Bates Motel season 3 continued its run of great episodes last night with “The Last Supper.” Caleb’s continued presence is still very frustrating. Norma’s speech to him about how they can’t be friends was cathartic and it was a huge cringe moment when it was undercut by her giving in and inviting him to dinner.
This episode was full of great moments. While last week was all about Norma for me, this episode showed a lot of Norman’s perspective and really made me feel for him. The way he had to deal with Norma’s complete dismissal of her leaving for a night, like it was no big deal, was heartbreaking. Norman’s tense scene with James Finnigan was excellent, as was his teary reconciliation with Norma afterwards.
Meanwhile, Dylan continues to emerge as the biggest source of hope for the future. Watching him try to get Norma to help Norman was heartbreaking. His desire to help Emma has made him even more of a hero to root for. Dylan and Emma’s developing feelings for each other are a nice bit of sweetness amidst all the weird, uncomfortable, and deeply sad circumstances on this show. And, of course, Norma’s “we all go a little mad some time” line was a nice moment for the fans.
This episode also gave us Norma’s first kiss with Alex. It’s interesting in season 3 to see her finally be with not one, but two, men who actually seem good for her. Alex and James both seem stable and in her corner.
Watching everyone have dinner together in the titular scene of the episode was fascinating. When Norma talked about her lifelong dream of having a place for family and friends, it was a sad reminder of how broken her life is. The fact that she went on to say thank you to everyone there for giving her that dream pushed the scene emotions in the scene over the edge. Poor Norma.