--- title: People Obsess Over Connell's Chain in Normal People description: A silver chain has taken center stage in Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's "Normal People." canonical: https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-05-08T15:47:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:27.430Z og:title: People Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Connell's Chain in Normal People og:description: A silver chain has taken center stage in Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's "Normal People" og:url: https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01aa0ae7b04d6fa6/698a0dd2457a5228c7d63eda/normal-people-connell.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Normal People Connell reactions og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Connell's Chain in Normal People twitter:description: A silver chain has taken center stage in Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's "Normal People" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01aa0ae7b04d6fa6/698a0dd2457a5228c7d63eda/normal-people-connell.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Connell’s Chain in _Normal People_ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker May 8, 2020 3:47 PM UTC  Paul Mescal as Connell in 'Normal People' Paul Mescal as Connell in 'Normal People'Hulu/Everett Collection by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker May 8, 2020 3:47 PM UTC There’s a lot to love about Hulu’s [adaptation](https://time.com/5567569/sally-rooney-normal-people-review/) of [Sally Rooney’s _Normal People_](https://time.com/5827920/normal-people-hulu-review/), 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_](https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/why-is-normal-people-connells-chain-so-hot.html)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](https://time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/) fan account, [Connell’s Chain](https://www.instagram.com/connellschain/), 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. > [](https://twitter.com/imi%5Fhope/status/1257702489320837120) > [](https://twitter.com/%5F%5FAB1%5F%5F/status/1257362385456807937) > [](https://twitter.com/paul%5Fmescal/status/1258025500150239233) > [](https://twitter.com/nixmhcox/status/1256250771097767938) > [](https://twitter.com/richellabb/status/1256567763851776003) > [](https://twitter.com/emeliashead24/status/1258123886052417538) > [](https://twitter.com/aine%5Flaw/status/1258459937119834112) > [](https://twitter.com/CaitlinCollins5/status/1257980558304411648) > [](https://twitter.com/alanaxhunter/status/1258496252699766784) > [](https://twitter.com/rachelthevirgo/status/1257649124368941056) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/"},"headline":"People Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Connell’s Chain in Normal People","datePublished":"2020-05-08T15:47:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:27.430Z","description":"A silver chain has taken center stage in Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's \"Normal People\"","url":"https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Brief","clickmonsters","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01aa0ae7b04d6fa6/698a0dd2457a5228c7d63eda/normal-people-connell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01aa0ae7b04d6fa6/698a0dd2457a5228c7d63eda/normal-people-connell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Normal People Connell reactions","caption":"Normal People Connell","creditText":"Hulu/Everett Collection","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5834224/normal-people-connell-reactions/","name":"People Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Connell’s Chain in Normal People"}}]}] ```