"Bates Motel" Final season - the best bits

This frustratingly inconsistent show is going out in style.

• Episode 1's opening sequence was masterly, thanks to writer/producer Kerry Ehrin (eps 2-5  have different writers). There's even a shower curtain reference, with tongue firmly in cheek.
•  The show is at its best when Norma and Norman duke it out (e.g. the scene in the woods with them both brandishing flashlights).
• Chick's viking funeral in Episode 3 was just plain weird. No kimono needed.
• The cheerily lit Bates house with dining room table elegantly set for dinner, contrasting with the reality of Norman's squalid existence.
• Marion Crane (Rhianna) walks past a sign for real estate: "R. A. Bloch" (shout out to the original novel by Robert Bloch).
• Episode 6 was a clever reinterpretation of  key "Psycho" scenes. Not a dud scene. The series most consistent episode. Respectful of its source material, then improving upon it. Producers Ehrin and Cuse scripted this episode. Note: "Sam Loomis" was John Gavin's character in the original movie.
• Episode 7 (scripted by Freddie Highmore) demonstrates Highmore's black sense of humour (see early scenes - bathroom clean-up and dumping Loomis in the well: "Make a wish").
• The intrepid sheriff (Brooke Smith - so good in "Ray Donovan") has some great scenes with Norman in Episode 8.
• Episode 9 had one decent scene - Emma visiting Norman in jail - the rest was tedious padding.
• Episode 10's climax was more like a Greek tragedy. Max Thieriot acted his socks off. The dinner table scene was truly macabre. The show went out in style. (Small gripe: If you were Emma - 30 mins into episode - wouldn't you ignore Dylan and ring the police yourself?)

Things I liked about "Bates Motel" Season 3

• Norma's mugging of the camera - extended reaction times/frozen expressions (usually after one of Norman's revelations/confessions).
• Norman's facial expressions are getting creepier (Highmore is metamorphosing into Tony Perkins episode by episode).
• It ALWAYS rains in White Pine Bay - adds to its gothic charm 
• The nutty/evil hippy/psycho (Dylan's dad's neighbour in Episode 2)
• It's much better (and funnier) than Season 2 (e.g. the wifi password at the motel is MOTHER)
• The moody Bernard Herrmann-inspired musical score (particularly effective during Norman's interview with the sheriff in Episode 3).
• Emma in her VW/ganja-mobile to the strains of The Specials' "A Message to you, Rudy".
• Norman in another creepy bathroom scene (towards the end of Episode 3).
• The family dynamics are deeper in this season (e.g. Norman's resentment/jealousy of Dylan in Episode 4).
• The script writers have beefed up Olivia Cooke's character, Emma. She  is sexier and gutsier in Season 3. It's funny that both Cooke and Highmore are English.
• Episode 5 was the strongest ep since early in Season 1. Norman sniffing mom's dress, Norma's rant about White Pine Bay about 2/3 into the episode. More please.
• Norman being mom making French toast for Dylan in Episode 6 (the best eps so far seem to be written by series co-creator, Kerry Ehrin)
• A tender scene with Dylan and Emma: "Sorry I got phlegm on the floor."
• Episode 7: Norman's chat with the psychologist in the basement. Probably not a great idea to conclude the session by strangling the therapist.
• The way Norman (Freddie Highmore) breathes heavier as he gets more unhinged.
• The view from Dylan's shack, across the water to mist-shrouded mountains - reminiscent of New Zealand's "Top of the Lake".
• The season finale was disappointing except for the inspired final few minutes: Bradley's murder, "Mother, what have you done!", the slowly submerging car (a nod to "Psycho" where Norman pushes Marion Crane's car into the swamp).