The episode and scene I resonated the most with in Normal People.
Normal People’s Episode 10 is one of the emotional highlights within the entire series featuring one of the show’s stand-out performances. I think for viewers and critics alike, the 2nd Therapy Session was the moment that garnered Paul Mescal’s Emmy nomination. To me though, it was the opening minutes, his first session and the 1st act that setup and the build towards it that stood out. Normal People wasn’t afraid to subvert, challenge and address stereotypes for book adaptation-based series by any means. Over the course of the series, it’s tackled universal themes like coming of age, sex and relationships, love, family dynamics and social class successfully through care and consideration but this episode with the main subject being on mental health felt like one of the most daring and weighted out of all the episodes.
The Therapy Scene hit home, it hit hard. Within a few seconds upon seeing the sheet of paper, I immediately recognised the words and the pre-set answers being circled in the opening shot. Connell was filling out a form for therapy and counselling. I know because I remembered my frustration at having to circle which number best fitted how I was feeling and thinking because I’d have much rather attempted to fill in dotted or blank lines. The slow rise and transition to a side shot immediately set the tone visually, personally I’d have taken out the slow sad piano chords that played, because I felt that the camera work was more than enough to hint what will come to be. The quick still shot of Connell was plenty without the addition of music as his face and eyes said it all. Something has happened, but what?
There’s use of non-linear narrative that take place during the episode, I think this was likely done to create uncertainty and build suspense in the framing of the episode, fortunately, it was done sparingly with tact. It was a good use of structural narrative to draw the audience closer in and more invested. We transition to Connell speaking to his friend Niall, who’s encouraging him to go to therapy (we still don’t know what’s happened yet), Niall is doing his best to support and look after his friend. Shoutout an well done to Niall, we need more people like him. Be more like Niall. I think the quick exchange between them encapsulated men’s fragility and reluctance to talk about mental health. There’s also the underlying subject of money brought up again, as Niall adds “It’s (therapy) free. Might as well…” financial differences have been an important theme that the author Sally Rooney sprinkles in throughout her novel, and it’s been touched on once more during this small conversation between two students and briefly displayed the ongoing stigma around mental health particularly those who come from working class backgrounds.
We move onto to a New Year’s Eve celebration flashback playing out, we see a message come through about his friend Rob, not showing up. Connell dismays it as “nothing “ heading home. He gets a phone call from Connell’s Mam, in the middle of the night. A body was found, Rob’s. Connell has an anxiety attack upon receiving the bad news. By this time, he’s a had few over the series but this was visually the most striking and intense. Connell’s physical reaction to the news was another moment of brilliant acting by Mescal, so early into the episode. I felt like this episode was one of the most serious in tone too, this was emotionally charged, no doubt about it.
We cut to present time and Connell during his first therapy session. The bird’s eye view of the room was a nice bit of cinematography, the overhead shot was a clever way to induce the viewer to feel like they were peaking or stepping into something very private once more, albeit a different kind of intimacy and vulnerability not previously seen or explored before in the series. The first time I watched it I felt a sense of guilt followed by natural sympathy. To those not familiar with what was happening it might come across as a bad breach and heavy intrusion of privacy, for me though, it was something else, it was as if I’d been transported back to my own therapy sessions. I had to hit pause. I wasn’t prepared for what ended up occurring to me personally as I watched it. I didn’t sign up this impromptu trip down memory lane.
This episode felt strangely familiar and oddly therapeutic looking back on it. During Connell’s first session, I recognised the same traits and body language I had displayed and now able to spot when it comes to scenes involving therapy and counselling. Takes one to know one in that regard. The most prominent one being the inability to engage in face-to-face conversation. The reason why I found the first therapy scene particularly convincing was because his head was down, he couldn’t look at his therapist directly. He couldn’t keep eye contact and kept his gaze downward, it’s actually a common thing that happens to those in therapy, especially during the first few times. I can attest to that personally because I did it too. I understood the heaviness in his voice when speaking because words require so much energy but feel so worthless and empty when battling mental health. The tank always feels low if not empty.
I found myself asking “How long was it between his friend Rob killing himself and Connell finally going to therapy?” It’s never implied or specified. I hazarded a guess of between a month or two, given his physical appearance and body language alongside my own experience and history with therapy and counselling. He wasn’t in a good mental state or physical one for that matter and it showed. You could see it in his eyes along with the sense of bleakness on his face, he was in pain but didn’t know how to handle it or process what has happened. It’s draining. That’s what depression can do; it can make you feel as if you we’re running on fumes. Your energy is depleted and your mood is low, everything feels taxing and laboured.
The combination of the lack of words, his eyes and sombre facial expression were a potent mix of multi-layered suffering that gave the audience a glimpse of the pain he was experiencing. He was in pain, there’s no denying or refuting that. He really seemed like a tortured soul. This was level of misery was mainly down to Paul Mescal’s acting and his able to go to a place of intensity and exude such fragility, culminating in very convincing performance. The other part is the research done by Mescal, who spoke with a counsellor for some guidance, he knew the importance of the scene and the subject matter at hand. He wanted to give it as much accuracy and authenticity as possible, which shows his dedication to his craft. He doesn’t just rely on his acting prowess; he studies and does the research to further compliment and hone his skills as an actor. All qualities and makings of serious actor.
These things might seem mundane to the naked eye, but they felt poignant to me, admittedly I found myself hesitant to call and describe his performance “authentic” many times during this write up given it’s a dramatic interpretation of what therapy and suffering from mental health issues can look and feel like. In my opinion, it was very accurate on the whole and but perhaps most importantly, Paul Mescal’s performance felt respectful and sensitive and the series went about it with great attention to detail and care.
By the time we get to Mescal’s most emotionally intense scene, it feels earned because we saw the setup and development to it through good storytelling and use of narrative structure, it was all building up towards moment where Connell can let all the feelings he’d kept in and suppressed go.
I think a number of people would agree that Normal People’s depiction of mental health did the subject matter justice by large. It didn’t set out to reinvent the portrayal of mental health issues by any means, that was never the goal. What it did do though, was present mental health with care and sensitivity that’s more in line with modern world thinking and contemporary views of today.
It’s impressive that Normal People is just Mescal’s first major role within a series, he’s still only a young, upcoming actor yet he’s already showing maturity found in more seasoned and established actors in the industry. Mescal’s gaining an Emmy nomination so early in his promising career is a testament to that. His performance caught the attention of fellow Irishman Jamie Dornan, who’s now in talks with Mescal to be a strong prospect as the male lead in Dornan’s upcoming project.
