Bates Motel Season 2

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

The ten episodes contained in Season Two of “Bates Motel” continue the gripping storylines, superb acting and excellent production values set by the opening season of this bizarre, yet captivating modern day take of the original Hitchcock masterpiece, “Psycho”.
Flawlessly cast as the beguiling mother-son combination of Norma and Norman Bates, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore are exceptional, adding a fabulous edginess to their roles and come off as a totally believable and an unforgettable “couple”.
The supporting cast is first rate, especially husky Max Thieriot as the other son, Dylan, who provides a welcome contrast to his other family members. And the lovely Olivia Cooke adds a nice touch of sweetness and common sense to the otherwise crazy goings on in White Pine Bay – a beautiful location but seemingly riddled with crime. Special mention to Paloma Kwiatkowski who makes quite an impact with her portrayal as Norman’s friend Cody.
Hopefully the next season will be just as intriguing as the first two, although I fear as with shows like this, stories can become too far-fetched and lose all credibility. Fingers crossed that “Bates Motel” will not suffer that fate!
In the extras, I enjoyed watching English actors Highmore and Cooke speak in their native accents. Quite strange to hear Freddie in his “cultured” tone and Olivia with her Manchester accent as compared to their flawless American accents in the series.

– Anthony McGill

What makes Norman’s story tragic is that he is such a nice kid. Yet we can see the corroding influences begin to take their toll. His over possessive mother is also a bit of a Jekyll and Hide shrew. She can be clinging and needy one moment and then screaming and obnoxious the next. What Norma does to her son is too pathetic to be a crime but unforgivable. Now his black outs have increased and he sees his mother when she isn’t there and even becomes her. We have all seen the movie and grit our teeth as we see Norman heading down the road to insanity. It is cool and definitely cannot be an accident that the actor portraying Sheriff Romero bears an uncanny resemblance to the older Tony Perkins. The story development is intense. I find myself hoping against the certain knowledge of the outcome that somehow things could turn out differently for poor Norman. Yet, as is so often true in real life, we feel like helpless spectators observing the demise of some one we cannot save. Thrilling stuff!

-Richard L. Jackson

More motel madness!! The second season is just as riveting as the first and so much more…. Norma and Norman’s codependency gets even stronger and stranger as the season progresses as they truly seem to not be able to function without the other. Norma even tries her hand at dating a very normal and likeable guy, but as with the other men she has associated with Norma just does not do normal.

Creepy brother Caleb comes into town and realizes that he is the father of Dylan which only complicates things even more, and speaking of Dylan he finds himself even more involved with the local drug cartel in many inescapable ways. Norman says goodbye to his first high school love and meets another girl with family issues and she in return realizes that Norman has issues and after a death leaves town.

Throw in the sheriff and his many investigations involving the bates family and his somewhat flirtation with Norma, a nice tie up of loose ends in the season finale and you have me at the edge of my seat awaiting season 3.

– T

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: October 7, 2014
Run Time: 428 minutes