Line #36 YMMV/BatesMotel


1	* AccidentalAesop: The Series finale episode "The Cord" seems to imply that the police force thinks that mentally insane people are dangerous and must be killed or locked away in prison instead of a mental hospital. This isn't helped that [[spoiler:Dylan's murder of his psychotic brother is treated as a mercy kill since he believes Norman's beyond help]].
2	* AlasPoorScrappy: For as many people who enjoyed [[spoiler: Sam Loomis being the one getting killed in the shower]], quite a few felt that it was quite a bit more than [[spoiler: he]] deserved, including [[http://tvline.com/2017/03/27/bates-motel-recap-season-5-episode-6-shower-scene-rihanna/ show co-creator Carlton Cuse]].
3	--> '''Cuse''': And even though Sam is a [jerk] he doesn’t deserve to [[spoiler: be murdered]].
4	** Norman himself agrees in 'Inseparable'.
5	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
6	** The point of the show. In the movie, we only saw Norman's interpretation of his mother, and it strongly implied that her control of him caused his mental problems. The show implies it's the other way around: Norma was controlling because Norman was ALWAYS unstable.
7	** Chick, being a real bastard and a skilled manipulator despite being erudite and charming, tends to invite this, particularly in his treatment of Norma. Did he really plan to spread her secrets all over town, or was he just riling her up so she'd drive Romero out of her life herself?
8	** There's also his friendship with Norman in the final season. Does he truly consider Norman a friend, or is he just simply exploiting Norman for his own gain?
9	** Does Romero want to kill Norman [[spoiler: to avenge the death of his wife Norma and]] for the sake of others, or does he want revenge against him for self-satisfaction for ruining ''his'' life, [[NeverMyFault despite most of his troubles being the consequences of his own less than moral actions]]? His response to Maggie questioning if [[spoiler: Norma would truly want him to kill Norman, and his crossing of the MoralEventHorizon]] do give the implication that his desire for revenge is largely selfish.
10	* AwardSnub: A number of people still firmly believe that Creator/VeraFarmiga deserved to win Best Actress at the UsefulNotes/{{Emmy Award}}s in 2013, particularly as that year's winner (Creator/ClaireDanes in ''Series/{{Homeland}}'') had also won the year before.
11	* BadassDecay: Dylan was previously a tough, street smart gang member who worked with a brutal drug cartel, being one of the last surviving members in a violent turf war and killing a few major villains himself. However, by the final season Dylan gave up on his tough guy persona in order to become a stay-at-home father raising his baby and is too afraid to stand up to his half-brother [[SissyVillain Norman]], choosing to stay away from him because he's too scared to do anything to change things for the better.
12	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
13	** Norma Bates. Some fans like that she's a more complex and complicated character than her original counterpart, and adore her despite her self-destructive actions and clear flaws. Others, on the other hand, find themselves unable to sympathize with her, feeling that most of the trouble she experiences throughout the show, [[spoiler: specifically her twisted relationship with Norman which culminates in him killing her in a murder-suicide attempt,]] are misfortune that she brought on herself. Some even feel that her AdaptationalHeroism only complicates her son's backstory and FreudianExcuse, instead of making it more complex than it was previously portrayed. And then there the fans who simplify her character by either portraying her as an innocent woman who can do no wrong or demonising her to the extent that she comes off as just as abusive and villainous as her original counterpart.
14	** Emma Decody. Either you'll view her as an adorable, lovable girl whose normal personality plays off of the eccentric characters in the show for comic relief or you may view her as a bland, boring FlatCharacter who ultimately contributes nothing of great importance throughout the show's run.
15	** Marion Crane. Some view her as a tragic AntiHero who truly wanted a life of happiness with Sam Loomis, a man who deceived her, despite life problems holding her back and argue that she deserved a chance to start a new life. However, others found her much too unsympathetic since unlike her film counterpart [[AdaptationalVillainy she has zero regret over her actions]] and essentially [[KarmaHoudini gets away scot-free with $400,000 in the end.]] Then there are those who dislike her because of the [[QuestionableCasting actress chosen to play her]].
16	** Madeleine Loomis. Some like her, viewing her as a vast improvement from Norman's previous LoveInterests, and whose [[ReplacementGoldfish relationship]] [[MoralityPet with]] Norman adds to his character and the plot. Others, on the other hand, don't think she's as interesting as Norman's previous LoveInterests or any of the main characters and believe that many of her important scenes come off as forced. Then there are those who feel that her character had wasted potential; either believing that she should have had a bigger role in the final season, or think that [[spoiler: she should have just been killed by Norman, like practically everyone expected her to be.]]
17	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The scene where Norman visualizes his mother making out with a stripper. At first you'd think that this is going to lead into him undergoing another SplitPersonalityTakeover and murder the stripper, but instead even his split personality seems to enjoy making out with a strange woman dancing with her. This moment never comes up ever again.
18	** That being said, you could argue that it does foreshadow [[spoiler: Mother's desire to indulge her own desires in the fifth season, by taking control of Norman's body and hooking up with people from the local bars.]]
19	* BrokenBase: [[spoiler: Norman's]] death in the series finale is this. Some fans view it as a the tragic ending to a sympathetic man who was never truly evil and just wanted a peaceful life with his family, serving as a fitting conclusion to a great series. However, others are upset over this because [[spoiler: the original film version of Norman was able to overcome his insanity and [[EarnYourHappyEnding achieved happiness in the end]],]] which could've been adapted for the show, making it seem like his struggle was all for nothing in the end. There's not much room for a middle ground on this argument.
20	* CompleteMonster:
21	** Season 1’s BigBad, Jake Abernathy, aka Joe Fioretti, the boss of a SexSlave trade, operates his business out of several towns and supplies some of his subordinates with girls as a special compensation. When he learns that the operation in White Pine Bay is compromised, Abernathy begins to stalk Norma Bates and threaten her to get the money he believes she has. When he is confronted by Sheriff Romero, Abernathy attempts to establish a new partnership with him to continue the slavery business and keep it going in White Pine Bay.
22	** [[spoiler:[[DirtyCop Zach Shelby]] initially appears to be a [[FauxAffablyEvil charming, likable guy]] who wants to help Norma Bates and her family out. It is soon revealed that Shelby is a deadly, violent man who participates (along with Keith Summers, who is killed early on) in the sex slave operation under the direction of Jake Abernathy and just helped out the family so he could sleep with Norma. Shelby keeps an Asian sex slave named Jiao locked in terrible conditions in his basement where he regularly rapes her, and when he discovers the Bates family have helped her escaped, he attempts to murder them all. When he sees Jiao again, he tries to murder her as well before he forces Norma, Norman and Dylan Bates into the motel so that he can kill them.]]
23	* CreepyCute: Norman is still an {{Adorkable}} WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds despite his slow fall into villainy.
24	* DesignatedHero:
25	** [[DirtyCop Sheriff Romero]] to some. In short, the guy pulls a lot of strings to get his way, allows multiple drug cartels to occupy his own town, turns a blind eye towards most crimes that don't involve Norman in some way, was a childhood friend to a drug dealer, and even takes it upon himself to kill multiple villains and cover it up. However, usually the arc villains are presented to make him look good in comparison. Taken up to eleven in the final season, where Romero repeatedly commits ''multiple felonies'' all for the goal of gaining personal revenge against his stepson [[spoiler: and coldly gunning down Chick]] for no real reason whatsoever.
26	** Marion Crane is meant to be seen as a tragic victim who was manipulated by a {{jerkass}} who ruined her life, but she did rob $400,000 from her boss since he denied her a promotion and [[spoiler: she [[KarmaHoudini she completely gets away with it in end]], never once showing a shred of regret for her actions.]] Nevertheless, we're supposed to feel sorry for her.
27	* DracoInLeatherPants: A complicated example of the trope, usually overlapping with DieForOurShip, RonTheDeathEater, AlternativeCharacterInterpretation and MisaimedFandom. Norman, Norma and Alex Romero are all intended to be tragic and complex characters, while the tragic plot of the show is intended to be the result of poor choices made by the characters, shaped by each of their tragic pasts, and certain events outside of each character's control. Despite this, some fans tend to simplify Norman, Norma and Alex by portraying one or more of them as outright villains, singlehandedly responsible for the tragic events that occur in the main plot of the show, while portraying the remaining character(s) as innocent victims of circumstance. This can go four ways.
28	** Scenario 1: Norma and Alex were innocent lovers, whose pure and perfect romance was tragically destroyed by the actions of Norma's evil, insane son Norman who refused to let his mother be happy.
29	** Scenario 2: Norman is a completely blameless victim whose mental illness, and the actions he commits when being influenced by it, are solely the fault of his insane and abusive mother, Norma, whose possessiveness, selfish choices and unhealthy and poorly thought out actions destroyed any chance of her son living a normal life. Alex, meanwhile, is a DirtyCop and outright criminal more concerned with his own personal problems than actually protecting/improving his town, and who chose to remain blind to Norma's flaws, while refusing to even try to see things from Norman's point of view.
30	** Scenario 3: Norman and Norma are tragic soulmates, who could only truly be happy if they were together. Romero, an outsider to the world they had constructed, was unable to understand this bond. As a result, his feelings for Norma weren't as genuine as Norman's, and the fact that he [[spoiler: claims that he doesn't care that Norma would want him to help Norman get better instead of killing him in the name of revenge,]] proves that he never truly loved Norma, instead being infatuated with the idea of her.
31	** Scenario 4: Norman and Alex are both deeply damaged people who genuinely do want to try and be better, but are unable to do so due to the deep-rooted scars of their past. Norma, meanwhile, is a completely toxic influence who drags both Norman and Alex down with her, and who brings out the worst in both of them.
32	** These scenarios all ignore the complexity present in all three characters, the role of other more openly antagonistic characters, and the fact that, despite their tragic backstories and sympathetic reasons for their actions, all three of them made poorly thought out, toxic and selfish choices [[spoiler: which ultimately led to all of their deaths]].
33	** A more classic example would be Chick. While he does have a HeelFaceTurn, and is definitely likable and entertaining, most fans tend to neglect the fact that he was still technically a criminal throughout the course of the show and that he basically [[spoiler: exploits Norman and his family, and the deaths of innocent people who have died as a result of their actions, by writing a novel, presumably based on Norman and the tragedies that have occurred in the town, which he intends to profit from.]]
34	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
35	** [[GoodBadGirl Cody]] has been regarded as one of Norman's most likable love interests thanks to her tougher personality allowing her to help bring Norman out of his shell and causing Norma to back off from controlling her son. It also helps that [[OppositesAttract she and Norman]] [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy share cute moments together]].
36	** [[TheWonka Chick]] for being one of the more likable and colorful antagonists of the show.
37	* EpilepticTrees: A theory regarding the final season has fans believing that Chick is actually Robert Bloch, the author of the ''Psycho'' novel, since he implies that he's going to write a crime novel inspired by Norman's life. Though this was completely [[{{Pun}} shot down]] when [[spoiler: Romero kills him before he can even finish his novel.]]
38	* EvilIsCool: Chick instantly became one of the show's popular villains due to the character's completely wild and unpredictable personality. The fact that he has numerous PetTheDog moments also shape him into a more likable character. He eventually pulls a HeelFaceTurn and becomes a CoolOldGuy.
39	* FollowTheLeader: Much like Series/DuckDynasty, A&E's success with this series has led to other attempts to adapt classic horror franchises for television, as they introduced ''Series/{{Damien}}'', based off Film/TheOmen, in 2016.
40	* FriendlyFandoms: The show's fans have some respect for the ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'' series and the fanbase following it due to both shows remaining surprisingly popular among modern audiences and successfully maintaining the dignity of two of cinema's biggest horror villains.
41	* HarsherInHindsight:
42	** Every heartwarming moment between Norman and his mother becomes this after [[spoiler:Norma's death in Season 4.]]
43	** Norman tells his mother to never send him to a mental institution because it scared him when he was temporarily held there. [[spoiler: Then he gets sent to a different mental institution in the episode ''Goodbye, Mother''.]]
44	** Sam Loomis dying in between the original movie and ''Psycho II'' becomes this [[spoiler: when in ''Series/BatesMotel'' he gets the death in the shower instead of Marion. You could also count how in the original sequel novel, he got killed by Norman alongside his wife Lila, who did suffer a CruelAndUnusualDeath in the second film.]]
45	** [[spoiler: Norman earning his happy ending in the final ''Psycho'' film really becomes this since in the series ''Series/BatesMotel'' Norman ends up killed by his own brother because he will never adjust to normal society and be forever deemed a monster. Ouch.]]
46	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct:
47	** This show proves that Creator/FreddieHighmore can be more than an impressionable NiceGuy who is WiseBeyondTheirYears. Here, he portrays a deeply disturbed individual who can barely cope with his troubled environment.
48	** With how much hate Creator/NicolaPeltz gets for her performances in both ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' and ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'', her performance as Bradley is usually given far more credit and actually proves to be at the least above average too.
49	* HollywoodHomely: Emma is treated by the characters as a lovely girl, but nothing more than that, due to her condition. She also envies Bradley's beauty. The problem is that Emma is played by Creator/OliviaCooke, who is very beautiful.
50	* IronWoobie:
51	** Dylan. He's living with two unstable people and puts up with a death threat from drug cartels everyday, but he still tries to live a normal life.
52	** Emma, who is suffering from a serious illness and undergoing major treatment so she won't die still manages to be a chipper girl as always.
53	* MemeticPsychopath: Norman Bates of course. Though to be fair, this is mostly due to the [[TrailersAlwaysLie trailers portraying him as outright evil]] rather than the TragicVillain he actually is.
54	* {{Moe}}: Norman and Emma are seen as the cutest characters thanks to their {{Adorkable}} personalities.
55	* MoralEventHorizon:
56	** In the season three finale, [[spoiler: Norman passes it when he murders his LoveInterest Bradley while under control of his SplitPersonality. Made all the more worse when she was planning to start a new life with Norman and help him get away from his mother, but ended up being ''horrifically'' murdered by the man she loved. Norman even buries her body in a lake to make sure that no one ever knows how she really died.]]
57	** Though you could argue that this event actually serves as Mother's horizon crossing [[spoiler: (given that it is emphasised through the show's staging that she is controlling Norman's body when the murder occurs)]] while Norman is still technically a sympathetic character (which WordOfGod states was the intention). On the other hand, one could also argue that it does serve as the point of no return for Norman.
58	** Romero arguably crosses this when he coldly shoots [[spoiler: Chick]] dead for simply showing sympathy for Norman, which he views as him standing in the way of his quest for vengeance.
59	*** For those who can justify [[spoiler: Romero murdering Chick (given that he was technically exploiting Norma, and by extension Romero, via apparently basing his novel on the tragedies of the Bates Family)]], he undeniably crosses it when he [[spoiler: uses the station's secretary as a hostage and possibly fatally wounds an innocent officer]].
60	* {{Narm}}:
61	** Norma's whole "You went and got laid" speech to her own son. The show treated it as a serious part, but the acting was so terribly cliché, it just came off as hilarious!
62	** Emma's mother tries to have a normal conversation with Norman [[spoiler: while he's dressed in his mother's clothes and undergoing his SplitPersonality]]. It's naturally as weird as you'd expect. At least until the MoodWhiplash.
63	** As if Audrey Decody's mistake wasn't enough, you may find yourself unable to take Norma's mistake seriously as well. When [[EvilCripple Chick]] shows up disguised as Norma's window repairman dressed only in a [[PaperThinDisguise red coat with a different hat on]], you can't help but laugh at how she completely falls for it.
64	** After Norma and Sheriff Romero breakup, she returns home panting heavily for an uncomfortable amount of time before finally breaking down crying hysterically about it.
65	** When Norman and [[spoiler: his hallucination of his deceased mother]] are bonding together in the closing minutes of ''Norman'', the camera pans out to show the Bates Motel covered in Christmas decorations. But, considering that Norman never had the time to hang up any of these decorations across the ''entire'' motel it may cause viewers to question whether or not he's hallucinating all this too.
66	** [[spoiler: Sam Loomis's]] death probably would've had a greater impact if the show didn't use a song in the background to lampshade that this is a turning point in the show. To make it all the more unintentionally laughable, the teaser to the episode after this moment plays out like a BlackComedy, resulting in the character's death coming across as a minor conflict.
67	*** Furthermore, [[spoiler: Sam's death]] being a near shot-for-shot recreation of [[spoiler: the film's legendary shower scene]] may elicit a chuckle among some viewers familiar with the source material.
68	** Norman's argument that you can achieve whatever you want if you just believe it. Not helped by the fact that this is said in the middle of a climactic scene.
69	* NotHisSled: [[spoiler: Sam Loomis gets the iconic shower death scene instead of [[SparedByAdaptation Marion Crane]]]].
70	* NightmareFuel: When Norman [[spoiler: admires the corpse of his dead mother, he hallucinates her eyes opening to glare at him. Then when he grave robs her coffin to bring it back to his house, he goes to great lengths to make it appear as if she's still alive.]]
71	* OneTruePairing: Normero (Norma Bates/Alex Romero). Eight to nine out of ten times when you search for fanfics about the show, this pairing will likely be the focus or present in the background. You'd practically think that the entire show was about their romance, if you made assumptions by observing the fandom.
72	* QuestionableCasting: Music/{{Rihanna}} as Marion Crane, especially after her highly criticized performance in ''Film/{{Battleship}}''. Reduced somewhat after her actual debut as the character, though some still feel that she didn't deliver a satisfactory performance worthy of the role she was playing.
73	* RetroactiveRecognition: [[Series/TheGoodPlace Jason Mendoza]] appears for a small scene as a hacker who Norma convinces to hack into a laptop.
74	* TheScrappy: Sam Loomis is a hypocritical adulterer who cheats on his wife Madeleine with Marion Crane while hiding his true colors [[BitchInSheepsClothing behind an affable demeanor]], lying to both lovers in the process to get a cheap thrill out of it. When he's discovered to be a liar, he defends his actions by acting like [[NeverMyFault he didn't do anything wrong]]. He also treats Norman very badly as he threatens to hurt him if he tells his wife about his affair and breaks into the motel without paying for his room to wait for Marion. Though to be fair, [[IntendedAudienceReaction the writers seemed to have wanted this]]. In an interview for the episode where [[spoiler: he dies]], Carlton Cuse comments "He was a jerk, but he didn't [[spoiler: deserve to die]]." Considering how many people [[TakeThatScrappy enthusiastically reacted to that scene]], they overdid it by an infernal mile.
75	* StoicWoobie: Norman comes across as this due to his disconnecting with his emotions while suffering multiple tragedies in his life.
76	* TakeThatAudience: The speech Mother gives to Norman [[spoiler: to convince him to kill Sam Loomis]] reads like many fans' reactions to [[spoiler: Sam]] and [[spoiler: his]] actions. This might be the intended outcome for the IntendedAudienceReaction.
77	* TakeThatScrappy: [[spoiler: Sam Loomis gets his car totaled by a vengeful Marion, gets wine tossed in his face and thrown out of the house by his wife Madeline and to top it all off, he's killed in the shower by Norman when he waits for his mistress Marion to come crawling back to him.]]
78	* {{Tearjerker}}:
79	** ''Goodbye, Mother'' features this in abundance. [[spoiler: Norman finally snaps at his mother, forcing her to tearfully have the police send him to the institution again in order to treat his insanity.]]
80	** Chick seeing the error of his ways in ''The Vault'' and apologising to Norma out of the goodness of his heart. He even provides her the repaired stain glass window he promised to give when they first met.
81	** [[spoiler: Norma's]] death at the hands of Norman and his eventual breakdown over causing it afterwards. He's so traumatized by the events that he even considers suicide due to what he's done. The only thing that stops him from going through with it is [[spoiler: when he hallucinates that his mother is still alive, meaning that Norman kept her corpse in his house just to continue the fantasy life he always wanted with her.]]
82	** Norman's severe depression and loneliness [[spoiler: after he killed his mother.]]
83	** Norman desperately tries to hold onto positive thinking after he's gotten in too deep following the murders of [[spoiler: Loomis and Romero]], but Dylan is having none of it and brings the fantasy life he's built in his head crashing down. Dylan wanted more than anything for Norman to be a part of his and his new family's life, but it's clear Norman is too far gone. The tears in both brothers' eyes as they confront this is heart-breaking.
84	** Norman's [[spoiler: death at the hands of his own brother Dylan. As he lays dying, he sees his mother waiting for him in the next life.]]
85	*** Two words: [[spoiler:"Thank you."]]
86	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The show decided to make Sam Loomis a snarky adulterer cheating on his wife with Marion Crane, lying to both lovers in the process for a cheap thrill, instead of the noble NiceGuy who wanted to have a legitimate marriage with his fiancé like he did in the Hitchcock film. Needless to say, some fans weren't as happy about the character's AdaptationalVillainy.
87	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: With the Bates family being the undisputed protagonists of the series, in retrospect it is obvious that the writers did not know what to do with most of their supporting characters.
88	** Miss Watson, the friendly teacher who turns out to have a dark past and a romantic relationship with Norman. She is murdered by Norman at the end of Season 1, with all her past being revealed by other characters. Many fans think the writers killed her too soon and could have shown more of her troubled relationship with Norman.
89	** Bradley started out as the typical popular high school girl who becomes a love interest for Norman and Dylan and Emma's rival. She also goes down a dark path in avenging her father's death. Unfortunately, because of actress Creator/NicolaPeltz's commitments to other projects, Bradley was PutOnABus early in the second season. She finally returned in the final three episodes of season three for the sole purpose of being killed at the hands of her beloved Norman. It doesn't help that in the final season, when several of Norman's crimes are discovered by the police, Bradley's murder is not among them,
90	** Emma started out as an interesting character who could've evolved into a well-rounded heroine going on dangerous adventures with the other characters, until she is finally so horrified by the Bates family's actions that she tries to run away or stop them. She could also wanted revenge upon discovering that Norman murdered her mother. Instead, she got DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest for Dylan and never did anything of great interest on the show. Even in the final season, after discovering that Norman killed her mother, Emma does absolutely nothing, staying in Seattle with her daughter for most of the season, while Dylan returns to White Pine Bay to confront Norman.
91	** Norman's season 2 love interest Cody, who was set up as a DistaffCounterpart for him, was fun and charismatic. Unfortunately, she was PutOnABus and never came back.
92	** When all is said and done, it seems the show never quite figured out how to properly utilize Caleb. His character had endless potential for drama, between his past with Norma and contentious relationship with Dylan, but when he gets a PromotionToOpeningTitles, neither of these storylines are really explored. It seems the writers knew ''that'' bringing him back into the fold for season 3 would be a good idea, but did not know ''how'' or ''why''. [[spoiler: Even his death is random in the final season, considering that Caleb's motivation (avenge Norma's death) is exactly the same as Romero's.]]
93	** Sam Loomis is [[spoiler:killed off in the shower without giving him the character development that made him Norman's archenemy in the original movie.]]
94	** Dr. Edwards is revealed to [[spoiler:have been apparently KilledOffscreen in between the events of seasons 4 and 5, with his brief appearance with Norman in Season 5 having been a case of DeadAllAlong. Sadly this means that his positive influence on Norman's life goes to waste as well despite being the first character to make a breakthrough providing him with a possible HeelFaceTurn in the future.]]
95	** Chick is [[spoiler:abruptly shot dead in the final season despite being one of Norman's most trusted friends and could've possibly showed up at his trial to help back him up.]]
96	** Madeleine Loomis [[spoiler: learns that Norman, the man for whom she was having romantic feelings throughout the final season, murdered her husband. You would imagine that she would try to get revenge, but she just gives to Dylan a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech because he didn't stop his brother before and doesn't even appear in the series finale.]]
97	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Norman desperately trying to hide his crimes from the police in the final season with a cat-and-mouse game could have had more screentime, just as in the original movie, until he was finally defeated by his antagonists and the police. Instead, in the final stretch of the season, Norman simply surrenders in order to protect Dylan. While it does keep Norman sympathetic, it is rather disappointing for fans who wanted Norman's inevitable downfall to be more dramatic or satisfying.
98	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Given that the series is mainly detailing the StartOfDarkness of Norman Bates' destiny as a SerialKiller, you can't really blame people for getting turned off by the depressing themes featured throughout the show. Some end up so overwhelmed by all the sad, tragic scenes. It certainly doesn't help the fact that Norma Bates is so massively stupid in her decisions from the beginning. There is also the fact that with Emma's notable exception, almost every other character on these show is a criminal, selfish, asshole, awful human being, or a good person who become a bad person. This ultimately gets taken up to eleven in the series finale where Norman's life slowly begins to fall apart [[spoiler: and he ends up mercy killed by his own brother when Dylan realizes that there is no way to save him.]]
99	* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Charles "Chick" Hogan]], a WickedCultured professional hunter, former criminal gun runner, a hilarious comic relief on a dark show with a CrazyIsCool personality that made him completely unpredictable, and one of Norman's few most trusted friends, ends up shot dead in the middle of a monologue justifying why Norman is not a complete monster like how Romero and the rest of the world views him to be.
100	* TooGoodToLast: Despite achieving critical acclaim and being one of the most respected prequel stories ever released, the show concluded after a solid five seasons.
101	* TrappedByMountainLions: Even the biggest fans point this as the main problem of the series. The writers clearly felt obliged to create plots to the supporting characters Dylan, Emma, and Romero, but in several seasons, these plots have no connection to Norman and Norma's plot.
102	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Surprisingly, Chick grew into a more tragic character for some viewers. After he was beaten by Caleb, he was crippled for life and lost his family. He tries gaining revenge on Caleb by manipulating his sister Norma, but finds himself [[BecomingTheMask forming a genuine admiration of her]]. When he apologizes to her for lying about his true agenda, she kicks him out of her life. Nevertheless, Chick gives her a new stain glass window he promised to fix for her and gives her a small kiss to show how sorry he is.
103	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
104	** Norma's unreasonable behavior and unwillingness to accept some of the harsher aspects of real life can sometimes exceed the sympathy she earns from hell she's been living, particularly when her selfish and poorly-thought-out actions end up putting her family in danger.
105	** [[spoiler: Caleb's]] death was this for some viewers since the guy was a deadbeat criminal who did horrible things to his sister, was a bad influence for his son, and always treated Norman with disdain. Not many people cared about him when he eventually died since his own stupidity actually brought on his own demise in the end.
106	* VanillaProtagonist: Emma is not as complex as the other, more psychologically damaged characters featured on the show are and just seems to be the everywoman that the others play off of.
107	* TheWoobie: Poor [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Norman...]]
108	** Dylan repeatedly puts his neck on the line for everyone, as well as being a sane, stabilizing force. He gets absolutely no love.
109	** JerkAssWoobie: Norma can be unreasonable, but she's gone through absolute hell.
110	** Bradley. [[spoiler: To make it short, she gets brutally killed by ''the boy she has a crush on''...]]
111	** Another JerkassWoobie example, Chick may have been a FauxAffablyEvil gun runner, but after his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Caleb, he ends up crippled for life, lost all of his money, eventually loses his house, and his family leaves him. The only reason he goes on living now is so he can get revenge on Caleb for ruining his life.
112	** Madeleine Loomis feels so desperately lonely since her own cheating husband has kept her isolated while he works and has an affair behind her back. She eventually crosses the DespairEventHorizon upon realizing her husband's true colors.
113	** Marion Crane is a hardworking secretary who's stuck in a rut while having a romance with an already married man. She throws away her entire life by stealing from her MeanBoss so she can live happily ever after with Sam, but soon learns that he lied to her this whole time and never really wanted to live a romantic fantasy with her since it was all just for a cheap thrill. After finding this out, Marion goes on the lam to live the rest of her life as a heartbroken fugitive.

Context YMMV / BatesMotel