Episode Grade: A

“Bates Motel” has been bordering the line between lackluster and captivating since the beginning of the season, but after last week’s chilling final moments in which Norman (Freddie Highmore) accidentally kills Cody’s (Paloma Kwiatkowski) dad, the show has finally found its niche.

In one of the best episodes thus far, “Presumed Innocent” finds the perfect balance of intrigue and character development. With all the pieces of Norman’s fractured mind coming to light, not just to the town but to Norman himself, the inevitable disaster is looming and the real Norman Bates isn’t far from being discovered.

Apart from a brief foray into the drug plot—in which Zane (Michael Eklund) stupidly decides to raid Nick Ford’s (Michael O’Neill) drug warehouse and drags Dylan (Max Thieriot) right in the middle of the trouble—most of the episode’s focus is on Norman and his struggle to discover who he is and what he’s capable of.

Surprisingly, the episode begins with its focus on Norma (Vera Farmiga) who, after going to city hall to pick up some work necessaries, finds that she’s not so welcome as the new head council member. Norma’s met with obvious distaste from the other city council members, but her introduction is short lived as Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) delivers the news of Norman’s arrest.

In true Norma fashion, she’s desperate to gain control of the situation (mainly to get a handle on Norman’s story before he reveals too much about himself), but being confined to the rules of the law, she’s limited in her means.

Frantic, and scared for Norman’s safety, Norma will go to any length to keep Norman out of harm’s way. After trying to convince Norman to avoid discussing his blackouts (much to his bewilderment), Norma, attempting to keep Norman’s psychotic capabilities a secret, sneaks up on Cody in the bathroom and pleads with her to not tell the cops about his blackouts.

It’s in those protective moments that we see the most depth in Norma as a character, as well as the best of Farmiga.

Norma, though acting on the best of intentions, is only endangering Norman and anyone he’s connected to by keeping his actions a secret from him, and Farmiga captures the double-edged sword of Norma’s personality perfectly. It’s understandable that Norma wants to protect her son, but she’s doing more harm to Norman’s mental state than anything else. Inevitably it’s gonna come back to bite her in the ass.

Meanwhile, sitting down with Sheriff Romero in the interrogation room, Norman is clearly struggling with the reality of his actions. Despite having a murderous personality hidden beneath the surface, the other Norman, the one that’s present 95 percent of the time, is actually a kind-hearted kid that now has to grapple with the knowledge that he’s killed someone.

And, of course, that reaction works in Norman’s favor. Sheriff Romero, having seen this distraught and innocent side of Norman who was only trying to protect a friend, rules the case an accident.

While that’s good news, all doesn’t bode well for Norman as the killing has left him more isolated than ever.

With her father dead, Cody is leaving to live with her aunt in Indiana. But it’s her parting words to Norman, warning him that Norma’s lying to him (and telling him that he has to figure out what happens during his blackouts because whatever it is “scares the shit out of her”), that cause an even bigger rift between him and his mother.

Freddie Highmore has never been better. He’s able to portray the tragedy of Norman’s life with such nuance, making the audience relate to him while also being scared of him. There’s an unpredictability to Norman that Highmore captures perfectly, particularly in his confrontation with Norma while cooking breakfast where the simple act of him holding a butter knife can elicit anxiety within viewers (I know I was).

The episode, heavily driven by the possibility of Norman’s murderous past being discovered, finally achieves its goal in the final minutes. Sheriff Romero, notified by a deputy who logged Norman’s DNA into their system, unravels a piece of the Bates mystery—Norman’s DNA matches the other sample of semen found in Miss Watson (from episode two).

“Presumed Innocent” earns itself an A for the shocking and intense final reveal. Now that the Sheriff knows Norman was involved in Miss Watson’s death in some way, the whole truth isn’t far from being told, and the precarious future of Norman Bates is looming closer.

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