I suppose, the basic virtue of episode is the honest perspective about teenagers love, first time sex and vulnerability, public image in high schoool and the secret love affair.
The succes of series has as base exactly this honesty in the manner to reflect ordinary realities, lived by many of us, imagined, too.
The enthusiasm about Normal People is not so surprising. Because it represents a nice return to a perception of romance and relations and fragility of young people who can be understand, including as personal experience or, less, as figured romance out of velvet or gold or flamboyant, dramatic, impressive, gloomy frames.
It is so easy and refreshing to feel this story of Marianne and collin . In some measure, to feel it as be one of yourself.