Queen’s Gambit Season 1 Episode 6 Recap – Adjournment

[00:00:06] The show begins with yet another flashback. Elizabeth’s biological mother advises her that men will come into her life to teach her different things, but that doesn’t make anyone of them smarter than her. She tells her that she just needs to let them pass by, and she can go back to doing the things that she feels doing. She also advises Elizabeth that most people will settle for anything just to say that they have something. Her mother also shows her the embroidery that she finished on one of her blouses; it was her name, Beth. It was the same blouse that she was wearing on the day of the accident.

[00:00:50] Present day, Elizabeth and Benny drove to New York to begin her training. While driving, they played chess by reciting notations and brushed up on their Russian vocabulary. They arrived in New York, and Elizabeth was able to see the night lights. Benny lived in a basement apartment and didn’t have much; they slept for the night and started training the next day. Elizabeth and Benny didn’t leave the apartment except to buy supplies. Most of their days were spent in front of a chessboard or analyzing famous games.

[00:10:00] One night, Benny invited some friends over and introduced them to Elizabeth. It was Hilton Wexler and Arthur Levertov, along with Cleo. Elizabeth had a conversation with Cleo while preparing food; Cleo told her that she was a model. After preparing food, Benny invited Elizabeth to play a simultaneous with all three of them, but she had other plans in mind. She bet him $10 each to play speed chess and that she’d beat all three of them. Benny agreed, and the games began. They played three rounds, and she bested them without dropping a single game. As their guests left, Benny asked Elizabeth if she still liked his hair, and the rest was history.

[00:19:40] We go back to Paris in 1967; the tournament started with a press conference, unlike most tournaments in the US. The press informed Elizabeth that some people are saying that she’s too glamorous to be taken seriously when it comes to chess. She responded by saying that it’s easier to play chess without the burden of an adam’s apple. Another reporter asked her if she was looking forward to a rematch against Borgov. Elizabeth replied with a resounding yes. She informed the press that she always reviewed Borgov’s games, especially their match in Mexico City.

[00:21:50] The tournament began, and as usual, Elizabeth breezed through her competitors. While she was eating, a man asked for her autograph, showing us that she has indeed reached fame and stardom beyond her predecessors. After a few rounds, the staff approached her, stating that her next match would be against Borgov. As she started preparing for her match, she received a phone call; it was Cleo, inviting her downstairs for a drink. She politely refused, but somehow she still had the urge to go, and so she did. After a few drinks, Elizabeth revealed that she fell in love with Townes. Cleo proposed a toast for unrequited love and proceeded to entertain the men who had been staring at them for quite some time.

[00:29:10] The show goes full circle as we see the events from the first episode. One of the hotel staff knocked on Elizabeth’s door, which woke her. She’s late for her match with Borgov. She climbed out of the bathtub and got herself ready for the match. Elizabeth rushed downstairs to start the match. She was still hungover from last night’s party. Elizabeth tried to gain control over her situation, but as the game progressed, she got worse. The water clearly didn’t help, and after a few more moves, it was clear that she would lose the game. She was about to burst into tears when she opted to resign from the game and left without saying a word or extending her courtesy to Borgov.

[00:33:40] Benny called asking Elizabeth to stay in New York to talk things over. She told him that she would rather be alone in Lexington to get drunk and high. To make matters worse, her attorney called, stating that Mr. Wheatley didn’t want to sign the papers to make her the legal owner of the house, so Mr. Wheatley, along with her attorney, came over to discuss things out. Mr. Wheatley didn’t care about her, nor did he care about Mrs. Wheatley. He admitted that he didn’t want to adopt her and that he had just signed the papers to shut Mrs. Wheatley up. Allston only cared about the money, so Elizabeth offered to buy the house. Allston agreed and left.

[00:39:10] After that, Elizabeth decided to remodel the house since it was finally hers. She removed the old furniture and replaced the wallpaper. She went shopping for new furniture, got someone to mow the lawn, and even did the gardening herself. After a while, she received a letter from the Christian Crusade, a non-profit organization that wanted to assist her with her financial needs for the Moscow Invitational. Benny told Elizabeth that it was the same group that helped him when he went to Moscow.

[00:42:20] Dumbfounded, Elizabeth asked him why they would spend so much money for her. Benny replied that they wanted her to beat communists for Jesus. While on the phone, Benny told her that he missed her, hinting at an urge to rekindle their relationship, but Elizabeth didn’t respond. As their conversation ended, he urged her to respond to the Christian Crusade and get their support for her cause.

[00:43:40] While preparing for a local tournament, Elizabeth decided to dine out probably for enjoyment and to take her mind off things, but what started out as a little fun ended up disastrously. It was no chess and all booze with a dash of smoking on the side. She drank so much that her trash bin was filled up by just empty bottles. Elizabeth almost died as she passed out and hit her head on her coffee table. Harry tried to help her. He even went over to check on her, but she wasn’t able to answer as she was still passed out.

[00:50:50] As she came to her senses, Elizabeth heard the phone ring. It was the local tournament director asking her to come early for the tournament tomorrow. Elizabeth agreed to come early even though she was a complete mess. She checked her watch and noticed that it was broken. Most likely due to her little drinking spree.

[00:52:00] The next day, she went to the local tournament, where she bumped into Annette Packer. She wanted to thank her personally for what she had done by showing the world that women can excel in the world of chess. After their conversation, she went out for a smoke, where she saw Harry. He confronted Elizabeth, saying he was worried about her and that she needed help. He told her she was becoming an alcoholic, and he was hoping that he could help her from his experience. Harry’s father was an alcoholic, and he didn’t want Elizabeth to suffer the same fate, but she rejected him. Harry was the assistant manager of the local supermarket where Elizabeth purchased her liquor. He saw Elizabeth and knew what she was doing. They got into an argument, and Harry left.

[00:56:00] Elizabeth went home, and she didn’t participate in the tournament. She fell asleep and was awakened by a knock on her door. She thought it was Harry, but to her surprise, it was her old friend, Jolene.