The Love Story of Calvin and Elizabeth in ‘Lessons of Chemistry’ Explained

Summary

• Lessons in Chemistry is not just a love story but it also focuses on the journey of a woman going through various hardships in life.
• The main love story revolves around Calvin and Elizabeth, but it ends on a tragic note and is not central to the story.

The latest miniseries on Apple TV+, Lessons in Chemistry, tells the story of the journey of Elizabeth Zott, a single mother and scientist who builds a career for herself amidst hardships.

Based on Bonnie Gurmas’s best-selling novel of the same name, the series traces the journey of Elizabeth after she gets fired from her job as a lab tech because of her pregnancy. Things go further downhill for Elizabeth when her fiancé dies in an accident, leaving her to bring up her child alone.

Elizabeth and Calvin’s love story forms an integral part of the plot. Compared to the book, the series puts much more emphasis on their budding love story. It also explores Calvin’s backstory in depth. But the series cannot be called a love story.

Lessons in Chemistry is not a love story, although love is one of the important themes in the story. The series focuses on Calvin and Elizabeth’s love story, but it is secondary to the theme of women’s empowerment and Elizabeth discovering her true passion.

1. What is Lessons in Chemistry about?

Lessons in Chemistry is about a brilliant chemist who takes up the job of a cooking show host for the show Supper at Six. The series follows her journey as an independent working woman in the 1960s while breaking gender stereotypes and societal barriers.

The series also tells the story of Elizabeth’s love story with Calvin, a fellow scientist. The two fall in love and decide to get married, but Calvin never formally proposes to Elizabeth. Although they decide not to have kids, Elizabeth ends up pregnant.

But things turn bad when Calvin dies in an accident, and Elizabeth has to bring up her daughter, Mads, as a single parent. Although Calvin and Elizabeth’s love story is a beautiful part of the story, it is not the most important part of the show or its theme.

Lessons in Chemistry is more about discovering one’s true calling and the struggles a working woman faces in the 1960s. It talks about getting hold of one’s own destiny and chasing one’s dreams. It is much more than a rom-com.

2. Does Lessons in Chemistry have a love story?

The main love story in Lessons in Chemistry is between two scientists, Calvin and Elizabeth. Although the two decide to get married, their story ends on a tragic note as Calvin dies in a car accident.

Calvin and Elizabeth’s story has been beautifully portrayed in the series. Moreover, Calvin’s presence becomes more important when Elizabeth reconnects with his biological mother after his death.

Calvin assumed she was dead, but she had been looking for Calvin for a while. After Calvin’s death, Elizabeth and her daughter, Mads, reconnect with Avery Parker, Calvin’s birth mother.

. About Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry is a drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. It is due to debut in 2023 on Apple TV+.

A female scientist in the 1960s begins using a cooking show she is hired to host to educate housewives on scientific topics after she is fired from her own lab.

The show stars Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott, Lewis Pullman as Calvin Evans, Aja Naomi King as Harriet Slone, Stephanie Koenig as Fran Frask and Patrick Walker as Wakely in lead roles.