Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Normal People, which became one of the most talked-about and emotionally devastating romantic series that perfectly captures the messy, beautiful complexity of young love and personal growth.
Normal People premiered in April 2020 as a 12-episode limited series, with each episode running approximately 28-30 minutes. Based on Sally Rooney’s bestselling 2018 novel of the same name, this BBC Three and Hulu co-production stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal in career-defining performances. The series follows the intricate relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron as they navigate the turbulent transition from their final days in secondary school to their undergraduate years at Trinity College Dublin.
What makes Normal People extraordinary is its unflinching honesty about the messiness of human connection. The series explores themes of class differences, mental health struggles, intimacy issues, and the ways trauma shapes our ability to love and be loved. It’s a raw, authentic portrayal of how two people can be perfect for each other yet struggle to make it work due to timing, communication failures, and personal demons.
A Love Story That Defies Simple Categories
The series chronicles Marianne and Connell’s complicated relationship across several years, showing how they repeatedly find their way back to each other despite numerous breakups and misunderstandings. From their secret affair in high school to their on-and-off romance at university, Normal People explores how external pressures, internal insecurities, and poor communication can sabotage even the deepest connections.
Each episode reveals new layers of their relationship, showing how they serve as each other’s anchor and source of pain simultaneously. The series doesn’t shy away from depicting the cyclical nature of their romance, where moments of profound intimacy are followed by devastating separations that feel both inevitable and heartbreaking.
Marianne Sheridan: The Wealthy Outcast Finding Her Worth
Daisy Edgar-Jones delivers a powerhouse performance as Marianne, a wealthy but emotionally neglected teenager who struggles with self-worth and destructive relationships. Her character arc spans from the isolated high school student who believes she deserves poor treatment to a young woman slowly learning to value herself and demand better from others.
Marianne’s journey is particularly compelling because it addresses the complex relationship between privilege and trauma. Despite her family’s wealth, she endures emotional abuse at home and gravitates toward toxic relationships that mirror her dysfunctional family dynamics. Her evolution throughout the series showcases the long, difficult process of healing from childhood trauma.
Connell Waldron: The Popular Boy Wrestling with Vulnerability
Paul Mescal’s breakthrough performance as Connell presents a character who appears confident on the surface but struggles deeply with anxiety, social expectations, and his inability to express his feelings. As the son of Marianne’s family’s cleaner, Connell navigates complex class dynamics while battling his own mental health challenges.
Connell’s character challenges traditional masculinity stereotypes, showing a sensitive young man who often retreats into silence when he most needs to communicate. His journey toward emotional vulnerability and his battle with depression provide some of the series’ most powerful moments, particularly his therapy sessions that offer rare authentic representation of male mental health struggles.
When Trinity College Changes Everything
The transition to Trinity College Dublin serves as a pivotal turning point where the power dynamics between Marianne and Connell completely shift. At university, Marianne blossoms socially while Connell struggles to find his place among the wealthy elite students. This reversal creates new tensions and misunderstandings that drive them apart just when they seem ready to truly be together.
The college episodes showcase how different environments can completely transform relationships and reveal new aspects of familiar characters. The university setting also introduces new complications through other romantic interests and social pressures that test their connection in unexpected ways.
Success on BBC and Hulu
Normal People achieved remarkable critical and commercial success, earning Emmy nominations and widespread acclaim for its authentic portrayal of young love and mental health. The 12-episode limited series format allowed for deep character development without overstaying its welcome, with each 30-minute episode feeling perfectly paced. Critics praised the series for its mature handling of sexuality, mental health, and class issues, while audiences connected deeply with the authentic emotions and realistic relationship dynamics. Normal People stands out for its commitment to showing rather than telling, letting the stellar performances and subtle direction convey the characters’ internal struggles.
If you love emotionally complex stories about the messiness of human connection, Normal People is the perfect series to binge on BBC iPlayer or Hulu. This series captures the intensity of first love and the painful beauty of relationships that shape us even when they don’t last forever.
Essential Viewing That Will Break Your Heart Beautifully
Normal People creates an intimate portrait of love that feels devastatingly real and achingly beautiful. This series doesn’t offer easy answers or fairy tale endings, but instead presents the complicated truth about how we love, hurt, and heal each other. It’s television that stays with you long after the final credits roll.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 12 episodes (Limited Series)
Platform: BBC Three, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Starz
Year: 2020 (Completed)
Current IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Genre: Drama, Romance, Coming-of-Age
Status: Completed limited series
Protagonists: Daisy Edgar-Jones (Marianne Sheridan), Paul Mescal (Connell Waldron)
Supporting Cast: Sarah Greene, Aislín McGuckin, Desmond Eastwood