New ‘Fire Country’ Season 3, Episode 18 Details Reveal an Unexpected ‘Bates Motel’ Reunion

Before becoming a regular presence on procedurals such as SEAL Team and Fire Country, Max Thieriot played Dylan Massett in the 2013 horror series Bates Motel. The show ran for five seasons on A&E before concluding in 2017. Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga also starred as Norman and Norma Bates. Since the show’s conclusion, the cast has moved on to other projects and responsibilities in the industry. Thieriot stars in, co-created, executive produces, and directs Fire Country, while Highmore has done much of the same on shows like The Good Doctor. In the penultimate airing of Fire Country Season 3, a subtle Bates Motel reunion occurs as Highmore sits behind the camera as the episode’s director. “The station 42 crew responds to a routine house fire that escalates into a dangerous situation for one of their own,” reads the logline for Fire Country Season 3, Episode 18, “Eyes and Ears Everywhere,” airing on April 18, a week before the two-hour series finale.

Developed by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin, and Athony Cipriano, Bates Motel has been described as a “contemporary prequel” to the 1960 film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Robert Bloch‘s 1959 novel inspired the characters, but events are seen more modernly. The show is set in the fictional town of White Pine Bay, Oregon. It follows the lives of Norma and Norman, who move there and buy a motel after Norma’s husband dies. However, Norma finds herself fighting an uphill battle as her son’s mental illness that leads him to kill people worsens. Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon), Nestor Carbonell, Nicola Peltz, and Kenny Johnson also starred. Bates Motel was A&E’s longest-running original scripted drama and was nominated for several awards for Highmore and Farmiga’s performances.

The ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Finale Approaches

“Eyes and Ears Everywhere” airs the week before the two-hour season finale. Split into two parts, the finale handles a fire disaster made worse by strengthening winds. Thieriot directs part one of the finale titled “A Change in the Wind.” When a fire erupts at a gas station, Bode and Manny (Kevin Alejandro) jump into action to protect the patrons and property,” reads the logline for the season’s penultimate episode, airing on April 25 at 9 pm. ET. Part two, titled “I’d Do It Again,” continues at 10 p.m. on the same night. In it, “Extremely high winds and dangerous conditions push the Zebel Ridge fire into Edgewater, threatening Three Rock and Walter’s (Jeff Fahey) care facility.”