Bates Motel Episode 1 Recap: Not Sure Who The Real Crazies Are In This Show (Series Premiere)

Synopsis for Episode 1 "First You Dream, Then You Die": Norma buys a motel in the opener of this series chronicling the teenage years of Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."

What did you think of the first episode of "Bates Motel"? I didn't have high expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. It had a rape (which was cringe inducing), a murder (of the rapist), body dumping (of the murdered rapist), and a possible incestuous relationship (between Norma and Norman). Now that's coming out of the gate running.

The actors are great (especially Vera). Setting the show in present day is an interesting twist but I'm not sure how well it works. What made the original Psycho so effective was the isolation of Norman and his mother. It's hard to be isolated when everyone is a phone call or text away.

Im also not sure how far they can go with the show since we already know what evenutally happens to Norma and Norman. Maybe they'll explore the town and its creepy citizens. What S&M wierdo made the book that Norman found? What's up with his teacher? And I dont trust those teenage girls. They are too friendly. They may be Satan worshippers.

What other skeletons does Norma has in her closet? You can bet there are a lot since she wasn't exactly in a hurry to see if her husband was alive in the opening scene. Did she kill him or did Norman or was it really an "accident"?

TV trivia: Vera Farmiga is the sister of Taissa Farmiga (who was Violet in season 1 of American Horror Story).