Our prayers have been answered and Connell and Marianne will return with a brand new chapter in their love story, but the important question is, will they bring back all our favourite, iconic moments from the show? We know the special episodes for Comic Relief in Ireland (which air on the Irish channel RTE tomorrow) will be directed by Lenny Abrahamson, who helmed the original series. But we're still waiting to see who the guest stars will be. To be honest, we don't care, as long as we get to see the lovebirds back together. (Please God say they're together! They're not going to be, are they?).
It's been two months since we were enraptured by Connell and Marianne'son/off relationship, when it became the cultural highlight of lockdown. Here are the things we were obsessed with at the time and our hopes and predictions of how they’ll reappear in Normal People: the Comic Relief edition.
THE CHAIN!
According to hints dropped by Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis, this time it will be set in the future. Speaking on RTE Radio 1's Sunday, he said: ‘There's a beautiful piece called Normal Older People, which is imagining what would have happened to Marianne and Connell 40 years from now.’ So, let’s say Connell is, what, 60-odd? Definitely not too old for a chain. Maybe there's a very subtle silver hoop in one ear lobe as well. We hopethe chain is hidden at first, then teased; is that a flash of it we see buried in some silver chest hair when he (probably) gives Marianne an awkward hug? We're all for the build up and the big reveal, but if we don't feel satisfied with the amount of screen time the chain is given we WILL be writing to Ofcom.
The bangs
Before imagining 60-year-old Marianne’s hair, let’s try to imagine her face. Are they using an older actor or Daisy Edgar-Jones with prosthetics? Either way, a fringe works on any age. We think they will know to go big or go home with this one. We want to see the fringe restrained with a hair clip at first and then BOOM when she takes it out: fuller, sleeker and better than ever, and is that a chic silver streak we see through running through it?
The sex scenes
Is Normal People without a sex scene even Normal People? Don’t pretend you don’t want to see the lustful writhing and heavy panting again (and this time we’ve learnt NOT to watch the show sitting next to our parents). We’re expecting a good 92% chunk of the episodes to be full frontal passion, and we predict that Connell and Marianne have gotten even more adventurous as they’ve got older.
Brilliant communication skills
Wouldn’t it be funny if, instead of us screaming at the TV: ‘TELL HER, CONNELL, TELL HER!!’ as their relationship is thwarted by misunderstandings, we see them settle down for a long chat and map out exactly how they both feel? Four decades on they can finally read each other. Maybe they’ll go back through everything they ever said and explain their thinking behind it. We can picture it now: ‘Ohhhh, I didn’t realise you wanted to move in! Why didn’t you just say!?’
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