Original subtitles

["And Suddenly It's Spring" playing]

[students chattering]

[professor] Miss Zott, please explain how you plan on taking

the X-ray diffraction images outlined in your proposal

without first drying the protein into a mineral crystalline form.

Dr. James Bernal and Dr. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

have pioneered a technique that allows them

to expose pepsin crystals for X-ray crystallography

within the mother liquor solution from which they crystallized.

In their crystalline form, the proteins are largely solvent by volume

within the cellular environment from which they function.

This allows me the unique opportunity

to image both larger proteins and nucleic acids.

[professors clear throat] Huh.

I'm happy to elaborate.

[sighs]

[clock ticking]

- [sighs] - [knocks]

Thought I'd find you here. Always working.

Hardly. I just keep looking at the clock.

What did they say? Tell me everything.

It's too soon to know for sure, but you just about knocked their socks off, kid.

- Really? [chuckles] I can't believe it. - [chuckles]

- Look, like I said, it's not official yet. - Who are the holdouts?

Meyers. He's old guard.

Did you see his face when I parried on X-ray crystallography?

He really thought that he had me there.

[chuckles] One of the proudest moments of my academic career.

[chuckles]

[gasps] Dr. Bates, um, I--

Oh, God, no. It's okay. We're the only ones here.

[stammering] Oh. Um, no, um...

I don't-- I don't feel that way about you, Dr. Bates. [sighs]

Hey, don't play dumb, Elizabeth. We both know you're anything but dumb.

- I should-- - Hey, hey.

- Not in here. I should-- - Just wait. Hey, hey. Hey, just--

- Would you hold on? Just stop. Hold on. - [Elizabeth whimpers]

- Hold still. Just hold still. - [Elizabeth] Stop!

Please!

- [shouts] - [grunting]

- [shouts] - [grunts]

- [pants] - [Dr. Bates strains] God! Christ almighty.

[panting] You fucking bitch!

You're a very lucky girl.

Dr. Bates has agreed not to file an aggravated assault charge against you.

However, the department has asked for a formal statement of regret

to proceed with your PhD candidacy.

[Elizabeth] They want me to apologize?

Miss Zott, these types of misunderstandings,

they rarely allow for second chances.

This is an elegant solution that works for everyone.

Unless, of course, you'd prefer to discontinue your PhD candidacy.

But I am currently running experiments. I'm months away from publishing.

[dean] You stabbed a tenured professor with a pencil.

Express regret for your actions,

and we will pretend like none of this unfortunate business ever happened.

[sighs]

Now that I think about it, I do have one regret.

Good.

I regret not having more pencils.

["Wham (Re Bop Boom Bam)" playing]

- [people chattering] - [elevator bell dings]

I would like to return to my previous lab position as soon as possible.

Not sure I follow.

I no longer wish to work with Calvin Evans.

I see. May I ask why?

It's just not working out.

Aw, I'm so sorry, I really am, but sadly my hands are tied.

For Christ's sake, Fran. What do I have to do?

Is there a form I need to fill out? [stammers] A 20-step exit interview?

Whatever meaningless hoops you want me to jump through, I will do it.

[chuckles] You're a real piece of work.

Not even Dr. Calvin Evans is good enough for you now?

- Excuse me? - Since the day you got here,

you have just acted like you are so much better than the rest of us.

Marching around these halls

with your perfect little nose up like you invented penicillin.

- Penicillin wasn't invented. It was disc-- - Oh, spare me.

I don't need to be lectured by somebody so totally clueless.

- What do you mean? - I told you

that things would get complicated with Dr. Evans, but you didn't listen to me.

Because I'm a silly, superficial woman, right?

What could I possibly have to teach a great lab technician such as yourself?

- I'm a chemist. - You are a snob is what you are.

You're too good to participate in Little Miss Hastings,

it doesn't matter how much time and effort

- went into-- - I did participate!

No, you left early. And you didn't tell anybody.

So, another lucky girl could've had that spot.

Who could possibly care about a fake pageant?

I care! It's my job to care.

And I think-- You know, I think people would agree,

it's a more important job than opening up your legs

to the most prestigious scientist in this joint.

That is unequivocally false.

[sighs] You know, Dr. Evans isn't exactly popular,

but he's a damn good scientist.

And you're neither.

You cannot force me to work with him out of spite. I'll talk to Dr. Donatti.

Be my guest.

He'll tell you that we already filled your position in the amino acids lab.

A bright young fellow from Harvard. On his recommendation, in fact.

[toilet flushes]

You made your bed. It's not my fault you have to lie in it.

- [door lock clicks] - [door opens, closes]

[door closes]

[glass clinking]

[door opens, closes]

["Don't Bring Me Roses Red" playing]

[door closes]

Hi.

Hello.

Can we talk?

[Elizabeth] Could you please go to that side of the room? This is my side.

I've created a new spatial system that will maximize our research productivity

while also respecting each other's boundaries.

That will be your side of the lab. This will be my side of the lab.

Obviously, the room is not perfectly symmetrical,

so I gave myself 11 square centimeters less,

which I think is only fair considering our body mass differential.

Elizabeth, I don't understand. What did I do that was so wrong?

It's just clearer this way.

Is it hygiene related? Because you'll notice no more underwear.

I promise not to eat saltines in the lab anymore. [chuckles]

Whatever it is, I'm certain that I can make it right.

Dr. Evans, I'm in the middle of something.

Could we have this conversation at a later date?

Of course. [scoffs]

Should I-- [breathes deeply]

How about I-I take off?

Give you the place to yourself.

Very well then.

[door closes]

[sighs]

[aluminum foil tearing]

- [metal bin clanking] - [dog barks, whimpers]

- [sighs] - [chewing]

Oh, don't eat that! You'll make yourself sick.

[panting]

Wait here. I'll be right back.

- [chewing] - Hmm.

- [moaning, panting] - Oh! Nice to meet you too.

Um-- Well, best of luck to you.

- [yaps, growls] - Oh.

Are you ready to extract DNA from a strawberry?

- Here we go. - [pouring]

[door opens, closes]

- That's it? - [person] Hello.

[Calvin] "That's it?"

You are looking at the instruction manual for life.

That looks like a booger.

- [Calvin chuckles] - Oh, boy.

- Can we watch TV? - [Harriet] Mm-hmm.

- [children giggling] - [Harriet] Thanks for watching them.

- I tried. - [chuckles]

[animation on TV]

And meanwhile, the California Highway Commission

sent surveyors out despite our petition.

Or maybe because of it.

They were taking measurements near the church. Can you imagine? [scoffs]

[Calvin] Mmm. That's awful.

Is there anything I can do?

Yes, actually.

The city council is having a meeting at the end of the month.

And the Adams-Washington Committee is presenting our case against the freeway.

If you came, showed your support, it could make a big difference.

Sure, but I don't have any expertise in urban development.

You don't need expertise. I've got that.

What I need is someone who looks like you standing on our side of the room,

backing me up when I say this is a community issue.

I'll be there. You can count on it.

Thank you.

You okay?

Yeah.

- [member 1 clears throat] - [member 2 sniffs]

[clock ticking]

- He's not in the building. - [sighs]

[members groaning]

- Give us the room. - [member 3 sighs]

This is the third week in a row I have had to cancel my tee time to sit in a room,

waiting for a ghost.

- Sir, I was-- - Calvin Evans is a star.

Hastings need stars.

We need the awards and grants that follow them.

Stars are not disposable.

You are not a star, Robert.

You are a suit.

Suits are disposable.

So let's, uh, skip the pretense of these weekly meetings

in this incredibly depressing room, and, uh, we'll set a deadline.

I'm giving you to February the first to get Evans in here,

presenting his Remsen submission.

A day later and you are out.

Oh, don't be cross, Robert. [sighs] I'm a suit too.

It's just that, uh, mine is more expensive. [scoffs]

Where's Evans?

I couldn't venture.

[sighing]

[sighs]

He cares for you, doesn't he?

You would have to ask him that.

Layoffs are coming.

If he doesn't secure the Remsen funding by the top of the year,

I will have to fire people.

Lab techs, for example.

Secretaries. All the female support staff are gonna have to go first.

The men, they need to take care of their families.

When you're in my position,

these are the things you have to consider.

Dr. Donatti, is that a threat?

When I fire them, I will tell them the truth.

That it is the fault of the girl that distracted Calvin Evans.

[rowing machine clanking]

[Calvin breathing heavily, grunting]

Calvin?

Calvin.

- Calvin. - [grunts]

- What? [panting] - Donatti came by the lab yesterday.

[Calvin] So what? [panting]

He's going to fire people, if you don't win the Remsen.

[chuckles, sniffs] More pressure. Perfect.

[inhales sharply] Perfect.

Do you know what I've done since I last won the Remsen two years ago?

[breathing heavily] Do you?

Nothing.

Nothing.

I go into my lab every day, and I shut the door so that no one will see

that I haven't accomplished a damn thing.

I'm out of ideas.

And then I met you... [breathing heavily] ...and you had so many.

And it was like I could breathe again.

We were building something.

And then you just--

You left me with no explanation. You just--

I didn't mean to hurt you.

[inhales sharply] There's just things-- It's-- It's hard for me to talk about. I--

I need the door open, 'cause I need to know that there's a way out.

Okay.

If that's what you need, I can do that.

I miss working with you.

I miss that too. [breathes shakily]

It's just--

It's hard to trust that this partnership won't go bad.

It might.

Can't say for certain.

Okay.

[stammers] See you Monday then.

Elizabeth. What's your dog's name?

Six Thirty.

Excellent name. After carbon and zinc, I assume?

No. After the time he wakes me up in the morning. It's like clockwork.

May I ask you another question?

Asking to ask is inefficient, moving forward, but yes.

Would you like to learn how to row?

On that? No. No, thank you.

No. [chuckles] No, I just meant, uh, on the water.

It's calming, picturesque. And t-talk about efficiency.

There is nothing more perfectly measured, more entirely scientific than rowing.

Even the slightest head tilt will offset the boat.

I... [stammers] ...would be hard-pressed

to find someone better suited for the sport than you.

And could be good for teamwork.

[barking]

[Calvin] Remember to take a breath and relax. You know?

- Just be patient up the slide, okay? - [Elizabeth exclaims]

- You're rushing. - Rushing?

What? You just said I was too slow.

- Get outta your head. - That's impossible.

Let the oars just sink in.

- You're doing great, all right? - Calvin Evans, I am absolutely

- and completely hopeless-- - [Calvin] Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, no, no!

Elizabeth. Elizabeth!

[Elizabeth] "It's calming," he said. "It's picturesque," he said.

Why didn't you tell me you didn't know how to swim?

[sighs] You said we would be in a boat.

A boat negates the need for swimming, as I previously understood the word.

- Ideally, yes. [chuckles] - [chuckling]

Thank you for not letting me die.

- You mean gallantly saving your life? - Oh, please. Do not take it that far.

It is picturesque. I'll give you that.

Elizabeth, I think this is gonna be a problem.

And I'm not sure there's a solution.

I'm developing feelings for you.

Deep feelings.

And it's not fair to you as a scientist.

You deserve to be treated with professionalism and respect.

So maybe you were right.

Maybe it is best if we work separately.

That way, I won't be exposed to your pheromones and--

Oh.

Correct.

What now?

We carry on.

But we'll be-- we'll be doing that again, right? The kissing?

Yeah. There is always that risk.

[person] And as you can see,

our proposed route is the most economically efficient one

and will also enliven several blighted communities in its path.

We are confident that this freeway will be a shining example of urban geography.

Thank you, Mr. Jenkins.

Next, we will hear from a representative of the Adams-Washington Committee.

Good afternoon. I'm Harriet Sloane,

legal aid in the office of Eugene Hollis, proud Sugar Hill resident

and founding member of this committee.

[breathes deeply]

In your proposal defense, you used the word "blighted" nine times

to refer to the Sugar Hill neighborhood.

[scoffs] I-I-I'm not sure I-I know the meaning of that word.

Grim, dreary, inhospitable.

Do you need me to define any of those words?

Thank you. I do not.

I only ask because, well, I'm confused.

I have two children, Linda and Junior,

who love to sell lemonade in Berkeley Square.

Duke Ellington and his good friend Hattie McDaniel

host salons in their mansions.

My husband, who is currently serving our country in Korea,

is the first Black chief of surgery.

One of my neighbors is in line for a Nobel in Chemistry.

So, when you say "blighted..."

[scoffs] ...I don't understand.

When you seek to put your freeway through our predominantly Black neighborhood

and two other Black neighborhoods miles away,

solely on the basis that they are "blighted",

my only recourse is to question the definition of the word.

[people murmuring]

So, I've tried adding PRPP and ATP at various concentrations,

but the result is always the same.

Maybe the solution is too acidic?

Too basic?

I am genuinely offended.

What do you think I am, some kind of dimwit?

No, definitely not. [chuckles]

We should take a break. [sighs]

Take a break? We haven't even been productive.

That's why we should take a break.

Elizabeth, you are smarter than me,

but there's one thing I have that you don't.

A Y chromosome?

[chuckles] Yes. But also, I have a jazz mindset.

I know when to sit back, go easy, let the ideas...

- Meander. - ...carry me where they may.

Directionless with no goal?

Towards the supreme goal.

Which is?

The good stuff.

Come on, let's get outta here.

I want to take you somewhere more important.

[Elizabeth sighing]

You're okay. I'm right here.

I thi-- I think that the issue is that my body's residual diving reflex

is being overridden by my fear-paralysis reflex,

so I just need to find a way to circumvent that reflex.

Mmm, could be.

I-I think you need to learn to blow bubbles.

[blowing]

[blowing]

[Calvin chuckles] Let's try this.

Keep your hands on the wall, put your face in

and s-- and blow bubbles.

You don't even have to put your whole head in. Just your face, like this.

[blowing]

[Elizabeth chuckles]

You got it.

Oh, this is silly that I'm so nervous.

- [breathing shakily] - I'm right here.

[grunts] I changed my mind. [breathes shakily]

Well, okay. Um,

what if we were to kiss?

How would that be helpful?

If I were to occupy your mouth as we go under, I think--

I think it could work. You-You just have to trust me.

- Do it. - Are you sure?

Yes, do it before I can think about it.

How was that?

I'm not sure. I think we should try again.

[whistle blows]

[kettle whistling]

What are you writing?

Just some musings. Not ready to share.

Give me a hint.

[stammers] Oh, you seduced then tricked me.

"Repeated hydrolysis of ATP after it's already been reduced to ADP"?

It's just something I'm playing with.

The products are AMP, but I'm stuck. It's impossible.

The hydrolyzed molecules release an inorganic pyrophosphate.

[sighs] I'm very attracted to you right now.

[Elizabeth] Mm-hmm.

With the energy produced from the reaction and the added phosphorous-containing ion.

This is it, Calvin. [chuckles]

Oh, my God. Come here.

♪ Come, all ye faithful ♪

♪ Joyful and triumphant ♪

♪ O come ye ♪

♪ O come ye to Bethlehem ♪

♪ Come and behold him ♪

- Are you going home for Christmas? - [singing continues]

What do you mean?

I'm assuming you have family to celebrate the holidays with?

No. What about you?

I don't really feel like celebrating this year.

All I want for Christmas is to keep working.

Hmm. That's strange, Elizabeth.

- Why? - [singing ends, crowd applaud]

I feel the exact same way.

[both chuckling]

[Six Thirty whines]

What about you?

[jazz music playing]

Calvin, turn the music off.

[music stops]

- Do it again. Oh, wow, wow. - [meter rattling]

- Oh, w-w-wow, wow. Oh. [chuckles] - Did we do it? [chuckles]

- Oh, man alive. [pants, laughing] - We did it. [chuckling]

[sighs] We should celebrate.

We must celebrate.

Come with me.

Oh, number eight, you little devil.

["Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" playing]

[giggles]

[laughs]

- [laughing] - [chuckles, sighs]

This is how you dance.

[Six Thirty barking]

[music ends]

[Elizabeth] I think this is the first time I haven't hated Christmas.

[Calvin] Not big on holidays?

Mmm. Just reminds me of things that I don't want to be reminded of.

Me too.

Like what kinds of things?

Oh... [sighs] ...uh, all my relatives are dead.

I'm alone in the world. Your usual festive holiday fare.

- [stammers] I'm sorry. [chuckles] - [chuckles]

What about you?

My family? Uh, I lost my brother when we were young.

And your parents?

I haven't spoken to them since I was 17. It's my choice.

- Really festive holiday fare. - [chuckles] Really.

We are quite bad at celebrating Christmas.

Mmm. Christmas is a fiction.

Right. Christmas is a fiction.

- I forgot about that. - Mm-hmm.

[clears throat] Guess that means presents are off the table.

But... [stammers] ...I didn't say that.

I didn't mean to-- It depends. What did you get me?

[sighs] Meet me in the cafeteria in two and a half hours.

Okay.

I did have some A5P I wanted to purify before next week, so...

Perfect. Okay.

Two and a half hours.

[groans]

[big band music playing]

You cooked for me?

I can't promise it'll taste as good as yours.

But, um, you know, I did a practice run, and it was-- it was edible.

The open flame is a safety hazard.

Well, just wait till you try the chicken.

[both chuckle]

This is odd. I'm--

Yes.

- Too far? Yeah. - Mm-hmm. [chuckles]

You know, um, it's not-- I mean--

It's good. Well done.

Well done? [chuckles]

Not well done. It's well-done.

[chuckles] It's good.

[chuckles]

Your gift.

I thought Six Thirty could be your running buddy.

Because I sure as hell will not be doing that with you.

[both chuckle]

Oh, it's perfect. [stammers]

Um, I have one last thing.

It's small, but... [clears throat]

...I think you should move in with me. [sighs]

And maybe you'll say it's-- it's too fast.

But we spend all our time together anyway, and I have so much space for one person.

[stammers] It's just illogical for us to keep going back and forth

and back and forth and--

Not to mention just very disorienting for Six Thirty.

Yes. Extremely disorienting for Six Thirty.

I'll, um, have to contribute to rent.

I-- I own the house. It's paid in full.

Oh, no, no. I'll, um-- I'll chip in, in some way.

Um...

Dinner, four nights a week.

Three dinners and a lunch.

Deal.

Okay. Let me try this.

[clears throat, breathes deeply]

Mmm.

I think it's-- it's still missing something.

Mm-hmm. Yes, it is missing quite a few things.

- [chuckles] - But it is an excellent start.

Thank you.

All right, go ahead. What's it missing?

- Do you have your notepad and pencil? - [chuckles]

Harriet. Sorry, he's still getting used to his leash.

I've been trying to catch you. I have some exciting news.

Oh, shit. The meeting. I'm so sorry. I-- It's just this research with Elizabeth.

And-- And you know, I-- I-- We actually have a presentation in a few hours.

Don't worry about it. Looks like you got your hands full.

How'd it go?

How do you think it went?

- Here, let me help you with that. - I've got it. Thank you.

Good luck with your presentation.

[Boryweitz] So, building on the work of Pauling,

my hypothesis supports the notion-- Uh, sorry.

My hypothesis,

supported by the notion that proteins are composed of amino acids--

[stammers] I'm sorry, chains-- are composed by chains,

entire chains of amino acids.

It's quite exhilarating.

[Calvin exhales sharply]

You ready?

It's a long time coming.

[board members chattering]

[door closes]

Good afternoon.

Dr. Evans, we've heard a lot of thoroughly researched submissions today.

So, we're all very excited to hear what's kept you behind closed doors for so long.

Thank you, Dr. Donatti.

But, uh, as first author, Elizabeth will be presenting today.

Dr. Evans and I have been investigating de novo nucleotide synthesis

as a way of better understanding early biochemical evolution and abiogenesis.

Unlike the aminos study group,

we are starting with the basic assumption that DNA,

not protein, is the basic foundation of life.

[board members murmuring]

[Elizabeth] After successfully isolating PRPP,

we've used it to synthesize uridine monophosphate

and inosine monophosphate for pyrimidines and purines, respectively.

I'm sorry, are you saying that you can create nucleotides from scratch?

That is exactly what I'm saying, Dr. Price.

Even if you have managed to synthesize nucleotides,

we here at Hastings believe that DNA will eventually prove to be a dead end.

This protocol that you and Dr. Evans have come up with

is likely nothing more than a party trick.

Whether you believe that proteins or DNA are the foundations of life,

this synthesis pathway is novel.

Diels and Alder won the Nobel Prize for diene synthesis.

[Donatti] Miss Zott.

Miss? Isn't she a doctor?

She's a lab tech.

It is her research that is the basis for this proposal.

[chairman] Dr. Evans, this institution has a reputation.

A reputation based on the likes of world-class scientists like yourself

doing world-class work.

Not the specious theories of a pretty lab tech

who's been distracting him from real work.

This work is revelatory, sir.

[chairman] Sir, a lab technician taking first billing over a chemist?

Hastings would be the laughingstock of the entire scientific community.

I'd rather shutter the place.

Do you have any other chemists to present for the Remsen, or are we done here?

[Calvin] We are done here.

- Let's go home. - We'll take my name off the paper.

No, we won't.

Elizabeth.

- We can't finish our research... - Elizabeth.

...without the grant, and we can't get the grant unless we submit.

- The work is too important. - I was protecting you.

Calvin, I need you to understand this.

If I don't stand on my own two feet, I'm no one.

And I need you to understand this. You are what I treasure most in this world.

Not because you are pretty, not because you are smart,

but because you love me and I love you.

And you can try and deny it, but I will not believe you.

When certain atoms collide...

[stammers] ...it is instantaneous and it is inevitable.

It is basic chemistry.

[breathes shakily] I don't deny it.

Thank you. [breathes heavily]

We will submit on our own without Hastings.

[stammers] Can you even do that?

I don't know that anyone has ever tried. [chuckles]

[chuckles]

["Detour" playing]

[Calvin clears throat]

[Calvin] I don't feel bad when I'm with you.

[Elizabeth] Thanks?

[Calvin chuckles] No, I just--

I mean, most of my life I've lived with this

inexplicable panic in the core of my heart.

When we're together, it goes quiet.

You're like a medicine that I wanna take forever.

If by "forever" you're talking about the traditional model,

I'd like to be clear so there's no confusion.

I don't want to get married, and I don't want to have children.

Yeah, sure. Not right this instant, but I mean... [stammers] ...eventually.

You'd be incredible--

Calvin, you could have six or seven children,

and it wouldn't do anything to your life or to your work.

A woman has to make a choice.

Does she want to have children, or does she want to do anything else?

I have made my decision, and I'm not going to change my mind.

And if that puts an end to this,

I understand.

Thank you for telling me.

Now I know.

Know what?

What you need.

As long as I have you and you are happy, that-- that is enough for me.

It's more than I could have ever imagined. And it's absolutely...

What?

I don't know. I--

Science has been trying to define the laws that govern our universe.

The equations that can explain our past and predict our future.

But I'm starting to wonder if maybe we've forgotten the most important variable.

Please don't tell me it's God.

Surprise.

Surprise?

What if life is necessarily unpredictable?

Maybe even the very thing that makes it possible in the first place.

Is that how you explain abiogenesis? How life began?

Surprise.

[both chuckle]

- You think the Remsen's gonna go for that? - All right. Okay. All right.

Oh, hear me out. One of science's greatest minds and his revolutionary theory:

surprise, we can't predict anything.

[chuckles]

All right. We're gonna go on a run.

I need to have a think on hydrolyzing enzymes.

Mmm. It's a dead end.

Mmm. Never know.

We're getting close.

- Very close. - Mm-hmm.

Yes, we are going. Good boy. Good boy. [chuckles]

[Six Thirty barks]

- Hey, come on. Hey, let's go. - [Six Thirty growls]

Okay, let's go. Okay. [chuckles]

Yeah. Yeah, boy.

[panting]

[barks]

- [growling] - [Calvin chuckles]

Come on. Hey. Hey, Six Thirty, it's okay. Come here. Come on.

[tires screeching]

[Six Thirty panting]

[people clamoring, murmuring]

[people speaking indistinctly]

- [passerby 1] Okay, okay. - [passerby 2] He's not moving!

- [passerby 3] Come here, give me a hand. - [passerby 4] Go get help!