Bates Motel s05e99 Episode Script

The lights have gone dim at Bates Motel, and Norma and Norman Bates have landed in their final resting place, together for eternity, as they were always meant to be.
In many ways, I figured the show would have to end - the way it did.
- And cut! Now it's time for reflection.
"Bates Motel" has been, really, the most incredible experience.
Gonna miss the episodes coming out and hearing everyone's reactions.
Tonight, we celebrate "Bates Motel.
" I think it was born out of the storytelling of "Psycho," but without doing "Psycho.
" We've assembled the cast and producers to look back on their five-year journey.
Am I gonna miss playing Norma? I played the [bleep.]
out of Norma.
Hands down been one of the best experiences - I've ever had.
- Narrator: And answer the fans' biggest questions about tonight's emotional conclusion.
My reaction when I read the final script was one of closure.
We'll also explore the phenomenon that was "Bates Motel" through the superfan's perspective, revisit cherished moments from the past Remember when we used to have sleepovers when we were little and we'd watch movies in my room? And of course, everybody's favorite: the bloopers.
So sit back, dry your eyes, and grab a slice of turkey pot pie.
This is "Bates Motel: The Checkout.
" Taking on "Bates Motel" was a huge risk because none of the other attempts to do stuff in this world had worked.
Initially, I was like, I don't know.
This is scary territory going into this world.
But when I read the first episode, I was like, man, I'm in, this is extraordinary.
It was such a great playground.
The instinct was always to go through "Psycho," come out on the other side of it, end it differently, and have it go off in a different direction.
The more we talked about it, the more convinced we became that this was a risk worth taking, that there was a cool show here, and that we could make something special.
You gotta be willing to risk it sometimes if you want to do something exciting and different.
Good morning, honey.
Come on and eat.
It's off-beat, it's unique.
It's one of a kind.
And it's bold.
We definitely thought more about Hitchcock this season because we were crossing so closely into the mythology of the original movie, so we were aware of Hitchcock's presence.
He was always looming around in the back there.
I love that it paid homage to Hitchcock's amazing work.
I assumed that the show would end when "Psycho" began, and I really love the fact that they're not sticking to that timeline in any way, shape, or form.
You are charged with three counts of murder in the first degree.
And that they've gone past the film.
Veering away from "Psycho" challenged the expectations.
I think it was interesting the way that "Psycho" and "Bates Motel" interacted this season, seeing those moments that you don't get to see in "Psycho.
" What is Norman doing when he's up there in his house talking to Mother? I made you up.
I made all of this up.
You kind of only see it from afar in "Psycho," so it was interesting to see "Psycho" played out, but from a completely different perspective.
Romero's demise was part of the overall tragedy of our story.
It was frustrating that I didn't get a chance to finish the job.
But by the same token, I think it was fitting, hard as it is for me to say, that he killed Romero at the end of the first act.
It was great to For him to get his comeuppance.
You killed your own mother.
I think if Romero hadn't come along, then, you know, maybe they could've been living happily ever after in life, as opposed to in death.
I wonder what Nestor said about doing the final scene with me.
I remember sitting there in the grave with the opaque dead lenses on, and I couldn't see anything, and Nestor and Freddie were just talking crap about me.
It's like kindergartners, man, they just pick on me.
They're really mean to me, and there's only one explanation: they both have insane crushes on me, and don't know how to handle it.
Good morning, honey.
It's a beautiful day out.
- Mother? - I think Norman wakes up and thinks that he's back in the time of the Of the pilot, highlighting Norman's happiness and ease and excitement, just plays into his insanity.
We wanted the audience to feel sympathy for him even as they understood how troubled he was.
Changing up the reality was a way to kinda get us inside Norman's head and help the audience understand what he was experiencing.
Open your eyes.
In his crazed brain, he was trying to make a do-over, to do it again, and do it right this time.
- What do you think? - There's a dark humor.
I mean, I feel like sometimes we're working on a comedy with "Bates Motel.
" This is crazy, Mom.
I feel like those moments of Norman's insanity are just inherently very, very funny.
They were great fun to play, just being covered in blood and dragging a dead body up the stairs and thinking that's entirely normal.
Norman was boxed into a corner by the end of this story and he was not equipped to spend his life in a prison or a mental institution.
I think he saw death as the best path.
- Put down the knife.
- I think what's interesting about that moment at the end is Whether it's a conscious decision on Dylan's part to pull the trigger and to kill Norman, or whether it's purely an act of self defense.
This is how it ends, isn't it? I probably would err on the side that Dylan assumes the responsibility of taking his brother's life, knowing that that's what he truly wants and that is the only way that Norman and his mother can be reunited.
- Thank you.
- I think that the end is something that Dylan has done out of compassion, in a way.
It was the only thing he could do in that moment.
It's a mercy killing.
If you think about Romeo and Juliet, for instance, it's a sad ending, but there's kind of a beauty to it.
We hope that the audience sees that Norman got the best ending he could have hoped for.
Emma and Dylan are then off living happily ever after, but so are Norman and Norma.
They're living happily ever after, just on some other plane.
You know, the ending is hopeful, but at the same time, that kid is gonna grow up with questions one day.
What was Granny like? Coming up next, the fans have questions and the cast has answers.
Get the inside story of what the cast was really like when the cameras stopped rolling, and how their lives have changed since they first arrived in White Pine Bay.
When "Bates Motel: The Checkout" continues.
From the moment viewers were introduced to "Bates Motel," fans took to social media to find out everything they could about the actors that brought this dark world to life.
Tonight, we answer some of their biggest questions.
I don't know.
I'm intrigued to see what other people say about me.
Freddie was always very chatty on the set.
He's a talker.
He loves to talk.
Yap, yap, yap, yap.
I mean, he's not quiet.
We're looking for ways to stay warm, you know, so it was how many heat pads you could throw on your body.
It was a lot of teasing.
They were so close and so connected.
They were just always kind of laughing and joking there was so much love between them and it was just so fun to be a part of that.
We all get along very well in real life.
If I'm so damn crazy, get the hell out of my car! Yes.
We're just thick as thieves.
We're hand in gloves.
Freddie and I will always share the holy bond of family.
- He's a best friend.
- It's sort of surprising because you think after five years that there must have been some people who were just, you know, annoying, but there weren't.
We just clicked.
We clicked as friends.
We're still talking to each other.
We're texting almost every day.
I don't know.
Freddie's nickname for me was Big Daddy for a while, so, you know, I mean, I suppose if you think about it, Kerry and I were sort of the mom and dad of the show.
Sometimes I was the mother.
I play the highly dysfunctional dad.
There's no question about it.
Surprise! Show running to me feels a little bit parental.
I want everyone to play well together.
- Who's the mother on set? - Uh Well, it has to be Vera.
There's no question.
I mean, you know, hands down.
Okay, tough guy, whatever.
She's also a phenomenal cook.
I'm sure there's lots of things that people don't know about us.
But that's kind of good.
I feel like that's that's all right.
I'm not sure the audience understands just what a genius Freddie Highmore is.
Freddie Highmore was a chess champion of England at ten years old.
I know, it makes you want to throw up.
I think he was, like, first or second in all the land.
Or England or something.
He can speak flawless Spanish and Arabic.
I speak nine languages, including Malagasy.
- I don't know what this means, but he was a double first at Cambridge, which is probably like valedictorian, so another reason to throw up.
My theory is that he's actually a spy for MI6, but he refuses to confirm that.
We watched Freddie grow up on screen.
When he starts this show, he's a young teenage boy, and by the end of the show, he's a man.
- I'm Emma.
- Norman Bates.
It's strange to have that footage of when you're 18 and first job, and not really knowing what to do with yourself or your arms or your hands, or you're very stiff.
My life is very different now.
I guess it's maybe most noticeable with Max.
- Hey, Mom.
- You know, over the course of the show, he's got married, and now has a little boy, and that's incredible to sort of see someone whose life has completely been changed by these events that have gone on in the background.
I need glasses now to read the call sheet, which I have to push back to here.
Maybe I've five pounds heavier, not much.
I think everybody was very emotional about the show coming to an end.
I think maybe Freddie.
God, he whined about it.
For weeks, for, like, the last three weeks.
"I can't believe it's over! I can't believe it!" Kerry has invested so much time and energy and love and poured everything into, you know, creating this world over the last few years.
I just miss everybody.
I mean, that's really Really all it is.
It's like, you want to be able to get together with your friends and play.
And they all moved.
The first time that I saw the cut-together scene of Norman's death in the editing room, I was really struck with, oh, wow, this is over.
And even though we'd gone through it on the white boards in the writers room and in outline and in script, it was still Still really was a powerful experience to realize that this moment that we'd imagined almost six years earlier had finally come to pass.
It was very gut-wrenching.
I don't think that moment's come yet.
Maybe it's tonight.
Maybe the final episode airing is the time when you kind of realize that it's all gone.
I think the last night of filming when I went back to the hotel and I sat out on the balcony, and I did cry.
And I and that was kind of my, "This is it" moment.
It was it was done.
It was over.
It was time to go home.
Coming up next, the "Bates Motel" fan is unlike any other show's fan on TV.
We take a look at their devotion, creativity, and passion, and find out how "Bates Motel" touched their lives when "Bates Motel: The Checkout" continues.
"Bates Motel" fans are among the most rabid fans on the internet.
It's also not surprising that they're the most creative as well.
And their devotion to Norma and Norman: unconditional.
Bates fanbase are hands down the best.
- I think we have amazing fans.
- "Bates Motel!" People who are drawn to the show have a similarity in how they think, a little bit, or how they perceive life.
with such clamor and enthusiasm and support.
That's who you make the story for.
It's super rewarding.
We're also kind of doing it in a bubble, you know, we're not interacting with fans on a daily basis.
I've been watching since the very first episode, so, like, five years ago.
Wow, I was really young then.
I think what draws me in is that there is both a realism and a fantasy.
I fell in love with, like, everything.
The house is beautiful.
I love the way Norma dresses.
The first scene with Norma and Norman from the first season had me hooked right away.
Yeah, our fans are incredibly creative.
I think that "Bates" fans have the most beautiful creative empathy, but I think it's a natural magnetism.
I made this painting using oil paints.
It kind of shows how Norman is like Norma, and he kind of becomes her.
I love the fact that someone just took their evening and was like, I'm going to sketch a picture of Norma because I'm feeling so much about Norma I want to sketch it.
How can you not love that? Every Monday night, I have a group chat called the Bates Squad.
We're all really big Norma fans.
We're like, "Norman's at it again.
" I'm not letting you leave this house! I actually do root for Norman Bates, even though, you know, he does kill people.
It's like a love/hate relationship, I guess.
But also, I love him because of his, like, sweet side, and he's so smart and caring.
He's not actually all bad.
He's just messed up.
You know, he has issues.
I'd say Norma is my favorite character.
- Norma.
- Mother.
Norma is definitely my favorite.
The character is just so strong and she's so, like, emotionally interesting.
We came here to start over.
I am starting over! I think my favorite Norma moment is when she sings for the theater.
And she does a cabaret song.
"Maybe This Time.
" I cried.
It was so breathtaking.
It was terrifying filming that scene.
I was scared.
My throat was closing up.
I would say that Dylan and Emma have a very healthy, loving relationship.
I'm definitely a more Team Normero.
- Cheers.
- To the end.
I don't care who's dead or alive they're together.
You know, the sweetest tweet I think I've gotten from fans is a lot of people want me to be their dad.
He's a badass.
Now that you really know Romero, he's kind of a messed up dad.
I would personally end the show with Marion Crane surviving.
I would probably have the ending turn out to be Norman getting help, just because I don't know, I just want everything to be okay for him.
I would I would bring Norma back.
Maybe we can not have her die.
That would be great! A family brought together and it's all just happy in the end.
"Bates" has touched my life in an immeasurable way.
One of my favorite shows of all time.
It's like nothing I've ever seen on TV before.
Thank you guys so much for putting on this show together.
It has brought me and my friends together all over the world.
You guys have really, really inspired me as an artist.
It actually got me a girlfriend.
So thank you so much.
Really sad to see it go, but thank you so much for giving this gift to us.
I just love the show, and I wish you guys all the best luck in your future endeavors.
And I hope that everything will be okay in the finale.
But thank you all.
It's all gonna be good.
You'll see.
Coming up next, from the risks it took to take on Hitchcock to becoming a phenomenon in its own right, we take a look back with all the bloopers that happened along the way when "Bates Motel: The Checkout" continues.
"Bates Motel" was an amazing experience because right from the very beginning, Kerry Ehrin and I wanted to do five seasons of the show, and we were very fortunate to get to execute our plan.
It felt very satisfying to be able to write to an end.
Right after the pilot aired and we started getting good feedback on it, that was the moment in which I thought, "Oh, this could actually really connect.
" It was exciting to see that people had embraced it.
You know, you poured your heart and soul into something and you want, you know, other people to like it too.
We all had a vision that the show would have a humanity to it, humor, that it would weirdly be a fun world to hang out in.
That's a high bar for a show about a serial killer.
What have I done? And I think that we accomplished that.
We have fostered something so unique and so special and heartfelt.
I don't know how to describe it.
It's I'm heady.
It's been one of the best rides of my life.
The friendships that are forged in the last five years with the cast, the crew, the writers, it was a really amazing, personal, and creative experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
It's been an incredible ride.
What a journey.
I think I'm still in denial that it's all over, actually.
Um, you're supposed to only take three things? Really? Gagging? This is great.
I already said I would.
Not.
Like Dr.
Palmer? Are you British all of a sudden? Dr.
Palmer? Look, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't really important.
Ooh! Ow! We're doing great.
Sorry, this [bleep.]
baby.
Get back.
I love you, Norman.
You're the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I love you too, Mom.
Norma and Norman? Yeah.
That's unusual.
Good-bye "Bates Motel" fans.
It was really a Incredible experience.
Gently squeeze it, okay, Mom? Did you see that? Son of a bitch.
You called me "Mom.
" - What? - Yeah.
Thank you so much for caring about the show that has meant so much to me.
We did that.
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, Mother.
- We owe you a world of gratitude for your loyalty and for the love you have for the show and for these crazy characters.
Norman I love you more than anything on this earth or in heaven.
Oh, sweetheart.
Thank you for all the encouragement, all the enthusiasm.
It's been so meaningful to us.
This isn't good-bye.
This is just until next time.
Can't thank you enough for sticking with us for five seasons.
I feel like this isn't really good-bye.
There's gotta be more.
There's more somewhere.
I don't think I'm willing to say good-bye yet.
Thank you so much for watching.
Thank you so much and sweet dreams.
Thanks for being with the show since day one.
All the best.
Thank you.
To family and friends.
Cheers.