They did throw in some red herrings, deliberately, I think, but the vibe overall was real enough. But honestly the show in general is pretty lackluster from a chemistry nerd standpoint (as is the synthesis of illicit substances in general, real snoozefest of gross white powders turning into gross illegal white powders), there are a bunch of youtube channels doing chemistry that is both more interesting AND won't cause visits from the nice people at the three letter agencies.