There’s a lot to love about Hulu’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, but there is also one tiny detail that has people fixated online.
In the series, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) meets Connell (Paul Mescal) in their final year of high school and embark on an on-again, off-again relationship that lasts for years. The series has people harking back to their own teenage crushes and first loves, feelings that have been heightened by a certain accessory, specifically a silver chain worn around Connell’s neck.
Mescal told The Cut that he insisted on wearing a chain in the show, just as Connell does in the book because “it’s absolutely part of Connell’s identity.” Fans seem to agree that the necklace is extremely important. There’s something about the subtle nod to teenage boy fashion that has sent viewers into a frenzy. The chain even has it’s very own Instagram fan account, Connell’s Chain, devoted entirely to screenshots of the romantically-charged accessory, that has amassed a shocking number of followers, nearly 57,000 at time of publication.
It’s not just Instagram, either, social media has been flooded with images of the chain and tweets from people latching onto the necklace. It’s great recognition for a small detail and shows the power of costume in television and film.
