Lessons in Chemistry – Primitive Instinct

At the hospital a group of fathers eagerly await the arrivals of their children while complaining how the screaming pregnant women drown out the game on tv. But Elizabeth (Brie Larson) is alone and fighting through her contractions…especially since she is unable to afford the pain medication. But quickly the time comes and Elizabeth is fully dilated. As the nurses begin to position her for childbirth, one nurse (Phoebe Kuhlman) manages to give her a free shot of anesthesia to ease her pain. When the medicine begins to kick in, Elizabeth hallucinates and sees Calvin (Lewis Pullman) there to help her give birth.

When Elizabeth wakes, she realizes that she was given meds to give birth. But no worries, as the nurse who gave her the medicine assures her that her daughter is okay. The nurse starts to talk about names and going with her feeling. Elizabeth interprets that as anger and names her “Mad.” After knowing that she cannot afford another day at the hospital, Elizabeth leaves with Mad and in her car begins to wonder: “Who are you going to be?” Flash forward to seven years later, a young blonde girl (Shoo Shoo Parsells) sits alone on the playground….opening a very well thought-out and balanced lunch with a note from Mom.

But raising Mad starts out quite difficult as Elizabeth begins to learn the hardships of motherhood. She tries just about anything to calm her little one down until she gives up and places Mad in her bassinet, all while trying to stop the phone from ringing. In her moment of panic, she imagines that Calvin is there to calm her and Mad down. Coincidentally, Mad begins to settle and everything is peaceful once more…until the phone rings again. This time Elizabeth disconnects the phone and Six-Thirty comes to calm Mad back down.

Across the street Harriet (Aja Naomi King), Linda (Amentii Sledge), and James (Yasir Hashim Lafond) settle in to watch television. As the footage shows soldiers returning home from overseas, James points out that he sees Daddy, who won’t be home for another eight weeks. Harriet assures her children that their father will be home soon.

For Elizabeth, she finally reaches a breaking point with Mad. Noticing that Harriet is home, she ventures over for help. Coincidentally, Harriet has company over but quickly ushers Elizabeth into the kitchen to talk. Clearly, Elizabeth tries to convince Harriet that her scientific approach to raising Mad is not working. Harriet reminds her that Mad is a baby and not an experiment, while her and her friend Agnes (Constance Ejuma) give Elizabeth truth and comfort in knowing that she is not alone. In a flash-forward, the girl receives an assignment from her teacher Mrs. Mudford (Caryn West) to create a family tree.

With bills continuing to rack up and no help from the bank, Elizabeth is determined to find a way to keep the house going. Using her scientific knowledge, she helps the chemists at Hastings with their work…for a small fee. As word gets around, the men from Hastings begin to show up in droves for help…including her former boss Dr. Price (Andy Daly). When Elizabeth asks why Boryweitz (Thomas Mann) has not shown up yet, Price explains how he got transferred to DNA. And with that transfer, Boryweitz and Dr. Donatti (Derek Cecil) are working in Calvin’s old lab. It does not take long for Elizabeth to figure out where hers and Calvin’s research ended up. With Mad and Six-Thirty in tow, she heads to Hastings to confront them. Donatti boasts that they have secured the Remsen and given both her and Calvin an acknowledgement. Elizabeth promises Donatti that she will continue to improve on that research and make it better before storming out. On leaving, Elizabeth tells Mad that they will take nothing from no one. In another flash-forward, the young girl is picked on by her classmates for her attire.

At home Elizabeth continues working on renovating her kitchen into a lab. When she knocks the power out, Harriet comes over to help and the women enjoy a quiet moment over some drinks. Harriet admits that she put her law career on hold for her family, giving Elizabeth someone who understands her. But a more important question is raised: with the new kitchen/lab, how will Elizabeth get all the equipment to use it? Fortunately, Elizabeth has thought this through and pretends to be Fran Frask (Stephanie Koenig) over the phone…ordering the supplies she needs to be delivered to her home. With a new lab in place, Elizabeth celebrates with Harriet. She also continues to talk with Calvin, telling him about her family life and how much she loved him.

Across the street Harriet’s husband Charlie (Paul James) makes a surprice return. To celebrate, the neighborhood throws a party and Elizabeth comes over with Mad and Six-Thirty to join the fun. And in true Elizabeth fashion, she bakes a blackberry pie. Unlike the experience with the pageant, Harriet’s friends make Elizabeth feel welcomed. Later, Rev. Curtis Wakely (Patrick Walker) comes to talk with Elizabeth and is told he was advised to try the blackberry pie. During their conversation, Elizabeth sees Calvin with the children before realizing they are playing alone. She excuses herself to go join them, curious about the top that James is spinning.

Later that night Harriet learns that Charlie accepted a new position at Kaiser Sunset. The news does not make Harriet feel happy, especially when she planned to take the bar exam in upcoming months. Charlie is confident that with both of them working, they can also raise their family.

After the experience with the spinning top, Elizabeth uses one to conduct her experiments before being interrupted by the door. She finds that Dr. Mason (Marc Evan Jackson) has come to pay her a visit. With his two-seat injured, he asks Elizabeth to join him on the water by next week. At first Elizabeth is reluctant, but Dr. Mason reminds her to have fun before he leaves. While Elizabeth is at the door, she sees Calvin one more time and tells him she loves him….he responds with how he knows. Heading back inside, Elizabeth finally tells Mad about her father and even manages to show off his wacky dance moves….which makes Mad laugh.

In the final flash-forward, another young brunette girl (Alice Halsey) sees the blonde crying. It turns out that both girls are unable to complete their family tree and they bond over it. When the bell rings, Elizabeth is waiting outside for her daughter. As the blonde heads out, she runs over to her father Walter Pine (Kevin Sussman) as the young brunette heads to Elizabeth. As Mad, Elizabeth and Six-Thirty head home, Elizabeth asks Mad about her day and quickly learns that Mad has not eaten the lunch that she provided. Demanding an answer, this leads Elizabeth to head to Walter Pine’s job as his daughter Amanda has been eating the lunches.

But Walter Pine has bigger issues, especially when the show “A Stitch in Time” is going downhill. His boss Phil Lebensmal (Rainn Wilson) demands a new show as the current one is getting canned, with a younger, prettier host. Walter heads back to his office as Amanda sits patiently working on homework. Elizabeth storms in and confronts Walter for Amanda eating Mad’s food and not giving his daughter a nutritious lunch. Providing a few recipes along with a sample of her chicken pot pie, Elizabeth leaves. Curious about the food provided, Walter tries a bite of the pot pie and immediately goes to stop Elizabeth from leaving. Outside, she stops her at her car and offers her a job to have her own cooking show. Initially, Elizabeth rejects the offer but while cleaning up at the end of the day she starts to consider the possibility.