This is something that’s been on my mind for a while, and after giving it a lot of thought, I think that chemistry is not subjective. Chemistry (whether it’s romantic, platonic, familial, etc.) either exists or it doesn’t. I think that there is a difference between liking a ship and that ship actually having chemistry. You can like the dynamic between a couple, but that doesn’t equate to them having chemistry. And vice versa. There have been couples that I really liked that had no chemistry and ones that I did not care for that had an obscene amount.
For example, I really like Stefan and Caroline on The Vampire Diaries! Their relationship was built upon for six seasons and they had such a strong foundation as friends. But they had awful romantic chemistry. They had many, many scenes together where I was like “he did this better with Elena” or “she did this better with Tyler” and I still preferred them as a couple because I like their dynamic together.
Similarly, I was always pretty indifferent towards Kriya and Rey from Dil Dosti Dance, their dynamic just wasn’t for me. But my god, they had a ridiculous amount of chemistry, like, guys I get it!