'Bates Motel' Season 1, Episode 1: 'First You Dream, Then You Die' (Pilot) Recap

“Bates Motel”, season 1, episode 1, “First You Dream, Then You Die”

Young Norman Bates wakes up and stumbles out of his room. He walks down the hall and spots of photograph of his mom and dad on their wedding day. In a frenzy, he seeks out his mom and dad. He finds the kitchen empty, pots boiling on the stove, and he finds his dad’s corpse in the garage.

In a panic, Norman runs to find his mom, and finally finds her in the bathroom, fresh out of the shower. He tells her to go to the garage, where he laments his father. His mom doesn’t seem too sad. She hugs her son, cradles him, and apologizes.

Six months later, they pack up their stuff and move out to a little motel along the coast. She asks what he thinks, and he says it’s crazy. But she’s dead set on running the little motel, and is eager to show Norman their new (iconic) house behind the motel.

She gives him a quick tour, telling him to imagine the house without all the crap in it. Then she shows him his new room, right next door to hers. She tells him this is their perfect chance to start over.

Later that evening, he unloads the car and glances up towards the house and spots his mom undressing near the window.

The next day, he waits for the bus listening to classic music (on his… iPhone…) when a group of teenage girls start to question him. One of their friends pulls up in a convertible, and they drag Norman along, getting really chummy with him. One girl even programs her phone number into his iPhone. (I thought this was a prequel?).

At the home, Norma gets a call (on her… iPhone…) from Norman’s older brother Dylan. He isn’t too happy that Norma and Norman moved without telling him. The last time they spoke, though, he told her to drop dead, so she’s not too thrilled to talk to him. He asks her for some money, and she hangs up on him.

In school, Norman can’t take his eyes off his new lady friend. His English teacher, Ms. Watson, asks him to stay after class, and she introduces herself as his new advisor. She is impressed with his test scores, but not his grades, so she asks about his home life. He says that his mom is a bit impulsive, so they move a lot. His teacher urges him to get involved and lay out some roots, and tells him to go for track. As he gets up, she lays her hand on his and apologizes for the loss of his Dad, and says she’s there if he needs her. He’s not very comfortable with the contact.

He gets home later that night to find Norma waiting for him in the kitchen, dinner set out, flowers, and a burning candle. She questions where he’s been, and he tells her, and asks to sign a permission slip for him to join the track team. She gets super passive aggressive and signs the form, and says that she’ll do all the work at the motel herself, just like she always does. She tells him to eat his dinner, and she leaves.

The next day, a drunken man approaches Norman as he does some chores outside. He says that they’re on his family’s property, and he’s angry at both of them. Norma intervenes and says she bought it from the bank. He loses his cool, which triggers Norma to threaten him if he ever steps foot on the property again. He storms off, and Norman asks if it was wise to threaten him like that, and she tells him that the man is just a drunken loser and to not worry.

Later that night, as Norman does his homework, the group of girls from earlier show up at his door and ask Norma if Norman can go to the library with them and study. She says that he’s busy with unpacking and he’ll have to reschedule. She sends them away. Once inside, Norman loses his cool with his mom. They get into a verbal fight, and he locks himself in his room.

In his room, he texts Bradley (the girl) and tells her to wait for him at the bus stop, and he sneaks out of his window, a two story drop. He catches up to them, and Bradley laughs, calling him cute since he thought they were actually going to study. Instead, she takes him to a house party.

He’s like a fish out of water, and wanders around the party in awe. He has a beer, and secludes himself in the kitchen. He watches all the other kids, mainly Bradley. She spots him, and starts talking to him. They hit it off, and she says that he’s different than all the other guys. They lean in to kiss, but are interrupted by Bradley’s friend Richard. He introduces him to Norman, and the goes off with him.

Back at the house, Norma hears a noise outside. She goes to investigate and finds the drunken former owner of the house. He forces his way inside and attacks her. She grabs a knife and screams for Norman. The man kicks her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. He pulls out a box cutter and pins her to the ground, putting duct tape over her mouth to stop her from screaming. He handcuffs her to the kitchen table, and pulls down her underwear, telling her that everything inside the house belongs to him.

He pulls down his pants and spreads her legs and starts to have his way with her, but Norman, returning home, hits him in the head with an iron. Norma pulls the tape from her mouth and tells him to look for a key. He finds one and uncuffs her. She takes the cuffs and locks up the man. She sends Norman to get the first aid kit when the man comes to. He taunts Norma, so she violently stabs him to death with a knife.

Norman returns to find her still stabbing him. He panics and says they need to call 9-1-1. She refuses because the news would become public and ruin their reputation, and more importantly, the motel’s reputation. Then she asks where he was, and he tells her about the party. She says that it’s going to be okay, and they’ll dispose of the body.

They use all the sheets from the motel to mop up the blood, and they struggle to carry the body and stick it in a motel bathtub. On the way, they drop the body on the carpet, and it leaves a blood stain. She says they have to pull up the carpet in all the rooms, and tell anyone who asks that they are just renovating.

Under one of the carpets, Norman finds a sketchbook filled with erotic drawings.

The police show up as they are pulling the carpet, and Norma goes out to talk to them. They ask why she’s renovating at 2 in the morning. They also ask what happened to her hand. She says she knicked it when they were pulling up carpet. The sheriff asks to see inside, and she lets them in. The sheriff then asks to use the bathroom (containing the dead man), and she tries to tell him the toilet is broken, but he insists. He uses the restroom, and they leave.

The next day at school, Norman notices some blood on his shoe and gets sick. A girl approaches and offers him a mint to calm his stomach. She reveals she has CF, so she’s an expert on puking. She introduces herself as Emma, and asks if he’s okay. He says he is.

While shopping in town, Norma sees a flyer for the new bypass route they are planning to build, which would route traffic away from her motel. She’s not pleased.

That night, they dispose of the dead man. They shove him in their trunk and drive out to the lake. They row a boat to the middle of it, and toss him overboard. She tells Norman about the bypass, and that no one will come to the motel. She says she’s a terrible mother, and that she wanted him to have a beautiful life. He tells her that she’s his everything, and he can’t live in a world without her in it. She says she loves him.

Later on, the “Seafairer Motel” sign is being taken down, and Norma oversees a new sign being put up.

In his room, Norman reads through the sketchbook he found, and notices that it has women tied up and being injected with various things. His mom interrupts and shows him the new sign for the motel. “Bates Motel”. She tells him that she’ll make sure that they don’t build the bypass, and that the only important thing is that they’re together.

Cut to a woman in a dimly lit room, chained to the floor. A man injects something into her needle-marked arm.