The official trailer for the series finale of Bates Motel prepares fans for the final chapter of Norman Bates' story. It's been a long, strange trip for Norman and Norma Bates, but really, everyone knew it would be. After all, the mother and son characters were inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock horror classic Psycho, which as anyone even somewhat aware of pop culture history knows concerns an insane motel owner who murders people while under the delusion that he's his own mother. Still, it was never really obvious when that particular shoe would drop, leading many to still be shocked and surprised when Norman finally killed Norma near the end of Bates Motel season 4.

Season 4 also ended with Dylan and Emma leaving White Pine Bay and the former's crazy family behind, seemingly for good, and Sheriff Alex Romero losing both his new wife Norma and job in law enforcement after being busted by the DEA for his involvement in Bob Paris' criminal enterprise. Naturally, this led the currently airing Bates Motel season 5 to become a season of change, with a large time jump occurring beforehand, Dylan and Emma now having a baby, Romero doing his best to get out of prison and kill Norman, and Norman trying to balance his job of running the family motel with his mother persona's compulsion to kill.

Now, after five seasons and nearly 50 episodes, Norman's - and Norma's, real or not - story is finally set to reach its conclusion next Monday night. The last several episodes have seen Norman's already fragile existence progressively more threatened by multiple involved parties, including the suspicious new sheriff, an escaped Romero, a worried Dylan, and an even more ruthless than normal version of "Mother." A&E has released the official trailer for Bates Motel's series finale, entitled "The Cord." Check it out above.

In an interesting aesthetic choice, the above trailer - which partially serves as a recap of season 5 so far - features what appears to be real script pages from the show, interspersed with those scenes in action, and sometimes seemingly altered by Norman's madness. A bit of an odd direction to be sure, but an intriguing one nonetheless.

At this late juncture - and with so many plot points already having diverged from the established Psycho canon - one wonders if there's any way even a semblance of a happy ending can happen for any of the major characters. Dylan and Emma's marriage is currently on the rocks, Romero - if he survives - will surely end up back in prison for years after all the crimes he's committed since his escape, and even if Norman bests a vengeful Romero, he'll still have multiple murders to answer for. Hopefully, all will be revealed come next week.

Next: Bates Motel Special to Air Following Series Finale

Bates Motel concludes with the series finale next Monday, April 24 on A&E.

Source: A&E