Is Connell’s Chain The Breakout Star Of ‘Normal People’?

When the BBC released its full adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People last week, I didn’t expect fashion to be a talking point.

Consensual sex? Sure. Heartache? Natch. But Connell Waldron’s chain? That was unexpected.

Despite being described as ‘Argos chic’ in the book, the sight of Connell’s simple silver chain has caused such a frenzy in the hearts (and loins) of the quarantined masses it’s actually earned itself a dedicated 35.5k follower-strong Instagram account in just four days.

Argos aren’t all that bothered by the association, either. Since the show aired, searches for men’s chains have gone up 56 per cent for the retailer (where such chains start at £19.99/$25) and ASOS has revealed sales of male jewellery have spiked by 130 per cent.

But why has it had such a remarkable response? It’s certainly not the first softboy chain to send tongues a-wagging. Jake Gyllenhaal, Leonardo DiCaprio and Heath Ledger have all experienced career highs with the help of The Chain (in Jarhead, Romeo and Juliet, and 10 Things I Hate About You, respectively).

For Connell (or rather, actor Paul Mescal), it’s something about The Chain’s omnipresence. It’s there when he’s playing rugby, swimming, taking showers and having sex. Every moment the lovers are together (narratively, mucking through Normal People’s crucial class subtext), Connell’s Chain remains.

For a working-class lad and a wealthy young Irishwoman (Marianne, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones), a cheap chain is emblematic of all that separates and unites them.

As far as actual chain used in the show? Mescal told Variety: “I gave it to her [Edgar-Jones] as a wrap gift with photographs at the end of filming. We then came back to shoot the poster for the show and I had to wear it and it got lost in all the costumes and stuff but [it was found eventually] and I think Daisy has it now.”