Obsessed TV Report Card: Bates Motel

And Vera Farmiga's Norma reminds me less of the film's classic mother figure than she does Amy from Gone Girl, give or take a decade. She's beautiful, manipulative, ruthless, and irresistible.

Bates Motel isn't perfect—Freddie Highmore is darling, but he and everybody else on-screen (as well as the writing) are gonna have to step it up to keep up with Vera's exquisite performance. Still, I'll definitely give it another episode or two—not least because I spotted, in the season preview, the adorable Max Theriot as Norman's older brother.

Oh, and for my fellow wussies out there, a quick word on the frightening quotient. If American Horror Story is a 10 on the scary scale, Bates Motel is a 7. While there's plenty of blood and graphic murder and rape scenes in the pilot alone, the pilot keeps things pretty tight when it comes to showing gore and hair-raising visuals. Of course, I can't vouch for the rest of the series—I assume there's nowhere to go but bloodier, so we'll see.

Overall, I'm giving Bates Motel a solid B—or this murderous kitty, a feline Norma if there ever was one:

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Did you watch Bates Motel? Whadja think?

Photo: A&E