Dating today comes with matches, swipes, talking stages and a long list of things we think we want in a partner. But when it comes to actually falling in love, can compatibility or chemistry really decide who is right for us?
Netflix’s Tamil romantic comedy series #Love, starring Aishwarya Lekshmi and Arjun Das, takes a slightly different route from the Tamil rom-coms we are used to. With only 6 episodes, it is difficult to say too much about Tara and Matthew’s story just yet. Their journey feels like it has only just begun, with viewers now waiting to see if there will be further announcements about what comes next.
Still, the story gives us something fresh. Tara is the founder of FOUND, a dating app built around compatibility, while Matthew backs rival app Find My Bae, which believes chemistry and attraction come first. Their different ideas lead to a 60-day dating challenge where they step into each other’s worlds and slowly begin questioning what they thought they knew about love.
Here are five things #Love gets right about modern dating:
Your “Perfect Match” May Not Actually Be Perfect
Dating apps can sometimes make finding a partner feel like a checklist. Similar interest? Check. Same values? Check. Similar plans for the future? Another check.
That is what Tara believes in. FOUND is built around the idea that understanding someone’s personality and finding the right level of compatibility can lead to a stronger relationship.
But #Love slowly shows that someone can look perfect on paper and still not feel right in real life. People and emotions change, and sometimes the person who catches your attention is not the person an algorithm would have chosen.
It is one of the more relatable ideas in the series. We can have a clear picture of our “type”, but love does not always follow the list we make for it.
Chemistry Can Star Something, But It Cannot Carry Everything
Matthew is almost the opposite of Tara. While she looks for compatibility, he believes in chemistry, that instant spark or feeling that draws two people towards each other.
And to some extent, he has a point. Attraction can be what makes you notice someone in the first place. But #Love also asks what happens once that initial spark settles.
Matthew himself begins the series believing strongly in chemistry, only to slowly understand why compatibility matters too. His journey with Mridhula also gives him a different kind of connection, one built around emotional support and comfort.
The series does not dismiss chemistry. Instead, it suggests that chemistry may open the door, but understanding, effort, and emotional comfort are what makes you want to stay.
Compatibility Isn’t Something An Algorithm Can Fully Understand
This is perhaps the biggest idea behind #Love.
Tara and Matthew have built businesses around helping other people find relationships, yet neither has completely figured out their own love life. That irony is what makes their experiment interesting.
FOUND can study compatibility. Find My Bae can prioritize attraction. But neither app can fully predict what happens when two people actually spend time together.
Tara and Matthew themselves become proof of this. Their relationship does not begin with constant fights followed by a sudden romantic turn. Instead, it starts softly. They share an easy friendship, spend time together and slowly become comfortable around one another.
By the end, even Tara begins to rethink her formula and sees that chemistry may have a place alongside compatibility. Maybe technology can introduce two people, but it cannot fully explain why they choose each other.
Dating Someone Can Also Reveal Things About Yourself
One of the nicer parts of the 60-day challenge is that Tara and Matthew are not only trying to prove each other wrong. Without realizing it, they are also questioning themselves.
Both enter the challenge convinced they understand love. Tara wants certainty, while Matthew is more comfortable trusting a feeling. But stepping into each other’s dating worlds forces them to look at relationships differently.
Their beliefs are also connected to their own experiences. Tara’s need for certainty comes partly from what she has experienced and witnessed, while Matthew has emotional struggles hidden behind his more relaxed personality.
The experiment becomes less about simply finding “the one” and more about understanding what they themselves need from another person. Sometimes dating teaches you as much about yourself as it does about the person you are dating.
Love Gets Complicated When Feelings Enter The Experiment
At first, everything seems simple: 60 days, two apps and one debate. Chemistry or compatibility?
Then actual feelings enter the picture.
That is where #Love becomes more interesting. Tara and Matthew can debate relationships, build algorithms and create rules around dating, but none of that makes dealing with their own emotions easier.
And importantly, the series does not rush their connection into a full romance. Across these 6 episodes, what works best between Aishwarya Lekshmi and Arjun Das is the friendship and comfort Tara and Matthew share. There are hints that something deeper is growing, but we have not seen enough of their love story yet to fully judge their chemistry as a couple.
By the finale, their problem is no longer simply chemistry versus compatibility. Timing, emotions, and being ready for a relationship matter too.
So, Chemistry or Compatibility?
Ultimately, #Love does not crown a winner between chemistry or compatibility. Instead, it leaves us somewhere in the middle. A relationship may need attraction to begin, compatibility to grow and something no dating app can calculate to actually make it work.
Tara and Matthew may have started the challenge believing they had love figured out, but these six episodes prove that relationships are far less predictable than the apps they built. And with their story only beginning, there is still plenty left for #Love to explore.
#Love is available on Netflix, so grab your loved ones and settle in for a sweet take on modern romance.
