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The Season 5 finale of A&E show’s “Bates Motel” ended with a bloody conclusion. The finale episode, which was titled “The Cord,” saw the end of the murderous, troubled Norman (Freddie Highmore), who was fatally shot by Dylan (Max Theriot) when he was forced to shoot the former after being charged with a knife. In a way, Norman finally reunited with his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga), albeit in death.
Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin revealed to Variety that the ending was what they have always in mind. Ehrin told Variety, “It’s the emotional destination we always had in mind from the beginning. How we got there and the structure of the last episode was very much found. But knowing where we wanted to land, that we wanted Norman to be returned to Norma, whether that means in his mind or in the earth, that seemed like the only ending.”
Cuse said that although fans of the Alfred Hitchcock movie noticed several deviations from the original, it was somehow important for them to give to the world their own interpretation. He explained, “We felt like it would be deeply disappointing to have the show end in the same way that “Psycho” did. We borrowed these elements from the “Psycho” mythology, these two characters, and some of the iconographic imagery, but we were always telling our own story. And our own story had to have its own conclusion. We thought it was fun to weave in and out of the mythology, particularly the Marion Crane mythology but we were doing our own thing.”
Highmore, who played Norman in the series, said it felt weird to no longer play Norman. He said in a different interview with TVLine, "It certainly took a while afterwards to adjust. Norman’s [death] didn’t really bother me, although it did seem to make things much more final."
But his next words gave hope, even just a sliver, to “Bates Motel” fans who’d want the mother-son duo back. He added, "There’s no hope of coming back for another season or convincing people that we can just do a few more episodes at some point in the future," Highmore added. "I’m not sure what the Christmas reunion would look like. Maybe Norma and Norman will be on a beach in Hawaii Heaven."
