'Bates Motel' recap: 'Bad Blood' 

Yes, there might be serial killers out there; there could be a sketchy sheriff’s deputy running a human trafficking ring out of a local hotel; there might even be young men who disassociate from themselves to become homicidal versions of their already dead mother, whom they’re storing in their basement. But you’re

more likely to be killed by texting and driving — them’s just the facts.

Of course, we don’t know if Caleb is officially dead, but goodness, for his sake, I almost hope he is. The man had a hell of an episode, with a hell of a performance by Kenny Johnson, and he’s always been one hell of a conflicting character. Caleb and Chick have that in common, and it is a totally unexpected — and surprisingly fun — twist that they’ve now been placed in the role of audience surrogate within this twisted little world Norma and Mother have created for themselves.

Mostly because they’re the only two people who know that Norman is dividing his time at home between impersonating his dead mother and interacting with a particularly villainous version of her that only exists in his own head. Monday’s episode picks up just after last week’s left off, with Caleb now handcuffed to a pole in the basement. He wakes up to visions of Norma in dreamy light, but it turns out to be more of a nightmare, in that he’s actually being spoken to by his nephew dressed up as his sister, and also, he’s probably about to be murdered by some combination of both of them.

For now, though, Mother seems to be at a loss for what to what to do with her brother as she rocks in her iconic rocking chair: “I’m sorry you know my secret… why

you always putting me in a tough spot, Caleb?” Caleb speaks to Mother like she’s Norma and tells her he just came to share the news that Emma and Dylan had a baby. A look of recognition briefly crosses Mother’s face, like Norman might be peeking back out at the mention of his brother and friend, but no. It’s still Mother, still unsure what to do with her brother.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Chick has seen Norman in a Norma wig and lived to tell the tale beyond the basement of doom. When Mother comes up, she tells him that she appreciates how good he’s been to Norman since her fake passing. Chick says he just enjoys helping people, and that might be true, but the thing about Chick is that after all this time, his motivations and intentions are still one huge, kimono-wearing question mark. Norman and Norma may have been labyrinths of codependent crazy in their heyday, but their motivations were always transparent: Nothing in the world was more important to them than each other.

The fun in season 5 is seeing how those motivations adjust now that they’re both fueled by only Norman’s psyche; how they’re affected by an outsider like Chick who could destroy them, or possibly save them from themselves. Mother leans in, seeming

much like Norma when she says, “Can you keep this secret about me? Can I trust you, Chick?” He says she can. Chick — a loner outsider who nearly got Dylan killed and had his own life mostly destroyed by Caleb — now knows more about the Bates family than… well, anyone. He asks if he can stay a while to keep an eye on them, and Mother says yes.

But what will Norman say? When he wakes up, he of course has no recollection of putting on a paisley dress, chaining his uncle up in the basement, or inviting Chick to have a slumber party. He’s awoken by Mother, who says she’s sorry for following him to the restaurant last night; she just goes a little crazy staying in the house all the time. She tells him to stay in bed a little longer, and oh, by the way,

Then comes Chick. He asks if Norman remembers the night before, and Norman Bates stumbling around with the vocabulary to try and imply that he was blackout drunk instead of deep inside a psychotic episode is almost adorable. Chick’s very careful and deliberate line of questioning in his interactions with Norman suggests that he’s up to a little more than just being the least judgmental mountain man in the world. He tells Norman that he knows “about your mother,” that he spoke to her last night. He’s just going to stick around a little while to keep an eye on them. It seems Chick is making himself an indispensable part of the Bates dynamic, but there’s still one burly problem in the basement.

NEXT: Duncle Caleb could be done for… 

1 Alec Baldwin on playing Trump: \'I\'m not going to do it much longer\'

2 \'SNL\'s\' Pete Davidson celebrates his sobriety: \'I quit drugs and am happy\'

3 Bill Paxton cause of death revealed: Stroke after heart surgery

4 \'Cruel Intentions\' same-sex kiss cut from TV broadcast

5 Emma Watson confronts \'traumatic\' \'Harry Potter\' outtakes