The Details

• Norma receives word that her mother has died and grieves the loss of the mother she never had.
• Caleb keeps hanging around, no matter how much Dylan tries to get rid of him.
• Norman and Emma begin dating…and being home-schooled together.
• A guest named Annika that “entertains at parties” shows up. Norman spies on her through her window. He also offers to help her find a place where she must go for a dinner, but he shows up back at the motel with her car instead of walking back like he said he would, implying that he killed her.

The Big Q

How much of our lives are determined by the lives of our ancestors?

The Impact

This episode emphasizes the violence of Norman’s grandfather and the bipolar of his grandmother. This combination, plus a generation of incest, are suggested as the cause for Norman’s mental instability. As much as we want to make our own way in the world, all of this can’t be without effect. Or perhaps it’s his nurturing that made him this way. Or perhaps he’s just evil.

What do you think?