WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Lessons in Chemistry episode 7.
Summary
- Lessons in Chemistry episode 7 delves into Calvin’s past, revealing his troubled childhood and struggles as an unwanted orphan.
- Both Calvin and Elizabeth have complicated histories with religion, with Calvin growing up in a corrupt Catholic boys’ home and Elizabeth becoming a skeptic due to her father’s exploitation of people’s faith.
- Calvin had a close friendship with Harriet, who helped him with a legal problem, and a long-distance pen-pal relationship with Wakely, who became his best friend and inspired him to believe in things beyond scientific evidence.
Lessons in Chemistry episode 7 was rightfully titled “Book of Calvin” as the episode spent most of the time in the past exploring Calvin’s history from childhood up to the day he tragically died. Despite Calvin dying at the end of Lessons in Chemistry episode 2, Lewis Pullman remains a vital part of the Lessons in Chemistry cast through flashbacks and Elizabeth’s visions. After Lessons in Chemistry episode 6 looked into Elizabeth’s troubled childhood, episode 7 provided more insight into Calvin’s character and the trauma he endured as an unwanted orphan who struggled to connect with those around him.
Lessons in Chemistry has just one episode left before the finale. As it is based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus, it’s unlikely that the Apple TV+ miniseries will receive a second season, but there are a lot of storylines that need to be resolved before the season ends. Diving into Calvin’s past led to a cliffhanger ending in Lessons in Chemistry episode 7 that sets up some shocking reveals for the finale.
Calvin & Elizabeth Both Have Complicated Histories With Religion
Calvin grew up in a Catholic boys’ home
Lessons in Chemistry has touched on Elizabeth’s views of religion in previous episodes, particularly when exploring her relationship with her “preacher” father. Watching him take advantage of people’s faith for his own personal and financial gain when she was growing up made Elizabeth a bit of a skeptic. This was only confounded by her scientific discoveries that she felt disproved the Christian theory of creationism, which Calvin also didn’t believe in.
Similarly to Elizabeth, Calvin grew up surrounded by religion in a Catholic boys’ home after being orphaned when his adoptive parents died in an accident. Unfortunately, the boys’ home was corrupt and didn’t treat him well during his childhood, using him and his knowledge rather than taking care of him like they were supposed to. For Lessons in Chemistry’s time period, the stances Elizabeth and Calvin both took against organized religion and creationism as atheist scientists could have easily ostracized them from society.
The Bishop Told Calvin His Father Didn’t Want Him
Calvin was told he was broken
While at the boys’ home, Calvin was tasked with “chores” that involved running a secretive, likely illegal, and lucrative business for the bishop to fund the orphanage and those who worked there. As seen with Elizabeth and Mad, the knowledge Calvin exhibited at a young age both worked for him and against him, as it made him unpopular with certain adults and other children in his life. Thus, when a rich man came to visit the boys’ home, Calvin felt sure and hopeful he was there to take him away from the home.
Calvin may have been right about this instinct, but the bishop told him that it was his father, who, after learning about him, decided he didn’t want Calvin after all. In a moment of pure cruelty, the bishop told a young Calvin that he was “burdened with [his family’s] brokenness no matter how good [he is or] how hard [he tries].” These words stuck with Calvin until his death, though his relationship with Elizabeth helped repair some of what he had previously, falsely believed was broken within him.
Harriet Was Calvin’s Lawyer
He turned to her for advice
Through the flashbacks, Lessons in Chemistry episode 7 also revealed when and how Harriet and Calvin first became friends. From the first few episodes, it was clear that they were close and valued each other’s friendship, perhaps having gotten close due to Harriet’s loneliness while Charlie was abroad. Not only had they been neighbors for years prior to Lessons in Chemistry episode 1, but Harriet had helped Calvin out with a legal problem he was facing.
The duo met when Harriet and Charlie stopped by to introduce themselves to their new neighbor, somewhat surprised to find out the man loudly playing jazz in their predominately Black neighborhood was white. After finding out Harriet was a legal aide, Calvin asked for assistance with his letter problem. A profile was written on Calvin in a newspaper about his scientific achievements, which led to countless people claiming to be related to him. Through Harriet, Calvin was able to issue some cease and desist letters, although some still managed to make it to reach him, deepening the wound created by being abandoned as a child.
Calvin & Wakely Were Pen Pals
They became friends early in Calvin’s career
Lessons in Chemistry episode 6’s cliffhanger ending revealed that Calvin and Wakely had a connection that went beyond Mad’s research. Calvin being so private about his past, even to Elizabeth, meant that there was still a lot to be discovered about who he truly was, and Wakely was key to helping fill in some gaps. Early on in Calvin’s career, before he started his work at Hastings Research Institute, Calvin gave a lecture at Harvard about DNA and the creation of life. Wakely, who was enrolled at Harvard Divinity School, attended the lecture and was inspired to write Calvin a letter, starting an important long-distance friendship.
Wakely quickly became Calvin’s best friend and pen pal through their writing. In their letters, they debated about religion and science as well as opened up about their personal lives. In a change from the Lessons in Chemistry book, Wakely and Calvin’s correspondence lasted up until the day the chemist unexpectedly died. In his final letter, Calvin touchingly wrote about how he and Elizabeth didn’t need to get married because the universe had made them for each other, which was bigger than marriage. This not only showed how much Calvin loved Elizabeth but also proved that their love made him believe in things beyond scientific evidence.
Elizabeth & Mad Visit Calvin’s Boys’ Home
The Bishop lies to them
Mad’s extensive research with Wakely and Elizabeth on Calvin’s past finally paid off when they were able to find out which boys’ home he had grown up in. Supporting Mad’s need to know who her father was and the life he had lived before he met Elizabeth, the mother and daughter went to the boys’ home in search of answers to their questions. They met with the same bishop whose words had cut through Calvin many years before, only for him to claim to never have known Calvin. The bishop used the excuse of a previous fire to hide any records from them as well.
In a fit of rage that she likely inherited from her father, Mad stormed out of the office and headed to the home’s library, certain that the bishop was lying to them. Smartly, Elizabeth and Mad looked through the library books to see if they could find any that had been taken out by Calvin. Fortunately, they proved their suspicions right when they found his name in an old copy of Great Expectations, one of his favorite books, proving that he had been at the boys’ home.
Calvin Has A Long History With The Remsen Foundation
They were connected even before the grant
When Elizabeth and Mad found the book Calvin had loaned, they noticed a stamp that said it was donated by The Remsen Foundation. This is the same foundation that later funded the prestigious grant Calvin received for his scientific research. He had appeared briefly in Lessons in Chemistry episode 3, but Beau Bridges returned in his guest star role in episode 7 as Wilson. Not only is he the rich man who had visited the boys’ home and potentially Calvin’s father, but it was revealed that he could be the founder of The Remsen Foundation as well.
Lessons in Chemistry episode 7 had a cliffhanger ending that saw Wilson leaving his office with a framed picture of Calvin’s famous profile in the newspaper hanging on the wall. If Wilson truly was Calvin’s father and didn’t want him as the bishop had claimed, it begs the question of why he would donate to the boys’ home and offer him the Remsen Grant years later as well. Hopefully, this question and many more will be answered in the Lessons in Chemistry finale.
Where To Watch Lessons In Chemistry
-
Lessons In Chemistry
- Release Date:
- 2023-10-13
- Cast:
- Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koenig, Patrick Walker, Thomas Mann, Kevin Sussman, Beau Bridges
- Genres:
- Drama
- Rating:
- TV-MA
- Seasons:
- 1
- Summary:
-
Based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry is set in the 1960s and follows Elizabeth Zott, whose dream of being a scientist because society demands a woman remain at home and not work. When Elizabeth finds herself pregnant, alone, and fired from her lab, she accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show. She sets out to teach a nation of overlooked homemakers — and the men suddenly listening — about food and chemistry.
- Story By:
- Bonnie Garmus
- Writers:
- Lee Eisenberg, Susannah Grant
- Streaming Service(s):
- Apple TV+
- Directors:
- Sarah Adina Smith
- Showrunner:
- Lee Eisenberg
#Calvins #Backstory #Major #Reveals