Caleb (Kenny Johnson) is in town! Don’t know who that is? Well, it’s Norma’s beloved brother who she said raped her continuously as a child. Can’t wait to see the fireworks fly between those two. Hopefully we will see that in this episode. Anyways, episode three begins with Emma (Olivia Cooke) bringing news of the “suicide” of Bradley (Nicola Peltz) to Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman (Freddie Highmore). Norman plays it off, but Emma actually seems upset.
Later, Norma goes to see if she was cast in the community theater’s stage play of “South Pacific.” She wasn’t and the casting director, Christine Heldens (Rebecca Creskoff), was so pissed off about it, she quit. She demands Norma gets a drink with her. It is only 11am, but what else are you going to do in White Pine Bay? Um, I know… run a motel! I can’t help but wonder who is running this motel that Norma is so concerned about. I haven’t seen one scene of her in the motel this season! Over their second drink, Christine tells Norma she finds her to be one of the most interesting people around. Norma seems startled by this sudden interest.
Meanwhile, Norma’s brother, Caleb, shows up at Bates Motel and runs into Dylan (Max Thieriot). He tells Dylan that he is Norma’s brother, which is shocking news to Dylan. It appears Norma never let Dylan in on her familial secret.
When Norma arrives home and sees Caleb in her house, she freaks out and throws him out in a fury, but doesn’t even tell Dylan why. Later, she tells Norman about her brother and he freaks out on her, but she tells him that he is gone now. Freaking out might be a genetic thing in the Bates Family. Unlike Norma, Norman did get a part in the musical, but he doesn’t want to do it without his mother. He goes down to the theatre to quit, but runs into grocery store clerk turned tech stage hand, the witty and sarcastic Cody (Paloma Kwiatkowski). She flirts more with Norman and urges him to join the tech crew as its the only option left to do during the summer in the boring town of White Pine Bay.
Meanwhile, Dylan runs into Caleb again. He hasn’t left town. Surprise, surprise. They talk and Dylan tries to figure out why Norma is so mad at him. Caleb spews a story about how his and Norma’s father used to abuse them both, and she’s mad because he let it happen. Dylan can’t believe it!
Norman decides joining tech crew is a good idea, so he informs his mother. She argues at first, but relents. Emma stops by to let them know she is throwing a memorial service for Bradley at the beach. Norma then receives a call from Christine inviting her to a garden party. She is relentless in her quest to hang out with Norma and show her the “real” White Pine Bay. She doesn’t take no for an answer!
Meanwhile, in the drug-related family feud plot line, Zane is angry because the Ford family killed two of their men in retaliation for his murder of that kid last week. Dylan and Remo bury the bodies, and I bury any interest in this plot. Dylan returns home to see Norma getting dressed suggestively. He apologizes for letting Caleb inside the house and asks to know more about what happened, but she still doesn’t tell him.
Norma and Norman both go out to different “parties” and interact with new people. Norma goes to Christine’s swanky house. We find out Christine is married to an older man and that she has a brother, George (Michael Vartan, looking super OLD!), who is recently single. Christine is trying to set-up Norma with George. Norman goes to Bradley’s memorial, which much to Emma’s dismay, has turned into a beer-raging party on the beach. Norman runs into Cody and some guy named Philip who proceed to make out next to him. Things gets weird when Philip starts grabbing Norman’s leg suggestively. Both Cody and Philip thought Norman was gay, but he angrily tells Cody he is not. He walks her home and she sneaks back through her bedroom window.
Norma, meanwhile, makes the acquaintance of a man while waiting for her car. He praises her for her courtroom antics and tells her he, too, is opposed to the bypass, but he can’t talk about it in an open forum. Norma is excited to have someone on her side and asks if they can meet later to talk about it. He gives her his card: Nick Ford. Ford? Oh no, isn’t the Ford family on the opposing side of the drug war? Drama! A love interest and secretive ally? Good news for Norma.
Oh, and at Bradley’s memorial/beer party, Emma gets super drunk and upset, saying she still doesn’t like Bradley (I’m with you, girl), and decides to make “bad” decisions, which for Emma means flirting with some guy who tried to sell her weed and then vomiting. Live your life, Emma!
Dylan meets with Caleb one last time and Caleb asks Dylan to give him eleven thousand dollars so that he can buy property at a deal from these people in Costa Rica. After hearing his sob story, Dylan agrees to fork over the cash. Oh, Dylan…
Back at home, Dylan tells Norma he knows the “truth” about what happened to her. Norma says he is wrong and then tells Dylan that her brother raped her over and over for years. She just keeps shouting it, but he doesn’t believe her. Norma pushes Dylan and tells him to leave her house. Norman comes in at this exact moment and starts beating on Dylan. Everyone is screaming and yelling. Norma keeps saying “he can’t help it.” And then Norma drops a shocking revelation: Caleb is Dylan’s father. Incest baby!!! Ahhh!!
Thank you, Bates Motel, for finally getting to the creepy at the end of this episode. What did you guys think about the revelation about Dylan’s father? Things are weird and I like it! Comment below and let me know what you thought of the episode! Next week’s episode looks exciting. Finally, Bates Motel is picking up steam!
Bates Motel airs Mondays @ 10/9c on A&E. Watch full episodes online on AETV.com, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and Hulu Plus.