Normal People — The Shame of Being Tired

And the untold fragility of finding someone to rest beside.

© Hulu

(Warning: This contains spoilers for Hulu’s Normal People based on the book by Sally Rooney.)

I somehow missed Hulu’s Normal People when it first aired in 2020. I’d tried reading the novel, but the writing style did little for me, so I abandoned it. I guess that makes me a late convert. But I think you find things when you’re in a place to actually understand them, and I’m not sure I would’ve in 2020.

To be held a secret at least implies you’re being held.

The early episodes of the series center around the romantic relationship of the two main characters when they’re teenagers, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal). Though the chemistry between them is obvious and genuine, the two keep their relationship a secret. It wouldn’t do for popular, athletic Connell to be associated with the school outcast.

There’s a scene, later on, when they re-encounter each other in college.

C: Would you be embarrassed if [your friends] found out [about us]?

M: Yeah. In some ways.

C: Why?

M: Because it was humiliating.