Norma is front and centre in this episode and we see the different aspects of the Norma/n dynamic at play. At first Caleb regains consciousness to see Norman as Norma. His concussion allows him to drift in and out of the fantasy that Norma is still alive. He is chained to a metal support in the basement and spends a lot of the episode lost in the past, when Norma and he were children. Chick wants to learn more about the relationship between the siblings and we hear about how abusive their mentally ill mother was to both of them, locking them up for days without food or a bathroom.
Norma/n reacts to her brother in ways Norma had in life. Too much ties the siblings together and while she knows it is too risky to let Caleb live, she is also unable to kill him. She does tell Caleb that it would be impossible for him to live with her and Norman as both men are in love with her. “But he's your son,” Caleb argues. “And you're my brother,” Norma tells him. Caleb is broken. He is trapped, weak, feels his guilt like an unbearable weight and realises he has no reason left to live.
In other scenes Norman sees and communicates with Norma as a separate entity. We get to see this interaction better through Chick's eyes who is allowed into the secret and remains in the house with “them”. Chick is able to trick Norman into believing that he too sees Norma is alive and well. There are moments when Chick seems genuinely empathic, but then we see he's recording conversations between the “three” of them and are reminded that he is manipulating the situation for his own reasons, perhaps only to write a true crime novel, or perhaps something more. Norma, as she did in life, tries to protect Norman from the truth. She hides the fact that Caleb is a prisoner and tells him not to go into the basement. We see Norman struggle between allowing himself to be protected and discovering the truth. In the end the truth is revealed because Norma is unable to kill her brother and asks Norman to do it for her, without blacking out.
We also see Norman alone, the caring friend. Madeline arrives with cookies and admits to Norman that her marriage is troubled. It's a moment when Norman could reveal what he knows about Sam, but he chooses not to. Instead he invites her to walk with him in the woods. We are told by Norman that Madeline left after the walk, but the uncomfortable thought that he could just have easily murdered her in the woods remains.
The side story in this episode is Alex Romero's escape from custody during a transfer to a work farm. He overpowers one of the two guards escorting him and escapes by hijacking a car and driver. After leaving the driver, unharmed, on a country road and driving off alone he has a flat tire. He encounters a farm and tries to steal another car, but is shot in the stomach by a kid holding a shotgun. It doesn't look like a necessarily fatal wound, but being taken to hospital at this time will lead Alex back to prison. I guess we'll find out what happens in the next episode.
When Norman returns to the house, after his walk with and/or murder of Madeline, he hears his uncle shouting and hitting walls below. Chick says that Caleb wants to kill Norman and that he thinks Norman killed his mother. Is this further manipulation by Chick? Does he want Norman to kill Caleb as revenge for the beating he took, or does he want to protect the family's secret and finish his book? His intentions are unclear, but that makes for better drama. Norman searches frantically for his mother and tells Chick to do the same. When he finds Norma she is dressed in a trouser suit and tie (another interesting choice with how masculine she appears compared to normal). I find the costume choices this season absolutely fascinating. Norma tells Norman to kill Caleb, but tells him he can't black out.
Norman takes the gun and does try to shoot his uncle. He can't do it, not without Norma taking over. Instead he unchains him and chases him out of the house with gun fire. At the top of the external steps Norma takes over, grabs the gun and shoots at the fleeing man. Caleb tries to flag down a fast approaching car. Chick, driving back, is distracted by a text and doesn't see Caleb in the road. He runs him down and the final scene is Chick and Norman looking at the broken body of Caleb sprawled across the road. Ooops, or perhaps serendipity for everyone.
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