Elizabeth Zott's past comes into focus as she tries to piece together her future on Lessons In Chemistry Season 1 Episode 6, "Poirot".
While Elizabeth handles issues in her career, things are changing in her life at home with Mad and her friendship with Harriet.
Although Lessons In Chemistry Season 1 is nearly finished, the loose ends of Elizabeth's life have been slowly coming together throughout the final episodes.
Elizabeth, content with her daughter Madeline and her success on Supper At Six, seems to have it all for a fleeting moment.
When she starts having flashbacks about her brother, John, things begin to come undone for Elizabeth, though the difficulties provide some much-needed clarity.
Dealing with grief has never been Elizabeth's strong suit, but reaching out helps her realize that communication will benefit everyone.
Lessons In Chemistry Season 1 hasn't been shy about letting the viewer know its intentions.
The show has quickly ensured viewers know that female relationships are the series' focal point.
Whether it's about Elizabeth and her daughter, her family of origin, her colleagues, or her neighbor Harriet, the relationship dynamics capture the women's perspective.
All of these dynamics come together at one point or another on Lessons In Chemistry Season 1 Episode 6, and Elizabeth does her best to work through each of them with care.
Her struggles have made her softer in some ways, but harder in others. We see the whole gamut of Elizabeth's emotions as she deals with Mad, Harriet, and, unexpectedly, an old colleague.
Initially, her colleague at Hastings, Fran Frask runs into Elizabeth at the grocery store, and the two are startled by one another, but Fran is friendly.
Sharing with Elizabeth that she's no longer working at Hastings, Fran doesn't seem like as much of a threat as she once was.
She compliments Elizabeth, letting her know she's proud of everything she's accomplished and happy to be watching her on Supper At Six.
Elizabeth, startled by the interaction, invites Fran to come to a taping of the show. Fran, who shared she was looking for work, accepts.
At the taping, Elizabeth realizes that Fran could be a tremendous asset to her and immediately hires her as her Chief Of Staff.
Fran, who knows Elizabeth's tenacity, is perfect for the job. She immediately begins to whip the back office of Supper At Six into shape.
Elizabeth realizes that advocating for herself as a woman is complex, and she needs people to make intelligent decisions that will benefit her in multiple ways.
Supper At Six is hard work, especially behind the scenes. Brie Larson's Elizabeth deals with issues from Phil, the studio head, who wants her to promote a product she doesn't believe in.
As typical as this is for television, it's not the norm for Elizabeth. She tries to explain why she doesn't want to promote the shortening brand Phil presents her with, but he gives her no choice.
Rather than doing what she's told, Elizabeth takes a stand. It causes her and the Supper At Six crew to be suspended without pay for three days.
Elizabeth's crew on Supper At Six don't completely understand her need to take a stand. They take their hurt out on her, and Elizabeth begins to feel guilty about causing harm.
When she begins to share her issues at work with Aja Naomi King's Harriet, she expects an empathetic shoulder. Instead, Harriet has been dealing with struggles of her own.
Still working to protest the highway being built through their neighborhood years later, Harriet has heard about peaceful protests in other parts of the country.
With the Civil Rights movement in full swing, Harriet tried using the same peaceful protest tactics to organize her own demonstration on the freeway.
Harriet invites her high-profile neighbor, but Elizabeth tries to decline after the backlash at work.
Harriet, who typically understands Elizabeth's compartmentalization, doesn't take the news well.
She lectures Elizabeth on her privilege, something she was unaware of before. Much like Calvin in earlier episodes of Lessons In Chemistry, Elizabeth disappoints Harriet.
This time, Elizabeth has the chance to make amends. Rather than continuing to shrink back, she lets Harriet's words sink in.
Between Harriet calling her out for hiding behind her privilege and the echoes of her tragic past coming back to haunt her, Elizabeth knows what she needs to do.
Throughout Lessons In Chemistry, we've seen Elizabeth's past in fits and starts. This episode brings us back to her childhood, back to the point of complete demolition.
Elizabeth's fundamental tragedy is revealed when we see her father, a fraudulent preacher who travels to bring a fantastical version of the gospel to different crowds, and her brother, John, at odds.
Elizabeth hears her father fighting with John about holding hands with another boy, and things escalate quickly.
Elizabeth's father locks John in a metal trunk behind their car on their travels, leaving him to think about what he's done.
John shoots himself in the bathroom of the next hotel the family stays at while Elizabeth and her parents are in the next room.
Elizabeth has always been closed off about her brother, but the memories begin to haunt her when she remembers something John told her about living a lie.
When Elizabeth realizes her privilege after her conversation with Harriet, she realizes that standing idly by has never done her any good. It's only brought her harm.
She chooses to be proactive. Elizabeth advertises Harriet's protest on live television during her next Supper At Six taping.
After the taping, Phil gives her a stern talking-to and tries to suspend her again. Instead, Elizabeth Zott shares that she knows how much money she'll need to pay the crew.
Phil can suspend her if he wants, but the only one losing at the end of the day will be the studio.
The protest itself is harrowing. Elizabeth joins Harriet, Charlie, and dozens of others in a peaceful protest that the cops break up.
While the protest itself is silent after the officers arrive, they still take pride in brutally taking down several of the group.
Harriet and Charlie are both arrested but released quickly after that.
While Charlie ruminates on how difficult life would be without Harriet, Elizabeth feels shaken by the experience her friends live day in and day out.
Understanding she must be open with herself in more than one area, Elizabeth makes another realization about Madeline, who's still searching for answers about her father, Calvin Evans.
Rather than staying closed off when it comes to sharing with her daughter, Elizabeth makes a conscious effort to communicate with Mad.
In a sweet moment between the two, Elizabeth and Mad show each other keepsake boxes. Elizabeth's, filled with things of John's, and Mad's, filled with items of Calvin's, are eerily similar.
As Elizabeth's life unravels, it becomes clear that Lessons In Chemistry Season 1 won't let her stay unwound. Instead, she'll continue to crack and reform time and time again.
