The 'Bates Motel' Shocker... What Will The Future Hold?

Monday’s “Bates Motel” was a game-changer for the series, a major secret coming to light:

Norman killed Norma’s second husband.

Yes, the quiet, mild-mannered Norman we were first introduced to was already a killer... though he killed out of love, and doesn't remember the incident.

Executive producer Carlton Cuse opened up about the surprise, and what the future holds for the young serial killer.

“Our goal all along has been that we don't want the show to feel predictable. We tried hard to subvert some of the expected and predicable directions that the show might go in,” Cuse explains.

“Our goal from the start was to subvert the audience's expectations about what they thought they knew about Norma and Norman Bates. By looking at Psycho, you would have thought that Norma Bates is a woman who berated and screamed at her child and eventually drove him crazy and then he became a serial killer. But what if that wasn't true? What we really learn in this episode is that Norma is trying desperately to keep Norman from becoming the guy that he might become.”

So how will Dylan react to this news? According to Cuse, Dylan is “reeling” from the shocker.

“He doesn't know what to think at this moment; he has a lot to process here… Dylan has a lot of pondering to do here. He is looking at both his brother and mother in new light. This is the kind of traumatic moment that is really compelling on television -- when character has to reassess their view of the world. It will be interesting to see how Dylan treats mother and brother. There's a definite change. Dylan and Norma, who have been really at odds with each other, are now going to find a new level of connection, which spins out in interesting ways.”

Does this news change our opinions of Norma? Cuse thinks it should…

“Going forward, we hope the audience looks at Norma more sympathetically. She's obviously been under enormous pressures here and most notably with trying to deal with Norman when she doesn't have any idea what is going to happen with him or how she desperately wants to make him better.”

Don’t worry. Plenty of the story will focus on little Norman.

“We’re not rushing headlong into Norman turning into someone who kills the guest who shows up at the motel every week. That's not an interesting version of the show for us… What exactly happens to Norman over time is interesting and compelling to us as storytellers… Right away, there are many facets and dimensions to his personality that we want to explore.”

Did you catch the episode? What did you think?