Episode Grade: B-

As the end of last week’s episode promised, the arrival of Norma’s long lost, and dreaded, brother Caleb (Kenny Johnson) brought some much anticipated back story, as well as drama for the Bates family (as it was revealed last season that he repeatedly raped her in their teenage years), but the rest of the episode was just filler for the show’s teasing final moments.

“Bates Motel” has the unique quality of being incredibly non-eventful yet alluring at the same time. Aside from Norma’s brother showing up, “Caleb” was filled with drunken schmoozing parties and possible new romances.

But, despite such disappointment, “Bates Motel” continues to be strangely captivating.

Surprisingly, Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke) makes her first significant appearance this season in the opening scenes of “Caleb,” though her character has been reduced to a messenger. She reveals to Norman that Bradley’s (Nicola Peltz) clothes, along with a suicide note (which was all part of her scheme to get out of town), were found along the cliff line by the beach. Worried about Norman, and grieving herself, she offers him a shoulder to lean on, and later throws a memorial.

Meanwhile, Norma, checking to see whether she and Norman made the musical cast list (she doesn’t but Norman made the chorus), makes the acquaintance of the director Christine Heldens (Rebecca Creskoff) who was so blown away by Norma’s audition (as we all were last week) that she quit when Norma didn’t get the lead.

At the insistence of Christine, who is fascinated with Norma, they grab drinks in the middle of the afternoon, discussing Norma’s time in White Pine Bay, including some of the not so great moments. Quickly taken by Christine and her attention, Norma seems to have found someone who understands her plight.

Of course, her delight at having a normal afternoon is ruined by the arrival of Caleb. After showing up at the motel looking for Norma, Caleb finds Dylan (Max Thieriot) in charge. Shocked at the news of his mother having a brother, Dylan invites Caleb back to the Bates house where Norma finds them and immediately throws Caleb out in a rage.

Norma, clearly struggling with the appearance of her abusive brother, throws herself into work—vacuuming the house, doing the motel paperwork and really anything that will distract her from thinking about the past. It’s with the help of Christine, who invites her to a garden party to introduce Norma the high class people who make up “the real White Pine Bay,” that Norma finds some normalcy again.

After the awkward party banter, in which Norma shows off her very charming personality, Norma meets George (Michael Vartan), Christine’s brother, a possible romantic interest for her in the future.

The party isn’t all bad, as Norma happens to meet Nick Ford (Michael O’Neil), father of Miss Watson and the town’s drug business competitor, who also opposes the building of the bypass.

It seems she’s found herself an ally in Nick, whose social standing and high power could have an influence on the town (although with his connection to the drug trade, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had ulterior motives).

Worried about Norma, Norman isn’t without his own drama. He’s forced to make an appearance at Bradley’s memorial; however, the memorial turns into your average teenage party—lots of booze and lots of hooking up.

Emma finds herself a cute guy (a drug dealer she met last season) to do “bad things” with, and now that Bradley’s gone, Norman finds himself a new interest in Cody (Paloma Kwiatkowski), a girl he met briefly last episode who encouraged him to join the musical’s stage crew after he quit the chorus.

Her impulsive personality (she makes out with a random gay guy just because she could) and troubled family life (which the episode briefly alludes to) is sure to provide trouble that Norman does not need to be dragged into right now.

Of course, Dylan isn’t immune to the Bates’ family drama either.

Unfortunately, the obligatory drug trade is still prominent. Zane (Michael Eklund), the former town drug lord’s replacement, is racking up a body count with his hot-head antics—all of which result in Dylan having to clean up the mess (he’s buried his third body and we’re only three episodes in).

But it’s Dylan’s friendliness toward Caleb (and strange likeness in looks) that stirs up trouble for all the Bates. He can’t help but get to know the guy, and invites him out for dinner.

He tells Dylan about trying to make amends with Norma, revealing that their childhood wasn’t great, mostly because of their father (who, he implies, forced them to have sex).

Despite knowing what we know, Caleb doesn’t seem like that bad of a guy. He instantly charms Dylan with his cool uncle attitude and talks about his grand plans for a house in Costa Rica (which Dylan actually gives him $11,000 for); however, you can’t help but see it as manipulation. This guy will probably do and say anything to get his way, not unlike Norma in that way.

All of this is just fuel for the fire as it all culminates for that final reveal in the last minute of the episode–Caleb is Dylan’s father.

This week’s episode felt like a waste of time—with all the parties and romance, I felt like I was watching a high school drama not a thriller. I couldn’t help but feel let down and bored. Yet the show manages to deliver little bits—like Norma meeting Nick Ford (which you  know is gonna create a stir down the line) and the not so surprising, but still incredibly mind blowing, fact that Caleb is Dylan’s father—which make every minute worth watching.

The last few minutes, in which Dylan accuses Norma of lying about Caleb’s raping her, were some of the most intense and electrifying moments of the show. Max Thieriot gives his best performance thus far, and Vera Farmiga is perfect in her portrayal of the desperately vulnerable Norma.

She’s constantly trying to run from her past, or ignore it. But in a moment of absolute need, she reveals her past in an effort to protect both of her sons–protecting Dylan from Norman and Norman from his killer self.

Though “Caleb” was boring for most of its run time, it was redeemed by its mindblowing final minutes, earning the episode a B-. It’s an incredible feat of the creators to be able to push its audience away and draw them back in completely in a matter of minutes, and I am absolutely in for whatever they have in store.

“Bates Motel” airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on A&E.