Lessons in Chemistry – Living Dead Things

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Starting from the narrative of Six-Thirty (B.J. Novak), the audience learns that he  came to Elizabeth’s (Brie Larson) doorstep after a failed life as a dog in the Army. While initially scared, Six-Thirty starts to feel safe with Elizabeth and Calvin (Lewis Pullman) and believes that he can protect them. But eventually Six-Thirty becomes scared once again, especially as he watches Calvin get struck by the bus.

Upon hearing the news about Calvin, Elizabeth becomes numb. She begins to make arrangements as news of his passing trickles to Hastings and eventually Harriet (Aja Naomi King). Harriet tries to keep a calm front with her children, but still breaks down over Calvin’s death when she has a moment to herself.

At Calvin’s funeral Elizabeth sits in the front as Harriet takes a seat in the back. But more than just mourning a life, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times named Ralph Bailey (Jake Short) approaches Elizabeth for a quote on Calvin. As many colleagues have already provided commentary that is less than favorable, Elizabeth is disgusted and tells Ralph she did not know Calvin “long enough.” When the funeral begins Elizabeth cannot handle staying and leaves the service with Six-Thirty….who is reeling from the guilt that he feels over Calvin’s death.

To keep momentum and avoid the empty space in her heart, Elizabeth decides to return to Hastings and continue the research that she and Calvin were working on for the Remsen grant. But upon entering the lab, she finds that it has been scrubbed clean and everything is gone. Going to see Fran (Stephanie Koenig), Elizabeth learns that everything has gone into storage and is waiting to be claimed by any family members. Knowing that she needs to work and find a way to continue her research, Elizabeth pleads with Fran to find her a position. She does and now Elizabeth serves as an admin to Paul Astor (Nicolas Coster), who is solely focused on past lunch menus at Hastings.

Meanwhile, a man named Wilson (Beau Bridges) explains to Dr. Donatti (Derek Cecil) that without Dr. Evans and his research thatthe Remsen  Grant will have to be given elsewhere. Donatti explains to Wilson that he might have something and while it is not finished, if the board would be willing to give the grant on the grounds that they complete it. Later in his office Donatti presents Boryweitz (Thomas Mann) with Calvin and Elizabeth’s research. Donatti pitches that they secretly finish the research and submit the findings to take credit and secure the Remsen. Although reluctant at first, Boryweitz agrees.

However, Elizabeth has much bigger issues than just missing research. When she begins to show signs of morning sickness, she takes a couple frogs from Hastings to conduct a pregnancy test….and the experiment shows she is positive. Six-Thirty admits that he knew before the experiment and thinks this will be a new beginning for them, but then watches Elizabeth grab a sledge-hammer and start to demolish the kitchen counters. In the midst of her destruction Elizabeth is visited by Harriet….who is clearly upset by the Times article that paints Calvin in a rather negative light. Harriet is determined to make sure that the article is fixed and asks for Elizabeth’s help who refuses.

The next day at work Elizabeth decides to approach Boryweitz and see if his girlfriend Laurel (Sigi Ravet) can help her retrieve everything from Calvin’s lab. Boryweitz says that he will ask Laurel for help. Elizabeth is pleased with the answer, even though she is unaware that Boryweitz has possession of their research.

Riding off the anger of the article’s inaccuracy, Harriet heads to the Times to confront Ralph Bailey about Calvin’s article. Ralph explains that he only wrote what was given to him and that a positive story wouldn’t sell as much as the one he wrote. Harriet protests that Calvin was nothing like what was written in the article, but the pleas fall on deaf ears. Harriet’s visit strangely pays off though when Ralph finds himself at a council meeting and Harriet is giving the board a lesson in constitutional law.

At Hastings, Boryweitz and Donatti secretly work on replicating Calvin and Elizabeth’s research while Elizabeth is busy at home renovating her kitchen into an industrial-grade lab. While both groups are hard at work, Elizabeth’s renovations seem to be going much smoother. For Boryweitz and Donatti, they struggle to replicate the results.

Later on that night Boryweitz pays a visit to Elizabeth. He was able to convince Laurel with a fancy dinner to give him Calvin’s personal effects, but claims that the research was lost. While that saddens Elizabeth, she sends him away and begins to open the box….where she finds a Thelonious Monk album with a note to Harriet on it. Extending an olive branch, she brings the album over and the two women reminisce about their memories of Calvin. Finally feeling comfortable, Elizabeth tells Harriet she is pregnant. With two children of her own, Harriet assures her she can handle this.

With a newfound determination, Elizabeth gets to work. She exercises on Calvin’s rowing machine, much to the chagrin of her OB/GYN doctor (Mark Evan Jackson) who eventually hopes she will become a fellow rowing partner by next year. She renovates the kitchen, cooks, rows and writes to release her grief. Unfortunately, she also begins to show and after Fran notices the way Elizabeth’s clothes are pinned in the back….she reports this to Donatti. Always looking for a way to get rid of Miss Zott, he uses her pregnancy to try and fire her. Although, Elizabeth is much quicker on the draw, citing how there are no rules in the employee handbook about pregnancy as a grounds for termination. With no way to legally get rid of Elizabeth, Donatti’s plan is ruined…for now.

Later at home Elizabeth tries to ask Harriet for an ax. And while she does not have one, Harriet shows an article that Ralph Bailey wrote about the council meeting. It looks like Harriet might still have a fight in keeping her home. Elizabeth is pleased for her, but Harriet stops her before she can head back home….advising Elizabeth that she needs to start processing her feelings.

Taking Harriet’s words to heart, Elizabeth finally opens the box of Calvin’s belongings. In there she finds the apology note he left her, along with a book of recipes he looked up and his lab coat. When she realizes that there is something in the pocket, she finds an engagement ring. In this moment Elizabeth finally cries. Seeing Six-Thirty in the doorway, she takes him for a walk. Six-Thirty explains that in order to get through the pain, you have to put one foot in front of the other. As Six-Thirty walks with Elizabeth, she begins to pick up the pace and starts to run….her trusty dog by her side.