‘Bates Motel’ Season 3 Spoilers: When Will Bradley Return?

Where in the world is Bradley Martin (Nicola Peltz)? The White Pine Bay troubled teen has been missing from “Bates Motel” since last season. Viewers will remember that she was forced to flee the town after exacting revenge for her murdered father by killing his old partner, Gil (Vincent Gale). Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Norman (Freddie Highmore) helped her leave, but she’ll be returning soon.

As we previously reported, Nicola Peltz signed on to reprise her role as Bradley in Season 3 of the A&E series. The “Psycho” prequel has only four episodes left in its current season, but fans have yet to see her. The credited cast list for episode 6 had Peltz listed, but Bradley never made her way on screen. So when can viewers expect to see the problem child back? All signs seem to be pointing to episode 9.

The synopsis for episode 9, titled “Crazy,” states that Norman “spends the day with a surprise visitor.” Although “Bates Motel” is known to throw surprises at every turn, this mystery visitor could be the return of his first love (Norman’s mother aside). IMDB also has Peltz listed under the cast for the episode. But based on her episode 6 absence, that can’t exactly be trusted.

It’s unclear what kind of trouble Bradley will be stirring up when she returns to White Pine Bay, but series co-creator and executive producer Kerry Ehrin told International Business Times in early March that viewers will not see it coming.

“It’s not what you’d expect it to be,” she dished during a press call. “We get to see what Bradley has been through since we last saw her, which was pretty daunting and she’s kind of on a journey of her own on returning to White Pine Bay.”

Unfortunately for those shipping Bradley and Dylan, a romance doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Ehrin confirmed that Bradley’s Season 3 story line “does not directly intersect with Dylan.” But Norman and Bradley will definitely get some interesting screen time. Actor Freddie Highmore wouldn’t tell Digital Spy what kind of toll Bradley’s reappearance would take on Norman, but he did hint at a sexual plotline.

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see!” he teased. “But as I was saying with Emma, it’s never a good idea to awaken the sexual side of Norman, because that side of him is linked very closely to his dangerous side and awakens this dangerous ‘Psycho’ side of him too.”

“Bates Motel” Season 3 airs on A&E on Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT. Are you excited to see Bradley return? Tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop.