Lessons in Chemistry Season 1 Episode 5 Review: CH₃COOH

This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Lesson in Chemistry Season 1 Episode 5, “CH₃COOH,” takes Elizabeth and Madeline’s life changes to center stage but leaves Harriet’s in the wings.

With a teleplay by Lee Eisenberg & Emily Jane Fox and directed by Millicent Shelton, this episode combines the social politics of science, society, and television when Elizabeth agrees to host Supper at Six, as teased on Lessons in Chemistry Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2, “Little Miss Hastings / Her and Him.”

The teaser of “CH₃COOH” uses the sharp, intercutting editing of critical developments, like Elizabeth accepting a spot on Dr. Mason’s rowing team and Donatti and Boryweitz on the cover of Scientific American, to emphasize time’s quick pacing since Lessons in Chemistry Season 1 Episode 4, “Primitive Instinct.”

It’s not a disjointing or overwhelming time jump. Still, it disturbs the timeline enough to provide urgency for Elizabeth, propelling the story forward. Her persistent expediency, personally and professionally, is one of the most consistent narrative tools throughout Lessons in Chemistry.

The show is at its most confident when telling Elizabeth’s stories. For instance, it’s equally disheartening and rewarding when Elizabeth stands up to Boryweitz, and it’s moving to see Elizabeth take a beat for herself after Mad is asleep. The duality of a single, working mom exists in Elizabeth, as it does many women.

“CH₃COOH” establishes that complexity on more solid ground. With Alice Halsey filling Mad’s shoes and holding her own opposite Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry can add depth to Elizabeth and Mad’s mother/daughter dynamic.

The two actresses share an organic chemistry that grants scenes, like the ones in the grocery store that feature their quick and impactful banter, an unseen history. It fills in necessary gaps and expands the characters in believable ways.

They’re inextricably tethered, which becomes increasingly heartbreaking throughout “CH₃COOH.” Elizabeth treats Mad, a child with autonomy and impressive intelligence, like an equal. However, in that recognition, Elizabeth and even Mad forget that she is also a little girl.

Consequently, there’s an honest, aching commentary to Mad’s plea to stay with her mother in the grocery store, underscoring the emotional notes in Mad keeping her sadness about switching schools and Elizabeth’s new job to herself. There’s a constant inner tension to Madeline, not unlike her mother.

Similarly, when Elizabeth loses her soulmate, Mad has a blank space in the family tree — and her heart — from never physically knowing Calvin. That irrefutably tragic part of their lives melds the mother and daughter so closely.

Although financially and professionally beneficial, Elizabeth’s new professional venture fractures that connectedness for the first time since Mad’s birth. Lessons in Chemistry finds great character nuggets in showcasing how that news initially goes down like CH₃COOH (vinegar) for the pair.

The success of the new’s ripples is a testament to the writing and the performances throughout “CH₃COOH.” For instance, even at her young age, Halsey stands strong and tall alongside Larson. The pair notably and often represent conflicting emotions on their countenances simultaneously during this episode.

Lessons in Chemistry capitalizes on Halsey’s talent (and Bonnie Garmus’s book) in giving Mad a storyline of her own in discovering more about her father. Her genuinely curious quest leading her to Calvin’s study feels like removing a valve from a time capsule. From the clothes to the reports, all the details are excellent.

It’s such great interpersonal conflict for that search to lead Mad to a church.

The tension it creates calls back decades in Elizabeth’s life and influences her choices (Not marrying Calvin), the way she thinks about the world (Favoring science over religion), and how she parents Mad.

That consistent and intriguing connective tissue through Elizabeth’s arc makes it frustrating that Lessons in Chemistry loses sight of Harriet’s comparative variables in the years passed between “Primitive Instinct” and “CH₃COOH.”

There’s a fleeting moment when it appears the script may open up space for Harriet to release the valve to her close friend, but it quickly steers back to Elizabeth’s need to study TV meticulously.  It’s a shame because there’s such material in that scene alone, with Charlie’s graveyard shifts.

Not to mention, “CH₃COOH” doesn’t distinctly follow up on Harriet’s unfinished law degree. The confirmation that Charlie is working late-night shifts doesn’t confirm or deny anything. After all, years have passed since Harriet and Charlie’s kitchen conversation on “Primitive Instinct.”

Strangely, Lessons in Chemistry makes the in-story unawareness starker in how it reflects that time in new actors and noticeable changes in the returning cast’s hair and make-up. Aja Naomi King’s Harriet Sloane may hold a supporting role to Brie Larson’s leading role, but the former’s arc has urgency, too.

With years gone, that importance doesn’t diminish but grows nebulous.

Even though the government moves notoriously slowly, imagining there is no update regarding the freeway’s status is strange. Lessons in Chemistry includes a detail as small as a magazine cover to signal the results of the Remsen Grant. Why not something similar for another outstanding, series-long plot?

“CH₃COOH” is excellent at representing the growing pains of Elizabeth’s first days at Supper at Six. Unfortunately, Lessons in Chemistry doesn’t showcase something similar with Harriet’s days as a legal aid or student. The show would only improve with more of Aja Naomi King’s solid performance.

Conversely, this episode gives Rainn Wilson more screen time as the absolutely unbearable owner of the TV studio. Wilson’s cadence and timing make his character’s absurdity slightly more digestible. Nevertheless, Phil’s deep-rooted sexism is a reflection of the 1950s that hasn’t entirely faded.

But the environment at the studio comes alive with Elizabeth’s arrival. 

Of course, the toxic culture doesn’t immediately lift, but Lessons in Chemistry hones in on the noticeable shift when women call in to express their enjoyment of Supper at Six and how Elizabeth speaks to them — not at them. 

Walter names that (marketable) quality early in “CH₃COOH.” Understandably, the creative control is what piques Elizabeth’s interest, but her accessible and relatable teaching is the perfect combination for a winning cooking show.

Alternatively, the sweetest ingredients in Lessons in Chemistry‘s mix are the characters who make it all worthwhile. Their relationships matter most when the spotlights turn off, making the ending of “CH₃COOH” such a memorable juxtaposition that drives the rest of the episodes of this limited series.

—

What did you think of this episode of Lessons in Chemistry? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Lessons in Chemistry streams on Fridays on Apple TV+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Masters of the Air Premiere Date Announced by Apple TV+