AIBU to think ‘Normal People’ is just a bit....shit?

[Returnofangeldelight]

Honestly, everyone has been raving about it, especially during lockdown so last week I thought I’d give it a go.

I’m now watching episode 9 and in all honesty, I’m just sat here bored of Marianne’s sulky, miserable face and bored of all the drama and angst about absolutely nothing?!

I know there’s a few episodes left so I’m really hoping something actually HAPPENS, otherwise it really is 12 episodes of hardly anything happening?

AIBU? What am I missing? (No spoilers please)

Agree. Found all the characters so annoying and clichéd.

It was so crap. Emperor's new clothes of programmes. I can only imagine people liked all the shagging in it, which I don't like when I'm watching TV personally.

YANBU. Everyone I know absolutely loved it. It really wasn’t for me. It was slow and boring. I gave up which is unusual for me!

I didn't like it either. I thought the main characters were so wooden. Didn't feel the chemistry everyone was talking about.

Loved both TV series and book, really brought me back to angsty uni days and was perfect fodder for reading in the bath with a glass of vino. I don’t need stuff to “happen” in TV series’, sometimes I just enjoy the meander.

It's Marmite TV.

I adored it!

Read the book first and thought it was utter crap. Then decided to watch the series thinking it must be really good due to the hype but it was also crap.

Really didn't get it. But I didn't get Fleabag either.

No, nothing happens. And their relationship did not strike me as all that special either.

I wanted to find out why mariannes brother was so favoured

I found the whole thing utterly boring and crap. My best friend thought it was amazing and cried at every episode. I was a bit .

My younger years were full of sex and wild times and unsuitable and more suitable boyfriends. I don’t miss those years or want them back but I’m pleased I had them. My best friend felt very nostalgic watching it all and I’m wondering if people are lusting after a mis spent youth or whatever.

Each to their own!

Yes boring.

I kind of liked it. I thought it captured those heady 6th form/university years pretty well. But you're right, not a lot happens and I can't help but think it wouldn't have got all the attention it did without the sex scenes. I didn't really feel for either of them by the end. I'm tempted to give the book a go now after previous posters have said they enjoyed that.

I only read the book but thought it read like Young Adult fiction. It was a bit too teenage angst-y for me, and I didn't fancy watching teenagers having sex so didn't bother with the series.

I've cross-posted now with loads of people saying the book is crap so maybe won't bother.....!

I loved all of the book apart from the ending

I haven't watched it yet but heard good things.

This sounds like Skins though, but set at uni instead of college years?

I didn't even make it past episode one!
I've heard mixed opinions about the book so not sure if I'll bother....

Read the book, I think the author has potential. IE, it had its moments and some nice touches but overall a bit shit.

I didn’t get why they just didn’t...get together. What was actually stopping them?!

I loved it and it made feel very nostalgic thinking back to my university days and meeting my now husband and the issues we faced ( family backgrounds) .

I related to discovering one another sexually and it made me feel quite tearful that these feelings and emotions are viewed as only being reserved for the young .

Y.a.b.u . Did you miss the lead man?! With every second

Worth

I got fed up to the back teeth of watching them have sex.

If you’re on episode 9 it’s no spoiler to say that they have amazing sexual chemistry (whether or not you believe that as a viewer). But yes, we saw that in episode 1, 2, 3...
When they have sex with other people, fine, show that. But I didn’t need protracted sex scenes between the two of them so much.

Overall I liked it, but my two issues were:

1. Too much sex, as above
2. The misunderstanding each other just happened too much. And you know, I had a relationship with misunderstandings in my 20s. But not that many, and not where conversations had already been had about misunderstandings. The idea of misunderstandings in general did resonate though.

I think you're missing the point a little - it's about normal stuff and normal people. It's about how excruciatingly stupid/awkward/insecure/lonely many of us 'normal people' can be - I certainly remember being awkward and self conscious and not knowing how to 'be' when I was a teenager.

She's not suddenly 'popular' in uni, she just has the opportunity to make a space for herself to fit in where no one knows that she was a misfit/exile on her home town. She can start anew. But she's not always very comfortable in that new skin either. Just like Connell isn't comfortable without the rituals and pecking order of his sporty image back at home. I had a similar experience to Marianne at uni - just like her, I didn't always make the best choices in friends or lovers but it was amazing to feel I could be someone.

Maybe people who didn't have that type of experience don't get it and find it boring. After all, there's no such thing as 'normal'

Do you have eyes?