Normal People [BBC - RTE] - [**SPOILERS**]

olestoepoke

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

I’m not interested in a back and forth but I’ve talked to multiple ppl about this show and most have said it’s rubbish - I ask why? Give it a chance?

The answer usually revolves around how unbelievable, unrelateable, fake, cliched, stereotyped, the show is. Others mention all the plot holes - “couldn’t be bothered with it” a recent reaction for example.

Sorry now I don’t mean to be annoying ppl but that was the general view

If it’s any consolation my niece aged 17 loved it.

Some of your plot holes are feasible but I was just pointing out that Connell being a bad communicator whilst being academically gifted was not a plot hole. Go onto Youtube and listen to Elon Musk for 10 minutes. He is a genius and finds it hard to string words together a lot of the time. Regarding the show being terrible, it seems it is a runaway success and will win multiple awards so the vast majority of people seemed to have liked it a lot.

Purple Mountain

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

*Spoilers

I just watched all episodes, I dont get the hype tbh, it's good and lots of times I related to both characters in different ways, it's emotional and I could ertainly feel the emotions the characters were feeling, in allot of ways its relatable but so are lots of other television shows and movies. It got very tedious after awhile, more sex, breaking up, getting back together, wanting to be together, hanging out but not being together I can see how it mght appeal to people in their early to mid 20's who may be going through similar circumstances with college, relationships, friends, moving out of home for the first time.

Also am I missing something but made no sense that he is going to do his Masters in New York, isnt he broke and working two jobs just to get by living in Dublin before he got his scholarship, assuming he also got grants to pay his fees, likely since his mam is a low paid cleaner? Unless he got another scholarship fees for college in New york a literally tens if not hundreds of thousands depending on how long his course is.

That was some binge watch Fairy

Airyfairy12

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

I don't think any of this is that weird.

Is he not a 600 points student? Why would such a gifted and promising student go to IT Sligo when they're able for Trinity? Which one is more impressive on a CV, either in Ireland or overseas?

The grant system in Ireland is (or was, not sure what it's like now) very generous. He would have had his fees covered plus money for living expenses, plus part time jobs. The reality is even a 'poor' student in Ireland is a lot better off than most. He also

passed Schols, and got free accommodation and meals for the rest of his time in college

, which meant the money thing became practically a non-issue.

He wasn't meeting typical Dublin people, he was meeting Trinity students, who are by and large as you described. Trinity is a bit of a bubble. I knew loads of people there who had no Irish friends except for posh D4 people. I knew English people there who were only friends with other English people. It's not that unusual to live your entire life between Dublin city centre and Rathmines.

Not unusual either for people who stayed behind in a rural town to be wasters and small towners. I remember going home the summer after first year and nobody I'd known at school had moved on. They were still sitting at the same table in the pub, still talking the same sh1te about the same people. It was almost surreal. I'd met all these new people, had new experiences and a whole new lifestyle and it was like they were frozen in time. We just had nothing to talk about. They weren't interested in my course or my new college friends or the summer job I'd lined up in France, I wasn't interested in hearing how Maeve had hooked up with Conor after she'd been with Declan the week before. I actually found the show to be quite representative of the weird feeling you get when you realise you have nothing in common with your old friends other than being from the same place.

A masters or undergrad from an IT is just as good as a qualification from Trinity and believe it not employers dont tend to focus too much on which college an applicant attended. Plenty of 600 point students go on to study in IT's.

If what youre saying is true, who would bother studying in an IT? The college name would lower their prospectives, Its quite telling that you hold hauty opinions about people who attend certain colleges.

Having recieved grants myself, he would have gotten his fees covered and roughly 350 a month, hardley enough to live on, especially for living and studying in Dublin. If you read my comment again you'll notice I mentioned his struggles *before* he got his scholarship. It showed him borrowing money and being unable to live in Dublin for the Summer as he lost one of his part time jobs. Its clearly indicated throughout that he struggles financially.

Some people are comfortable staying home and not changing their lives too much after school, that goes for anywhere, not just small towns. I felt the show gives an impression of these people being a little bit patethic and beneath their peers who went to Dublin.

Higgins5473

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

Totally unhinged? What makes you say that? She's not remotely unhinged, IMO. I find her actually more level headed than Connell, at every stage of life.

Ok let’s start with a timeline:

-Bullied throughout school
-Abusive brother
-Negligent mother (potentially father or was he just absent?, can’t remember)
-Disowned by mother who shows no love for her
- Abusive controlling boyfriend in “trinners”
- Extremely abusive Swedish boyfriend, disturbingly so
- She craves physical pain/being hurt...basically wants to be abused.

So, if she’s level headed then it’s a very poor portrayal of a character that has gone through this much. If she’s somehow made of steel and none of this bothers her, you are dealing with somebody who is even more messed up than unhinged.

Airyfairy12

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

A masters or undergrad from an IT is just as good as a qualification from Trinity and believe it not employers dont tend to focus too much on which college an applicant attended. Plenty of 600 point students go on to study in IT's.

If what youre saying is true, who would bother studying in an IT? The college name would lower their prospectives, Its quite telling that you hold hauty opinions about people who attend certain colleges.

Having recieved grants myself, he would have gotten his fees covered and roughly 350 a month, hardley enough to live on, especially for living and studying in Dublin. If you read my comment again you'll notice I mentioned his struggles *before* he got his scholarship. It showed him borrowing money and being unable to live in Dublin for the Summer as he lost one of his part time jobs. Its clearly indicated throughout that he struggles financially.

Some people are comfortable staying home and not changing their lives too much after school, that goes for anywhere, not just small towns. I felt the show gives an impression of these people being a little bit patethic and beneath their peers who went to Dublin.

There's a reason why Trinity has the highest point requirements in the country

lainey_d_123

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

A masters or undergrad from an IT is just as good as a qualification from Trinity and believe it not employers dont tend to focus too much on which college an applicant attended. Plenty of 600 point students go on to study in IT's.

If what youre saying is true, who would bother studying in an IT? The college name would lower their prospectives, Its quite telling that you hold hauty opinions about people who attend certain colleges.

Having recieved grants myself, he would have gotten his fees covered and roughly 350 a month, hardley enough to live on, especially for living and studying in Dublin. If you read my comment again you'll notice I mentioned his struggles *before* he got his scholarship. It showed him borrowing money and being unable to live in Dublin for the Summer as he lost one of his part time jobs. Its clearly indicated throughout that he struggles financially.

Some people are comfortable staying home and not changing their lives too much after school, that goes for anywhere, not just small towns. I felt the show gives an impression of these people being a little bit patethic and beneath their peers who went to Dublin.

They absolutely do focus on it. I got more than a few jobs because I had Trinity on my CV.

LOL, 'haughty opinions'? I'm a working class girl with no pretentions whatsoever. But there's a reason the points are so high in Trinity. I'm not saying the ITs are useless, but do you not understand how the world works? You ask 'who would bother studying at an IT?' A lot of people don't have the option to study at the likes of Trinity because they're not going to get the points. Is this not obvious? A 600 point student who wants to study English is going to have far more opportunities at Trinity than the local IT. College isn't just about doing a course, it's about networking, things like that. And yes, to a certain extent, having the name of the college on your CV.

350 a month isn't that bad, especially if you supplement it with a job. It's more than I had to live on. I didn't quality for a grant and my parents refused to pay, so I ended up working for all the money I needed and taking out student loans. Fees were still free when I went, so I'm still way better off than most people who went to college here in the UK, even the middle class ones. They all have at least £15,000 of debt, sometimes far more, up to £60,000, even. I have colleagues who are in their mid thirties and still paying off student debt. Sometimes you need to count your blessings.

I'd say the show does give that impression, yes, and I'd say I agree with it. Are you offended by it? I don't think not moving on from your school days is anything to admire.

Andrew00

What a loser not going back to ur wans house to screw her

lainey_d_123

Higgins5473 wrote: »

Ok let’s start with a timeline:

-Bullied throughout school
-Abusive brother
-Negligent mother (potentially father or was he just absent?, can’t remember)
-Disowned by mother who shows no love for her
- Abusive controlling boyfriend in “trinners”
- Extremely abusive Swedish boyfriend, disturbingly so
- She craves physical pain/being hurt...basically wants to be abused.

So, if she’s level headed then it’s a very poor portrayal of a character that has gone through this much. If she’s somehow made of steel and none of this bothers her, you are dealing with somebody who is even more messed up than unhinged.

Having a difficult life doesn't make you 'unhinged'. I know people who have been through all sorts of trauma and come through it relatively well. I know people who have had cushy, perfect lives and fall to pieces at the slightest hint of anything difficult.

Marianne has her issues but she mostly appeared calm, balanced and level headed. Anything but 'unhinged'. The BDSM stuff is a bit weird in that it seems to come from nowhere and we're given no indication of whether she genuinely enjoys it or what, but in itself, I don't think that's overly disturbing, either. I know a few people who are into that stuff and I wouldn't say they're particularly 'damaged'.

RobertKK

Normal People is like Jamie inflicting pain, but its not pleasurable.

RobertKK

The Italian villa is an improvement as a location.

yew_tree

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Very quiet here tonight?

No ridin....very disappointing. Although if Jamie gets his teeth rearranged I’ll be happy enough.

gmisk

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Very quiet here tonight?

I'd say the majority of people who actually enjoyed it, have watched the whole series via VPN or other means.

PTH2009

yew_tree wrote: »

No ridin....very disappointing. Although if Jamie gets his teeth rearranged I’ll be happy enough.

and he doesn't. Connell is a bit of a scary pants and should be stepping in kicking the head off him for doing that. Same as when all the abuse was directed to Marianne previously

Purple Mountain

gmisk wrote: »

I'd say the majority of people who actually enjoyed it, have done so with whole series via VPN or other means.

Pretty much yeah!

yew_tree

PTH2009 wrote: »

and he doesn't. Connell is a bit of a scary pants and should be stepping in kicking the head off him for doing that. Same as when all the abuse was directed to Marianne previously

Agreed...if anyone treated a friend of mine like that I’d have shoved that wine bottle up his hole

Mad_maxx

found it unrealistic how mariannes family own a place like that in italy , its one thing owning a period residence in dublin 6

Mad_maxx

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Plus 1.

Unfortunately there are loads of plot holes (his old as the hills looks, apparently academically gifted but can hardly finish a sentence with all the mumbling, he owns a car etc and his lifestyle in general even tho he is apparently on the poverty line) in it that diminish the entire thing

hes from a humble backround , unlike the pretentous lot marianne hangs out with ,doesnt feel the need to wax lyrical , his circle of friends would not have allowed it , doesnt mean he isnt smart , as for the car , its a fcuking ford fusion , probably cost a grand

wakka12

Was just watching end of the ****ing world and thought the style of narration it uses that switches between normal talking and the two main characters thoughts in their head might have worked well in normal people

Qrt

Andrew00 wrote: »

What a loser not going back to ur wans house to screw her

He did in the book, well basically did.

kowloon

wakka12 wrote: »

Was just watching end of the ****ing world and thought the style of narration it uses that switches between normal talking and the two main characters thoughts in their head might have worked well in normal people

That's been recommended to me, I'll have to give it a shot.

lainey_d_123

Mad_maxx wrote: »

found it unrealistic how mariannes family own a place like that in italy , its one thing owning a period residence in dublin 6

Why? They have a period residence in Dublin 4 (that's where Wellington Road is) which would likely be worth over a million euro as well as big house in Sligo, but you think a villa in the Italian countryside, where property prices can be very low, is a stretch?

I do wonder how people come to these conclusions.

bb1234567

Mad_maxx wrote: »

found it unrealistic how mariannes family own a place like that in italy , its one thing owning a period residence in dublin 6

Can buy property extremely cheaply in parts of Italy, they sell them off for nothing to try and repopulate dying towns. Pretty irrelevant though, their characters are rich people, they can afford nice things and houses, who cares beyond that

cian68

PTH2009 wrote: »

and he doesn't. Connell is a bit of a scary pants and should be stepping in kicking the head off him for doing that. Same as when all the abuse was directed to Marianne previously

Haven't seen the episode in a while but isn't he just a complete dick and breaks a glass? Most reasonable people wouldn't assault someone for that. Just stop hanging around them.

PTH2009

cian68 wrote: »

Haven't seen the episode in a while but isn't he just a complete dick and breaks a glass? Most reasonable people wouldn't assault someone for that. Just stop hanging around them.

Its was a bit over the line and the way he was mounting about stuff

He deserved a slap

Strazdas

cian68 wrote: »

Haven't seen the episode in a while but isn't he just a complete dick and breaks a glass? Most reasonable people wouldn't assault someone for that. Just stop hanging around them.

Didn't she say it was her late father's champagne glass? He broke it deliberately to provoke her.

pappyodaniel

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

Why? They have a period residence in Dublin 4 (that's where Wellington Road is) which would likely be worth over a million euro as well as big house in Sligo, but you think a villa in the Italian countryside, where property prices can be very low, is a stretch?

I do wonder how people come to these conclusions.

The house in Sligo, their permanent residence is no great shakes. Looks like a fancy-ish bungalow to me.

Mad_maxx

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

Why? They have a period residence in Dublin 4 (that's where Wellington Road is) which would likely be worth over a million euro as well as big house in Sligo, but you think a villa in the Italian countryside, where property prices can be very low, is a stretch?

I do wonder how people come to these conclusions.

They could have bought the house in Dublin forty years ago, they're house in sligo is relatively modest

That place in Italy is huge as summer retreats go and while many country folk owned houses in the capital going back decades when Dublin wasn't especially expensive, they didn't holiday in their own estate in Italy

What did the father do anyway?

Mad_maxx

bb1234567 wrote: »

Can buy property extremely cheaply in parts of Italy, they sell them off for nothing to try and repopulate dying towns. Pretty irrelevant though, their characters are rich people, they can afford nice things and houses, who cares beyond that

They're from mere sligo, they're not the Roys from succession or even the Irish 1% from ballsbridge, I like it a lot otherwise but details lend credibility

Wombatman

Higgins5473 wrote: »

Ok let’s start with a timeline:
......
- Extremely abusive Swedish boyfriend, disturbingly so
.........

Where did you get thus from? Didn't read the book but the series suggests Marianne got him into the S&M stuff after developing a taste for it while with Jamie. The 'abuse' is just part of their role-play. Outside of that he seems like a nice guy actually. Extremely abusive is a massive stretch IMHO.

Mad_maxx

PTH2009 wrote: »

Its was a bit over the line and the way he was mounting about stuff

He deserved a slap

If ever a guy deserved a hiding, couldn't believe Connell didn't deck him,seeing as he looks down on him all the time to boot