Normal People (2020) s01e08 Episode Script

1
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
NIALL: See ya.
(ENGINE REVVING)
What a view.
That is real nice.
Race you to the top.
Oh?
Yeah. Come on.
NIALL: Knock yourself out.
Too slow.
(INSECTS CHITTERING)
Jesus.
CONNELL: Mm‐hmm.
(NIALL LAUGHS)
NIALL:
Think we'll get our own rooms?
(INSECTS CHITTERING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Are we early?
Pretty sure we're late.
PEGGY: The backpackers are here!
NIALL: Hey!
Come in.
It's so good to see you.
NIALL: You, too.
Fuckin' hell, this place, man.
It's all right, isn't it? Hey.
CONNELL: Hi, Peggy. How's things?
NIALL: It's amazing.
Come through. They're all out back.
NIALL: Grazie.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Can I get you something to drink?
CONNELL: Uh, glass of water
would be grand. Thanks.
♪♪
(INSECTS CHITTERING)
It's a nice place.
It's very quiet.
(BILLOWING)
Hello.
Hi.
NIALL: There she is. Hey.
MARIANNE:
Hi. It's so nice to see you.
NIALL:
You, too. Thanks so much for having us.
This place is incredible.
How was your journey? You must be tired.
Nope. Not at all.
We slept the whole way.
Really?
CONNELL: No, Niall slept the whole way.
(NIALL AND MARIANNE LAUGH)
MARIANNE: We're gonna make dinner.
NIALL: Amazing.
I'm cooking. You should be very excited.
I properly am.
MARIANNE:
I'll show you where you're sleeping.
Then you can have a drink,
or a walk,
or shower
(ALL LAUGH)
NIALL: Ah, right. Sorry about that.
MARIANNE: Whatever you like.
(WATER POURING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Connell, you made it.
You all right, Jamie?
Yeah, not bad, thanks.
Can I get you a drink?
I'd take a beer, if you had one.
Good summer?
Yeah. Good. You?
Yeah, it was all right, thanks.
Mm.
Thanks.
Marianne,
is there a Wi‐Fi code I could grab?
Sure. It's on the thingy.
The box in the hall.
Thanks.
MARIANNE: It's not brilliant.
Did you want to make a call, or‐‐
Yeah, Helen.
Yeah, I s‐said I would
when I got here, so‐‐
I doubt you'll get Skype working.
Phone signal's best in the garden,
out by the pool.
Thanks.
Uh, do you want me to help
with dinner, or
No. Thanks.
(KISSES)
HELEN (OVER PHONE):
Is it nice there?
Mm‐hmm.
Is it huge?
Has she got a mansion in every country?
Ah, wouldn't call it a mansion.
It's, uh
certainly a step up from hostels.
What's the plan, then?
You out partying in the local village?
Don't think so.
Think we're just gonna have dinner here.
Oh. What are you having?
Don't know. I, uh
I saw some figs.
(LAUGHS) That's classic Marianne.
Figs. Of course she's serving figs
in her Italian mansion.
Are there artichokes, as well?
Mm‐hmm. Think so.
(WATER BUBBLING)
I hope you have fun.
I miss you.
I miss you, too, Helen.
Goodbye.
Bye.
(PHONE CLICKS OFF)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
How was Helen?
Good. Yeah. Good.
Says hi.
Oh Hi.
And Jamie?
What about him?
You want a hi from Jamie?
(LAUGHS)
He's sleeping.
You want me to give you a hand?
PEGGY: Done.
Shelled every one of these fuckers.
(LAUGHS)
Congratulations.
(ALL LAUGH SOFTLY)
I was gonna bike to the shop
for some bits. Do you wanna come?
CONNELL: Yeah, well,
if there's a bike I can borrow.
Jamie's will do.
(CHOPS)
I'll, uh, I'll raise the saddle a bit.
A lot.
(LAUGHS)
("DANDELION" BY
JEALOUS OF THE BIRDS PLAYING)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
CONNELL: Go, go, go.
MARIANNE: Whoo!
CONNELL: This is amazing.
MARIANNE: What? Whoo!
shape pomegranate hips ♪
(MARIANNE LAUGHING)
Girls like handkerchiefs ♪
All unfurl ♪
(CONNELL LAUGHS)
Your life's a dandelion whirl ♪
MARIANNE: Whoo!
Don't be an eejit, Connell.
(MARIANNE LAUGHS)
With my blue bird heart,
I'm a singing girl ♪
(SCANNER BEEPS)
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
CONNELL: Grazie.
Grazie, mille.
SHOPKEEPER: Arrivederci. Arrivederci.
Grazie. Ciao.
SHOPKEEPER: Ciao. Ciao.
(CHURCH BELL TOLLS)
(CONNELL CRUNCHING)
CONNELL: I feel like everything's changed
since Schols.
What do you mean?
I don't know. Just all this.
It's real.
You know, foreign cities are real.
Famous artworks.
The remnants of the Berlin Wall.
Eating ice cream in little
Italian piazzas with you.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
It's money, though, isn't it?
The substance that makes the world real.
Yeah.
Mm.
It's so corrupt.
And sexy.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
I feel like this scholarship has made,
like, literally everything seem possible.
I'm happy for you.
I'm happy for you, too.
Yeah, but you deserve it more.
Why? Because of the financial stuff?
Well, yeah, obviously.
I actually meant that
you're a better student.
You know,
don't really think about it that much
Financial side.
Sorry.
That was an ignorant thing to say.
Maybe I should think about it more.
Right.
I am conscious of the fact that
we got to know each other because
your mother works for my family.
I also don't think that my mother
is a very good employer.
Don't think she pays Lorraine very well.
Well, she pays her fuck all.
Why hasn't this come up before?
No, honestly, I
I think it's totally fair
if you resent me.
I don't resent you. Why would I?
I just don't I don't think I'm
processing the change all that well.
Well
You just need to get it straight
in your mind
what you think is fair
and good in the world.
And if you think that people
should be able to go to college,
and get English degrees,
and go to Europe and look at art, then
you shouldn't feel guilty for yourself,
because you have every right to.
CONNELL:
Well, that's easy for you to say.
You don't feel guilty about anything.
(MARIANNE SCOFFS)
MARIANNE:
Is that how you see me?
(CONNELL CHUCKLES)
(WIND BLOWING)
I loved the emails you sent.
They were so good.
You write really beautifully.
It's really nice to hear you say that,
Marianne.
How are the stories going?
(CONNELL CHUCKLES)
I'd love to read them.
They're not as good as the emails.
(CHUCKLES)
(CONNELL LAUGHS SOFTLY)
♪♪
Hi.
(SILVERWARE CLINKING)
CONNELL: Mm. Thanks.
Mm. Thank you.
NIALL: Thanks.
Do you mind opening this?
My hands are wet.
Not at all.
Life. You live it up,
and you drink it down.
(ALL LAUGHING SOFTLY)
(POPS)
NIALL: Whoa!
Nice shot.
Thank you.
No champagne glasses?
PEGGY:
These are champagne glasses.
No, I, uh I mean the tall ones.
You mean flutes. These are coupes.
What's the matter?
I'm just saying,
these aren't for champagne.
You're such a philistine.
JAMIE: Yeah.
You were gonna drink champagne
out of gravy boats, and I'm a philistine.
(NIALL LAUGHS)
They're, they're just
an older style, Jamie.
They were my dad's.
There are flutes in the press
over the sink, if you'd prefer.
Help yourself.
Well, I didn't realize that
it was such an emotional issue for you.
I am terribly sorry.
NIALL: This is really delicious.
CONNELL: Mm.
PEGGY: I underdid the pasta.
It's very al dente.
Too al dente, no?
I think it's nice.
It's great. Thanks.
And it's such a lovely house.
Did you come here when you were little?
MARIANNE: Mm‐hmm.
So, uh, where was your favorite place
on your European tour?
Impossible to choose.
I loved, um, Berlin, Amsterdam.
Why would you want to spend
your summer on trains and in hostels?
I don't know. To meet new people.
A bit of culture.
Save some money and see the world, Jamie.
JAMIE: Sure. Sure.
CONNELL: Um
(CLEARS THROAT)
Standing in front of Vermeer's
"The Art of Painting" was pretty good.
Thanks.
He stared at it for a whole day.
(ALL LAUGHING)
I'm not exaggerating.
You serious?
NIALL: Mm‐hmm.
Sounds thrilling, man.
Well, I got a lot out of it, so
JAMIE: Did you, though?
CONNELL: Mm‐hmm. JAMIE:
'Cause that's the thing with inter‐railing.
It's essentially a tick‐box tour,
and you don't actually get to experience
what a place has to offer
'cause your head's just stuck
in a fucking guide book.
NIALL: Unlike pissing around
in your girlfriend's Italian villa
for the entire summer.
(INHALES, THEN EXHALES)
(BOTTLES CLATTER)
Well, thank fuck for scholarships, eh?
Sure. I'd cheers to that.
(CORK POPS)
What do you mean?
Connell knows what I mean.
And Marianne. Cheers to you both.
JAMIE: Marianne hardly would have been
working in a garage,
living with her mum, would she?
Do you want me to get fresh glasses? JAMIE:
This is life‐changing stuff for Connell, here.
No. Thanks.
We can‐‐
We can get fresh glasses, can't we?
Go for it.
PEGGY: I'll go.
We should go to Venice
while you're here.
It's only a couple of hours
on the train.
Ah, that'll be perfect. I've never been.
JAMIE: Shocker.
Uh, you'd like the Guggenheim.
CONNELL: Mm?
(JAMIE SIGHS)
MARIANNE:
There's a painting there by Duchamp.
"A Sad Young Man on a Train."
By now it's a cliché, but honestly,
the Guggenheim is deeply overrated. MARIANNE:
You could stand in front of it for a whole day.
Is that how you think about me,
or just my taste?
It's just a really good painting.
It's a nude.
Oh. (LAUGHS)
(LAUGHING CONTINUES)
(WINE POURING)
JAMIE:
Oh, hey, why are we bothering with Venice?
(SPLASHING)
NIALL: Yeah, sure,
that's what everyone says, right?
Get to fuck, Venice.
Well, it'll be heaving,
and not even with Italians.
Just Asians taking photos of everything.
We're literally gonna go
and sit in a train for two hours
to look at art through
a million people's camera phones.
Yeah.
God forbid you might actually encounter
an Asian person, Jamie.
Excuse me?
I'm just gonna go get dessert.
(SIGHS)
(SILVERWARE CLATTERING)
Thanks.
(INSECTS CHITTERING)
PEGGY: Are you all right?
(MARIANNE SNIFFLES)
Are you gonna say anything?
MARIANNE: About what?
(DISHES CLATTERING)
Are you serious?
What is even happening?
I'm your best friend.
You can talk to me about anything.
There's nothing to talk about, is there?
It's fucking horrible out there,
isn't it?
For everyone?
Right.
Sorry.
It's fine. He's just pissed.
PEGGY:
It's not just him, Marianne.
What did you expect?
You brought Connell here.
Right.
Jamie's an asshole,
but he fucking adores you.
Okay.
Can you bring the bowls?
(WINE POURING)
NIALL:
Ah. You've properly spoiled us, Marianne.
(DISHES CLATTERING)
Where's the cream?
It's inside.
(SILVERWARE CLINKING)
Why wouldn't you bring it out?
(SILVERWARE CLATTERS)
(CHAIR VIBRATES)
(FRUSTRATED SIGH)
(WHISPERS): Fuck's sake.
(CHAIR SLIDES)
(DISTANT ARGUING)
Thanks.
How are they? The strawberries?
NIALL: Uh, yeah. They're, uh,
great, Peggy. Really lovely.
Not local. They're Spanish.
Okay. They're still, uh,
really delicious.
(MARIANNE SCREAMS)
(JAMIE YELLING)
JAMIE:
What the fuck does it look like?
MARIANNE: You're drunk, Jamie.
CONNELL: All right?
(WINE SLOSHES, SPLASHES)
Put that down.
I'm sorry. What?
Put that glass down. Please.
(EXHALES)
JAMIE:
You want me to put it down. Okay.
(WINE SLOSHING)
MARIANNE: Jamie!
JAMIE:
Eh, okay. I'll put it down.
Watch.
- (SHATTERS)
I'm going to‐‐.
CONNELL: Come here, come here, come here!
(MARIANNE YELLS)
Come here, come here!
It's okay. It's okay.
(MARIANNE PANTING)
It's all right. You're all right.
You are fucking mental.
You need help,
'cause you are fucking deranged.
(MARIANNE PANTING)
What, where are you going?
The fuck?
(MARIANNE SOBBING SOFTLY)
(SOFT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MARIANNE:
Have you got a cigarette?
(MARIANNE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(LIGHTER CLICKING)
(LIGHTER CLICKING)
Can I stay in your room tonight?
Of course.
I'll sleep on the floor.
Mm.
The bed's huge. It's fine.
(WATER RUNNING)
(SPLASHING)
(EXHALES SOFTLY)
(DISTANT INSECTS CHITTERING)
MARIANNE:
I don't know what's wrong with me.
CONNELL: In what way?
Don't know why I can't
make people love me.
I think there was something
wrong with me when I was born.
Lots of people love you, Marianne, okay?
Your family and friends love you.
You don't know my family.
I know that you fight with them, but
Last time I was home
my brother said he wished I was dead.
What did he say that for?
I don't know.
He said no one would miss me.
Because I'm entirely unloved.
Would you not tell your mother
if he was talking to you like that?
She was there.
Think she just got up and left.
What provoked it?
Like, how did the argument start?
You think I did something to deserve it.
No, I'm obviously not saying that.
Sometimes I think I must deserve it.
Or else I don't know why it would happen.
Why'd you never say
any of this to me before?
The whole time we were together,
why did you never tell me any of this?
I don't know.
I suppose I didn't want you to think
I was damaged, or something.
I was probably afraid
you wouldn't want me anymore.
You do think I'm damaged.
Jesus Christ, come here.
(KISSES)
♪♪
(KISSING)
MARIANNE: No. No. No.
We shouldn't.
(CONNELL GRUNTS)
Really sorry.
(BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY)
(TRAIN RATTLING)
("LOVE WILL TEAR US APART"
BY NERINA PALLOT)
When routine bites hard ♪
And ambitions are low ♪
And resentment rides high ♪
But emotions won't grow ♪
And we're changing our ways ♪
Taking different roads ♪
Love ♪
Love will tear us apart again ♪
Love ♪
Love will tear us apart again ♪
Why is this bedroom so cold? ♪
You turned away on your side ♪
Is my timing that flawed ♪
Or respect run so dry ♪
Yet there's still this appeal ♪
That we've kept through the years ♪
And love ♪
Love will tear us apart again ♪
Love ♪
Love will tear us apart again ♪
Love ♪
Love will tear us apart ♪
Love will tear us apart ♪
Love will tear us apart again ♪
Mm‐hmm ♪
Love ♪