School break season is here again. Ideally, I should be studying so I can perform better after going back to school, or I could spend my break doing self-improvement hobbies like sketching, reading a book, cleaning up, or travellingโฆ However, thatโs in an ideal world. Sometimes, we all just prefer to sit back and enjoy the pleasantries of being a good old couch potato.
So, I have decided to binge-watch Bates Motel (yes, I know itโs a bit late given that the show started in 2013) ย but hey, itโs right there on top of my list of things to watch (right up there with Star Wars, Agents of SHIELD, and anyway, the list goes on, you get me).
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I finished 3 seasons in less than 3 days. (Please do not call me a weakling, I know that others can do it in less than a day โ and I know itโs possible, I did the math. Quite honestly, I could do the same, itโs just that I have a sister who somehow tries to pull me back to reality and she could get me to sleep or eat or make me realize that I would have to prepare to go to work and other things. So, thatโs why it took me a few daysโฆ and yes, I know there are two more seasons left, but weโll get there. I just think I need to get this down.)
Bates Motel is a TV series that has been airing since 2013 and has just ended this 2017 on its 5th season. It is a prequel of the classic movie Psycho, a 1960 film by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the novel with the namesake by Robert Bloch. This movie has become iconic because of the ”Shower-Stabbing Scene”.
Oh, and do not worry, binge watching Bates Motel did not turn me into a psychoโฆand hopefully, it won’t. It just made me do some things, and think of some thingsโฆ I made a list.
7 Thoughts That Occurred to Me After Binge-Watching Bates Motel
7. Freddie Highmore is a sweetheart.
Just in case it is not yet obvious, I just really have to get this out: he’s really a darling.
I have always loved Freddie Highmore. This roots back to seeing him in a number of movies while I was growing up. He has starred in films I have seen repeatedly on purpose growing up like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and in my teenage years, The Art of Getting By.
I did not realize that I had a big crush on him until after binge-watching โThe Good Doctorโ, which is also what made Bates Motel rocket to the top of my list of things to do during this Christmas break.
[K-Drama โThe Good Doctorโ Will Get a US Remake and the Trailer is Here!]
Itโs like heโs just right there lingering while I was growing up, just waiting when the right time comesโฆlike now, Iโm already 22 years old, and heโs 25. Weโre in the same age bracket and I think we may have accomplished quite a few things and would now be ready to date.
Kidding aside, watching him on Bates Motel made me fangirl over him a lot. Iโve actually been obsessing over him a little by reading Wikipedia articles and watching his interviews on YouTube โ maybe a bit too much that I may know more details about him than he would remember himself. Like a crazy stalker, you know… I suppose we’ve all been there.
6. Freddie Highmore deserves more awards.
I’m not saying he doesn’t already have, but boy, the man deserves an Emmy.
See, the way Freddie portrayed Norman Bates is equally amazing as it is terrifying, especially when he snaps to becoming Norma, his mother, played by Vera Farmiga (you may recognize her as Mrs. Warren from the horror film The Conjuring).
So, going back to Freddie darling, heโs really good at portraying socially challenged characters, which could make the audience (or perhaps myself,) wonder what he is like in person. Like, he seems to be a really interesting individual.
Moving onโฆ
5. It kind of made me start calling my mom “Mother”.
It made me call my mom โMotherโ in the tone of Norman Bates. If you havenโt heard how Norman Bates says it, I highly suggest watching at least one episode, so you can get what I mean.
I used to call her โMaโ or โMommyโ, but I donโt know. thereโs just something strangely satisfying about calling her โMotherโ. Not only that; my sister does now, too. And after doing so, we have quite a diabolic laugh after. You know, it just comes in character.
4.ย I should probably watch Psycho.
The TV Series is based on the aforementioned movie. It was developed as a prequel, which gives the viewers a peek into the curtains of Norman Batesโ history. Not to mention, my father mentioned that I should see the movie because it is very intriguing, and the original is still in black and white. He said that the ending is not something that one would expect. So, taking a hint from my old man, I guess Iโll be seeing the movie or its remake this weekend.
3.ย Does it really make a person pass out instantly if you hit them hard with something rock-solid at the back of their head?
This happened quite a lot in the TV series. Quite frankly, not just in this series, but in so many scenes in other movies and TV shows. I hope that this statement does not make you think less of me, and my understanding of what a body is physically capable of. This actually comes from an experience of mine where I hit my head pretty hard. I was still very conscious after that incidentโฆ a bit light-headed, yes, but I didnโt pass out.
Maybe there just wasn’t enough pressure, so I didnโt end up fainting, or my skull could just have been built to withstand a heavy hitting. But anyway, it just makes you wonder, you know, if itโs a 10 out of 10 chances of passing out, or what the odds are? Or, what is the spot that would make the person youโre hitting really pass out? Is there a specific point of the head that you aim to knock them out?
Iโm only thinking this in the same manner that you would think how true it is for a person to be knocked out instantly after covering their nose with a cloth with chloroform in it (which, by the way, also happened in one of the episodes in Bates Motel.) I just remembered, in one research conducted, it was disproved that making a person smell chloroform would instantly knock them out; it takes about five minutes tops.
Also, I wonder if they have tried this head-hitting-instantly-knocking-out-scene in Mythbusters. I just havenโt seen an episode where theyโve done this, if ever there was one.
2.ย This is a very dark story.
I had already indulged too deep in the story before realizing how truly dark it was to withdraw and stop watching it. Itโs very interesting, and you would really look forward to what happens next, so you really canโt go on watching one episode without waiting for the next. Itโs not like a typical suspense thriller that you can easily predictโฆ well, some of it really is predictable, like you know how when you see a character at the beginning of a story and you say โOh, this character is going to die,โ like that. But not with what happens to Norman Bates.
Growing up, I really could not bear watching horror or suspense shows, especially gruesome ones. Bates Motel isnโt entirely gruesome, but the story, when you think about it, could somehow flip your guts over. I would not go into detail, but the story involves a lot of killing, some incest and a lot of psychotic thoughtsโฆso you get what I mean when I say that Bates Motelโs story is very dark. If you still havenโt, then just see one episode if you may.
1. Binge-watching is not too healthy.
Now I understand why Bates Motel ran its course from 2013 to 2017. More than procrastination, I can understand why itโs not healthy to binge watchโฆ although realizing this doesnโt stop me from doing it.
The way I see it, binge watching may somehow turn you into the character that youโre watching. Look at how, for lack of a better word, the K-drama marathoners speak, even though they do not converse in Korean, the way they speak and their expressions sound Korean. And it shows too even in those who watch a lot of animeโ. See, what we watch could manifest in how we live our daily lives. So, binge watching a psychotic character may somehow manifest with an audienceโs personality, in this case, my self. But what can I do? Even if heโs a psycho, how can you resist a face like Freddie Highmore’s?