Review: Lessons in Chemistry (TV Show, Apple TV+, IMDB rating: 8.3/10, no spoilers)
Dr. Akif Khan
Lessons in Chemistry is not just a tv show and it is not just about chemistry at all. It is lessons in life, lessons in kindness, love, forgiveness, struggle, perseverance, resilience, commitment, determination, enthusiasm and passion. Do not fear the name of the show because of the word “chemistry.” It only touches the subject (sometimes not very accurately) and builds upon it and weaves the story like chemical bonds in a beautiful composite. It won’t bore you.
Lessons in Chemistry explains the struggle of women in 50s, the first wave of feminism and civil rights movement, the challenges women faced back then in US, and are still facing in many parts of the world, especially marriage, childbirth, misogyny, “illegitimate” births, societal expectations and roles of women in society. The show also covers the homophobia and civil rights movement, including the reference to Martin Luther King Jr. How the African-American population was discriminated against and subjected to violence and systemic racism. The show also beautifully describes the matters of reason, science and faith and leaves things to the imagination of the viewer. It’s amazing how all these important and hotly debated topics are beautifully covered in this mini-series, which leaves a viewer thinking and commiserating.
Then there is food. It reminds me of an interesting encounter. Once a friend asked me how’s your cooking. I told him I love to cook and the people who taste the food I cook tell me I am not bad. He said he would have been surprised if I weren’t good at cooking. I asked why’d he say that. He said because he believes I was a good chemist and he would’ve been surprised if I were not good at cooking. “A good chemist must be a good cook,” he said. It was kind of a revelation to me, but then it reminded me how I’d run my imagination on what must’ve been going on during the process of cooking whenever I cooked food, exactly the same way when I’d setup a reaction. The show beautifully caters to this concept. The people who love chemistry must try cooking. They’d enjoy it.
The show is based on the book by Bonnie Garmus. I haven’t read the book, but the show does justice to it from what I have read about it. Interestingly, it was her debut novel and was NYT bestseller. Brie Larson did great as wonderful and smart chemist Elizabeth Zott. She is also the executive producer of the show and has smartly washed off the superhero tag of Captain Marvel from her career, coming about as a smart and serious actor. I rarely comment on and review stuff I read or watch now, but this show didn’t leave me a choice. I will admit there might be some bias because of chemistry, but truthfully the show is worth giving a shot. It’s light-hearted, smartly written, with good character arcs and happy moments with light comedy. You get shocked at times but there are also happy surprises waiting for you around the corner.
Definitely 4.9/5.
