In the large scheme of things, Bates Motel is essentially about a relationship between a mother and son where, eventually, the mother will die. So it sort of makes sense that the story of Norma Bates is one filled with failures and disappointments, especially since we know that her own son will be the end of her, she’ll end up a skeleton looking over the motel, her son will pretend to be her and she has no idea. The story of Norma in Bates Motel has been tragic up until this point—the show even started with her husband dying and Norma being the victim of a rape soon after arriving at her new home. For all of this, it’s always good to see Norma get a victory, as she does in “The Deal,” even if it is incredibly short-lived.
“The Deal” is actually a victory for the whole family, as we see them slowly becoming a caring, understanding group. Norman realizes that even though he thought he told his mother about Caleb spending time with Dylan, it was actually another blackout. For the first time ever the blackout is a good thing, as Dylan and Norman decide to finally tell their mother about Caleb. When Norma tells Norman that he had a blackout, it doesn’t start a fight or stretch out the rift growing between the two of them, but rather we see the comforting Norma that they both need right now in their lives.
From a performance perspective, this is an incredible episode for the entire Bates family. Norman is coming to the realization that he really might be losing his mind, and is damn scared about it. Near the end of the episode, we get what is possibly Dylan’s best moment, as he explains to his mother why she should give the brother who raped her a chance. That’s an incredibly hard discussion to have, yet Dylan gives the conversation such perfect emotion and explanation that, for once, it allows the audience to see Caleb’s side.
But the real MVP in “The Deal” is Norma, who we see go from the height of victory, to the lowest depths of her pain. After getting run off the road by one of Bob Paris’ goons, she goes to Paris’ office with Sheriff Romero to discuss giving him the flash drive that he desperately wants. This is preceded by a wonderful scene between Norma and Romero, where she explains how this town has beaten her down and how she’s finally going to get something out of all the abuse. She also makes a great point about how people don’t think she can handle the problems that come to her because she’s a woman, but Norma has proven time and time again, she can take on anything.