman Bates: But I did, I know I did!

Norma Bates: You don't know what's real and what's not Norman. You have these blackouts and they confuse you.

Norman Bates: ...I had a blackout the day my dad died.

Norma Bates: ...

Norman Bates: What happened that day mother?

Norma Bates: Give me the gun and I'll tell you.

[Norma grabs the gun and embraces Norman]

Norma Bates: He was hurting me and you were trying to protect me. You've always been there to protect me.

Norman Bates: How can you ask me to live with this?

Norma Bates: Because I will die if you leave. I will, I'll die Norman. We're like the same person. If you kill yourself I'll be there one step after. We have to be together. We're supposed to be together! No matter what. I will be with you you every step. I will be by your side and we will face this together. Please! Please!

[Norma kisses Norman full on the mouth]

Norma Bates: Please. Please.

Norman Bates: Alright mother. You win.

Mother: Norman, you need to know something very important.

Norman Bates: What, mother?

Mother: You didn't kill Blair Watson. I did.

Norman Bates: You did?

Mother: Yes. You have to keep this a secret. Do you promise?

Norman Bates: I promise.

Mother: I will always be there for you. I will always protect you, no matter what. Remember that.