I know people are going to come at me for this hot take. Normal People is a beloved limited series, a ‘small-screen triumph’ as The Guardian put it in their five-star 2020 review. But I don’t understand the hype. It didn’t cut it for me. In fact, I was relieved to be done with the series.
Yes, I know, I’m six years late to the party. So what gives me the right to even comment on what’s considered a masterpiece? After all, it has 91 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Alas, I’m a girl with opinions to share, and I’m gonna do it regardless of whether Normal People is the freshest show of the summer or half a decade old.
I read Sally Rooney’s book before I watched the limited series, and I hated it. Multiple friends begged me to give the tragic lovebirds Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) another chance. “Watch the series, it’s so much better!” they said. So, I did. And my opinion remains unshifted.
If you’re like me and are (extremely) late to the party — or are yet to watch — let me give you a quick rundown. Normal People follows Marianne and Connell over the course of their four-year on again, off again relationship through high school and university. They’re about as angsty as the angstiest of teens, filled with lust, love, drama and the communication skills of a two-year-old. Actually, I think a two-year-old could communicate better than this pair, but more on that later.
Don’t get me wrong, Edgar-Jones’ and Mescal’s acting was great. The pair channel that slightly awkward yet charming chemistry that you only ever experience during a teen romance. It’s believable… for the first time they break up and get back together.
These two are bloody good at playing tennis with their hearts — and my patience. I quickly grew tired of the constant tug-of-war, push and pull, will they won’t they. Whatever you call it, they were back and forth all the damn time. It’s wild to me that they only got together and broke up three times over the course of the series, because it felt like a wholeeee lot more.
Connell wants Marianne, but she’s in a relationship with someone abusive. He saves her from said relationship. They’re together. They break up. Marianne wants Connell, but he’s in an (unhappy) relationship. Connell and his girlfriend break up. Connell and Marianne get back together. The cycle goes on and on and on and on.
I felt like ripping my hair out. As I was watching, I wanted to reach through my TV screen and shake both Marianne and Connell, to tell them to wake TF up and let each other go, which they finally do after four painstakingly long years. Maybe that’s the point of the show, but I think we got the message loud and clear the second time the relationship failed.
My personal belief is that if a relationship fails the second time around, it’s not meant to be. So yes, I do lack empathy towards the two protagonists. But in my defence, I really tried to like them. I’m not trying to be on a high horse, but fucking hell, they’re infuriating to watch. Marianne and Connell are akin to a car crash: you hate to watch, but you can’t look away.
I didn’t build sympathy towards either of them because neither of their issues were explored in depth. We got a glimpse into Marianne’s home life, from her cold mother to abusive brother, but it was never probed. It was presented as something for the viewer to accept without question and just move on.
Connell’s reasons for being as emotionally unavailable as an unmovable boulder wasn’t brushed on, either. The Connell apologists will try and justify it, but I don’t believe the allure. Sure, he wasn’t a bad guy, per se, but he was a shitty boyfriend. He used Marianne for sex and asked her to keep it a secret. He slept with another girl, Rachel, then told her to “fuck off” at the school disco. In university, he’d rather break up with Marianne than ask to spend a few weeks in her apartment over the summer because he had nowhere to live.
Nothing about that is appealing to me, coming-of-age drama or not.
Yes, Normal People explores the flaws that make humans human. But I don’t know if it was executed as well as diehard fans make it out to be.
Image: Normal People / Stan
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