Bates Motel: Season 5 - TV Reviews (2024)

The Cord was crazy and unpredictable and emotional, and gave audiences one of the series' creepiest moments in the past/present juxtaposition

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

It was all creepy as hell, but it was an 'aww' kind of creepy. The creepiest creepy 'aww' ever, but still we can't help but say it. Aww. Rest in peace, Norman.

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

I came late to the Bates Motel saga not having discovered the show until the third season. What pulled me in was Norma and Norman's weird and wacky relationship. You couldn't have one without the other.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 4, 2017

A suitably tragic and elegant close.

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

None of us were really expecting a happy ending to Bates Motel, were we?

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

In its final season, Bates Motel proved over and over again that it is one of the few series on television that can simultaneously subvert predictions, exceed expectations and make every shocking twist feel completely earned.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Nov 4, 2017

This final season was thoughtful and provocative end to a complex multi-year tragedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.5/5 | Nov 4, 2017

This final incarnation of Bates Motel still has all the strengths of the earlier years, but now with a real sense of shape and purpose.

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

Of course, the fun in Bates Motel is in perverting that sweetness until its outright rancid, but The Cord wants viewers to remember that this was a show that was driven by love at the end of the day.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 4, 2017

It's amazing Bates Motel ended as well as it did.

Full Review | Nov 4, 2017

For Bates Motel, such a fitting end may seem antithetical to a series with so many shocks, but it should help the series stand up over time

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 4, 2017

Few shows are better in their second half than their first, but there's no question that seasons four and five of Bates Motel were superior to two and three.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 4, 2017

From its pitch-perfect production and costume designs to its well written arc of ebbing climaxes and violent episodes, "Bates Motel" cooks on all burners.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Aug 22, 2017

Farmiga has given one of the best performances on TV for Bates Motel's entire run, as both "real" Norma and the version that lives in Norman's head.

Full Review | Mar 6, 2017

I'm not sure where the end of [Romero's] story will lead but I'm excited to see it play out.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Feb 23, 2017

Rare is the movie adaptation that is not just excellent, but which becomes its own radiant achievement. It doesn't seem too early to bestow that praise upon Bates Motel.

Full Review | Feb 21, 2017

While season 5 appears poised to tell the story of a schizophrenic killer trying to remain in the shadows, what's even more exciting about the final chapter is that it's clear the exploration of Norman Bates is not yet complete.

Full Review | Feb 21, 2017

Thanks to the four years of accumulated backstory that's come before -- along with the ongoing knowledge of where this ends -- even the most incidental moments take on additional emotional weight.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Feb 21, 2017

The creepiest, best moments are still those focused on Norman and the now-deceased Norma as Norman moves ever closer to the Norman Bates of Psycho fame.

Full Review | Feb 21, 2017

'Bates Motel' is moody, emotional, tense, and occasionally absolutely horrifying. Like Norman, it is not to be underestimated.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 14, 2017