Bates Motel/Persuasion

Persuasion
Season 3, Episode 3
Airdate	March 23, 2015
Written by	Steve Kornacki & Alyson Evans
Directed by	Tim Southam
← 3x02 The Arcanum Club	3x04 → Unbreakable
Bates Motel — Season Three

Persuasion is the third episode of the third season of Bates Motel, and the twenty-third episode overall.

Starring: Vera Farmiga (Norma Bates), Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates), Max Thieriot (Dylan Massett), Olivia Cooke (Emma Decody)

with Kenny Johnson (Caleb Calhoun)

and Nestor Carbonell (Sheriff Alex Romero)

Guest Starring: Tomiwa Edun (Marcus Young), Joshua Leonard (James Finnegan), Kevin Rahm (Bob Paris), Tracy Spiridakos (Annika Johnson), Keenan Tracey (Gunner)

Also Starring: Christa Anderson (Hippie), Nick Hunnings (Deputy Walker), Florence Reiher (Student), Todd Thomson (Coroner), Eva Day (Psych Student)

Uncredited: Heidi Ford (Lindsay Davis)

Plot Overview

When another body washes up, Romero begins an investigation as his position of Sheriff is threatened. Norma tries to take a marketing class, but her fears about Norman get to him.

Notes

Music

• Tame Impala - "Elephant"

• The Specials - "A Message to You Rudy"

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Romero confronts Bob Paris concerning the dead girl found. Paris then brings up the drug war that brought the DEA into town and what might mean for his reelection. Later Romero meets Marcus Young who plans to run against him.

• Annika returns to the motel with a gunshot wound. Before she dies, she gives Norma a flashdrive.

Characters

• Norma attends community college where she meets psychology professor James Finnegan. After a rough encounter, he offers her his card if she wants to talk about her baggage. She crumples it up, but then picks it back up.

• Emma learns that Caleb is in town. She promises Dylan that she won't tell Norma or Norman.

• Caleb offers the money to pay for the wood they need, but Dylan refuses. He winds up buying it behind Dylan's back, telling that he just wanted to give him something.

• Convinced by his "Mother", Norman submerges himself into a bathtub in an attempt to remember what happened with Annika.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• When Dylan confront him, Caleb is strumming the notes to "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple on his guitar.

Memorable Moments

• Emma driving up to Dylan's property with the marijuana plants visible in her car, as she tries to conceal herself with a scarf and sunglasses.

Goofs

• When Norman splashes water on his face, some of it hits the mirror. When it cuts to another shot, the drops are gone.

Quotes

• Norman: She thinks there's something wrong with me. That I'm bad.

Emma: I don't think she thinks you're bad. I know you're not bad. And you know you're not bad, so you're not bad, right?

Norman: I don't know, Emma. If someone's always looking at you like you've done something wrong, talking to you like you've done something wrong, treating you like you've done something wrong, then you start to believe that you've done something wrong!