‘Bates Motel’ Season 5 Spoilers: Freddie Highmore Teases Norman’s Life 2 Years After Norma’s Death

Norman (Freddie Highmore) is leading a double life 18 months after Norma’s (Vera Farmiga) death.

In an interview with TV Insider, Highmore said that “Bates Motel” Season 5 explores the “dichotomy” of Norman’s “imaginary life with Mother and the version of himself he presents: that of a lovely motel owner.”

“He’s trying to live two lives, one with his mother at home and one in the exterior world … where everyone thinks he’s a real success story,” Highmore said during a separate chat with USA Today.

According to the Season 5 overview, Norman behaves as a joyful and well-adjusted member of the White Pine Bay community in public, but struggles at home as his violent blackouts become more frequent.

Executive producer Kerry Ehrin recently told Entertainment Weekly that in Season 5, “Norman is in a further stage of where we left him at the end of last season, where he’s living in multiple realities and functioning … on a deep level that he’s not even conscious of.”

“He’s very, very isolated and lonely. But he’s trying,” added Ehrin. “He’s running the motel. He’s doing a good job. He’s doing a good job of covering.”

Highmore told TV Insider that he’s “bringing the Anthony Perkins side of [Norman] more than ever now,” as the show converges with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film “Psycho” in the new season.

Ehrin, however, said that Season 5 won’t copy the events in the film. “We’re definitely doing our own thing,” she said. “It would seem utterly irrelevant to just stick to the ‘Psycho’ lore. … It was always the idea to have a bit of the story of Psycho story present, but to see it from different angles.”

“Bates Motel” Season 5 premieres on Monday, Feb. 20 at 10 p.m. EST on A&E. Check out the synopsis for Season 5, episode 1, titled “Dark Paradise,” below:

“Norman tries to keep up appearances despite a troubling discovery; Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Emma (Olivia Cooke) receive a surprise guest.”