"Bates Motel" season 5 is touted as the final season for the show, and it will loosely adapt the story originally told in the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film, "Psycho." However, the introduction of one new character into the story hints that this adaptation is going to be quite different.
TV Line reports that actress Isabelle McNally has been cast as Madeleine Loomis. This character was never shown in the original film, but fans of "Psycho" will be familiar with the last name as it was the surname of Sam Loomis, a major character in the film.
McNally also bears a striking resemblance to Vera Farmiga, who plays Norma Bates. In the original film, Norman (now played by Freddie Highmore), murdered Marion Crane (Rhianna) because she resembles Norma. However, given that Rhianna does not look like Farmiga, it is possible this plot arc has been shifted towards McNally's character.
Cinema Blend points out this may mean Norman will murder Madeleine by stabbing her in the motel bathroom instead of Marion Crane, making the show depart even further from the original film.
Season 4 did see a similar departure when Norma died by gas poisoning while Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) survived. The latter was instead arrested by the DEA. In the original film, Norman took a gun and shot them both.
Showrunner and series creator Carlton Cuse did comment about why they were changing the plot around, stating: "We wanted the final season to allow us to do our spin of the 'Psycho' lore. We will be colliding with certain events in the narrative of the film, but it would be boring to just recreate 'Psycho.'"
The report further states that Madeleine may still be together with Sam instead of being his ex-wife and that Marion may be portrayed as Sam's secret affair.
"Bates Motel" season 5 is set to premiere in 2017.
