Hulu’s ‘Normal People’ Tugs on Your Heartstrings

Photo courtesy of Hulu and BBC.

Normal People is a romantic psychological drama that premiered on Hulu in 2020. The miniseries follows the on again/off again relationship between Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) through secondary school to undergraduate school. Each episode’s runtime is between 23 and 24 minutes.

This emotional yet stressful story about the right person at the wrong time. Marianne and Connell’s journey begins in secondary school. The series is set in Ireland. The school is located in County Sligo. Peers at the school see Marianne as an oddball but she claims that she doesn’t care about social standing. Connell is a popular athlete and lives with his mother, Lorraine (Sarah Greene). He doesn’t get involved when Marianne gets constantly bullied by his friends. This creates immense complexity in their blooming relationship.

Marianne and Connell meet each other again while attending undergraduate school. Their relationship gets even more complex when they start dating other people. I’m not going to spoil anything but this show is an emotionally painful experience.

Along with the story, the acting in this show is killer. Mescal’s performance as Connell Waldron and Daisy Edgar-Jones’ performance as Marianne Sheridan are particularly noteworthy. Both actors put so much of their heart and soul into their performances. Not only were they fantastic as their characters but their chemistry together is unbelievable.

There were times when I was watching and it didn’t feel like it was acting. It felt genuinely real. Connell and Marianne have one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful love stories in film and television.

The amount of character growth that both of these characters go through in just 12 episodes together and separately is absolutely insane.

Something else that immediately stood out to me was the cinematography. This was one of the most cinematically stunning shows I’ve ever watched. The back shots, the aerial shots, the zoom in/out shots. I have no words. The picture quality is so crisp. The overall aesthetic is so pleasing. The light academia and cottage-core vibes are definitely there, at least for me.

Sadly, no. I know the ending has many fans angry and confused. Trust me, I am too. I would love to see another season because I want to see where Connell and Marianne are now. I want to see Connell in New York and see what Marianne is up to. Although, I don’t believe a second season is a necessity as the ending leaves us to ponder those exact thoughts that I just shared with you.

If you haven’t watched this miniseries yet, I highly suggest you should give it watch.

Normal People is available to stream exclusively on Hulu.

Directors: Hettie Macdonald and Lenny Abrahamson

Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Paul Mescal, Sarah Greene

Producers: Catherine Magee, Sally Rooney, Ed Guiney