Queen’s Gambit Season 1 Episode 2 Recap – Exchanges

[00:00:15] As we return to the Methuen Home Orphanage, we see Jolene and Elizabeth reminiscing about her incident. Feeling remorse, Elizabeth approached Mr. Shaibel. She informed him about her punishment and that she wished to continue playing chess with him.

[00:02:12] As years passed, Jolene and Elizabeth became close friends; they’re now the eldest within the orphanage. Mr. Fergussen wakes both of them and advises them to get up before they miss breakfast. Jolene reaches for a cigarette and heads to the nearest window as Elizabeth gets up from bed. Elizabeth joins Jolene, and both of them spot a car entering the orphanage grounds. Neither of them knew that this would be the day Elizabeth got adopted.

[00:04:30] Mrs. Deardorff introduces Elizabeth to the Wheatley’s as a thirteen years old girl; however, Elizabeth was already Fifteen years old. She goes along with it, thinking that she might not get adopted if they knew about her real age. Elizabeth was packing her stuff when she noticed that a book was missing, the one Mr. Shaibel gave her. She asked Jolene if she had seen it, but her response only made it obvious that she had taken it. Jolene tells Elizabeth that she has no use for her book and that she must be careful of whom she accuses. Elizabeth immediately understood and apologized that Jolene wasn’t getting adopted. Elizabeth continued packing her stuff and went on her way. Helen bid her farewell as she got into the car; before they drove off, she waved goodbye to Mr. Shaibel.

[00:08:55] When they arrived, Mrs. Wheatley gave Elizabeth a tour of the house and showed her to her new room. She wasted no time and immediately proceeded to bed. The next day, Elizabeth woke up to the Wheatley’s having an argument about work-related matters. Mr. Wheatley was about to leave on a business trip and will be gone for two weeks. Mrs. Wheatley plays the piano while she has a conversation with Elizabeth. She mentioned that she got pregnant but didn’t go into the details of the pregnancy.

[00:13:25] As Elizabeth headed off for her first day of school, Mrs. Wheatley wanted to accompany her, but she refused, stating that she could manage on her own. Elizabeth started her life as a normal teenager, but it seemed she wouldn’t fit in with the kind of girls within the school. As she found out, there was no chess club within their school, and most girls belonged to social clubs such as the Apple Pi or the Sub Debs. The student she was having a conversation with informed her that an invitation was required to join these social clubs.

[00:17:10] Mr. Wheatley arrived home a week early, but he was only going to stay for one night. Elizabeth took notice that Mr. Wheatley didn’t like her, but Mrs. Wheatley contradicted the idea stating that it was his idea to adopt her. The next day, Mrs. Wheatley took Elizabeth to Ben Snyder’s to get some new clothes. There she saw some chess sets, but Mrs. Wheatley refused to buy her one; instead, she wanted Elizabeth to start saving bit by bit from her 40 cents allowance so that she could buy one for herself.

[00:20:50] Elizabeth went to school in her new clothes, and everyone took notice, not because they looked good, but because they looked funny. The coat she was wearing was oversized. Furthermore, the other girls have started picking on her. Elizabeth went to the library that day looking for books about chess. The librarian directed her to the last aisle, and she saw someone kissing. She tried to hide behind the bookshelf as she continued to watch, but she was caught and immediately called out due to her shoes which gave her away. Apparently, getting clothes from Ben Snyder’s clothing store wasn’t a good idea as this was also one of the things that were picked on about her.

[00:23:00] As she came home, Mrs. Wheatley asked Elizabeth to get her some packs of cigarettes from Bradley’s, the local convenience store. As Elizabeth was about to leave the store, she saw a magazine related to chess, but the store owner wouldn’t have her reading for free, so she just bought a newspaper instead. She stole the magazine and hid it under the newspaper. As she got home, Mrs. Wheatley mentioned that there wasn’t enough money to last them until the end of the month. Elizabeth suggested that she work part-time so that she would have money to enter chess tournaments, showing Mrs. Wheatley the tournament listings on the magazine. Mrs. Wheatley wasn’t going to allow Elizabeth to work, stating that the girls who work her age were “colored.”

[00:27:40] Without any other options, she wrote a letter to Mr. Shaibel asking for five dollars to enter the chess tournament; she also mentioned that she would pay him back double as long as she won any amount within the tournament. As she was about to send the letter, Mrs. Wheatley asked her to run out for another errand; this time, it was for filling out a prescription. Elizabeth waited for Mr. Bradley to return from the back of the store with the medicine for Mrs. Wheatley, but she didn’t expect that when he returned, she would recognize the pills within the bottle. It was the tranquilizers that she got addicted to back in the orphanage.

[00:29:10] Mrs. Wheatley mentioned that it was her “tranquility medicine.” Dr. Talbott prescribed her the medicine stating she needed more tranquility in her life. Elizabeth handed Mrs. Wheatley the pill bottle, but it was only half full as she had already taken the other half for her own. Getting reunited with her green pills, she immediately began to practice chess again before going to bed.

[00:30:40] Elizabeth was washing the dishes when Mrs. Wheatley handed her a letter. It was from Mr. Shaibel. It contained five dollars. Elizabeth wasted no time and entered the tournament the next day. Her first opponent was Annette Packer, who explained to her the basics of chess tournaments, like touch moves and the chess clock. She easily bested Annette and moved on to the next round. Elizabeth finished the day undefeated, and a guy named Townes congratulated her. She went home where Mrs. Wheatley was waiting for her; she told her that she had won 4 games.

[00:41:10] The next day, she was up against Townes. She defeated Townes just in the nick of time; she rushed to the bathroom because she was feeling sick. Elizabeth had her first menstruation. It was a good thing that Annette Packer followed her, wherein she offered a tampon, but she didn’t use it. She headed home, where she saw Mrs. Wheatley playing the piano. She informed her that she had already started menstruating. Mrs. Wheatley advised her to get what she needed from her room along with her pill bottle. She immediately went upstairs only to find everything was a wreck. Elizabeth took the pill bottle and headed back downstairs to ask what had happened.

[00:49:50] Apparently, Mr. Wheatley left Mrs. Wheatley and only informed her over the phone. Mrs. Wheatley was devastated. Elizabeth informed her that she didn’t know how to use the pad for her menstruation. She told Elizabeth that she would teach her at the same time learn how to be a mother for her.

[00:53:00] The next day, Elizabeth returned to the tournament to face her last opponent, Harry Beltik. He’s the best player in the tournament, but he arrived late for their match. Feeling the pressure of the matchup, Elizabeth decided to head to the bathroom to pop a green pill to ease her nerves. She ended up beating Beltik to win the whole tournament.

[00:59:10] Mrs. Wheatley read the newspaper and the article about Elizabeth winning the tournament. Elizabeth bought a chess set along with some new clothes using her winnings. She was setting up when Mrs. Wheatley called her downstairs. To her surprise, Mrs. Wheatley wanted her to attend a tournament out of town; she stated that she would write her an excuse letter so that she could skip school and enter the tournament. Mrs. Wheatley explained that she had already calculated everything, and even if Elizabeth only placed second or third within the tournament, they would still have a profit. Elizabeth agreed to participate, confidently telling her that she would win the tournament.