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‘Bates Motel’ Freddie Highmore Talks About Norman Bates’ Fate, ‘ There Was No Other Way It Could End’

By Chrissie Williams
Published on: 06:08 PST, Apr 28, 2017

Bates Motel ended its five-season run on Monday, April 24. Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates) spoke with IGN and revealed his thoughts on Norman’s final confrontation with Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell), Emma’s (Olivia Cooke) relationship with Norman, and if Dylan (Max Thieriot) meant to kill his brother.

If you haven’t seen the season finale of Bates Motel, proceed with caution! Spoilers Ahead.

Freddie explains that the saddest part, for him, was when Dylan said his dream was for Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman to be healthy and alive. He wanted them to meet his daughter and be a part of his life. But, he added that wasn’t possible.

Highmore said the saddest part of this was that Dylan’s dream was Norman and Norma’s dream, too. They all wanted the same thing, but Norman’s mental illness completely derailed everything.

“That’s not just the tragedy of Norman and Norma, but Dylan as well. He wanted to be there with them, but it just didn’t work out,” Freddie said. “But if you look at it all as a love story between Norman and Norma, this was the happy end. It was the only way it could end. ”

“They had to be reunited and this was the only way for that to happen. I think though that the last scene had so many great beats in it that it summed up what Bates Motel was always about. Dylan’s expression of his desires, but also Norman when he said: “If you believe hard enough, you can make it that way.” That line seemed so key to me and so heartbreaking because that’s what he believed.”

Freddie believes that the take away from Norma and Norman is that sometimes love isn’t enough. There’s no doubt in the Bates Motel fans’ minds that Norma loved her son, but her love wasn’t enough to fix his complex mental issues.

“Emma’s last moment was with Mother instead of being with Norman, but in a way, it brought her closer to Norman than a conversation with Norman ever could,” Highmore explained.

In the end, the 25-year-old star believes that Emma came to terms with her mother’s death and forgave Norman.

Highmore added that Romero and Norman’s relationship would never have been friendly. They both wanted what the other had —a close relationship to Norma. Alex and Norma shared something really special, but her relationship with Norman would have never allowed them a happily ever after ending.

Freddie said that he doesn’t believe that Norman was insane when Dylan showed up at the house. Yes, he was “kind of” crazy, but he did have a few lucid moments.

“It’s that question of whether to not he knew what he was doing or if he did it by choice or if it was an act of self-defense. To me, it was a very active decision on his part, to choose to kill Norman in that moment because he knew that’s all that was left.”

One of the moments was when he told his brother he cannot live without Norma, and he chooses to believe she is still here.

“But ultimately we get to know that he’s not as insane as we thought,” Freddie said. “When Dylan starts pushing him, we start to see the cracks appear in this vision that Norman’s created.”

“The one that he’s subscribed to. So we see that he knows deep down what he’s doing. That it’s this performance that he’s subscribed to. He knows it’s not real. It’s not the reality that’s in front of him. That’s what’s interesting to me about the ending.”

Bates Motel fans, do you think Dylan planned to kill Norman? Do you think Norman was insane or just a dreamer?

Bates Motel aired the Season 5 finale on Monday, April 24 on A&E.

[Featured Image Cate Cameron/Gettys Images]

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