WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS about the ending of "The Queen's Gambit" If you ask anyone logging into Netflix, they will tell you that the sexiest and most exciting TV show of the year is about competitive chess. But whether that's due to the lavish sets of the 60's, the gorgeous cast (opens in new tab), the fact that chess has always been this exciting, or the tendency to turn the entire world upside down over and over again in 2020 is unclear. Either way, we can all agree that "The Queen's Gambit" (opens in new tab) deserves a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, days in the Netflix top 10, and all the trophies it will surely win when the next awkward semi-virtual awards ceremony comes around Which means.

Not only is star Aniya Taylor-Joy's sharp eye (opens in new tab) and chic wardrobe (opens in new tab) the key to the miniseries' long-lasting success, but undoubtedly its poignant conclusion: in the final episode, Beth Harmon, played by Taylor-Joy, looks back on past In the final episode, Beth Harmon, played by Taylor-Joy, reflects on her past failures and mistakes, and then corrects them to achieve her goal of becoming the best chess player in the world. Here is the deeper meaning behind that inspiring ending and what comes next for Beth.

In the second-to-last episode, Beth faces off for the second time with her greatest rival and the last person standing in her way of becoming the world's best, the Russian grandmaster Vasily Borgov (played by Marcin Dorotinsky). At the time, in Paris, she spends a wild night with her new French friend Cleo, is hungover and late for the match, and loses to Borgov. In despair, she returns home, cuts off all her remaining friends, and falls into another prolonged drinking binge. [In the final episode, however, Beth's childhood friend Jolene reappears to remind her how many people are rooting for her, and Beth's addiction to tranquilizers (open in new tab) makes her learn to play chess for the first time as a child, and while on the drug, a chess game on the ceiling of any room The ability to recall the entire game is shown to be impaired rather than enhanced, as Beth has believed ever since. At the climax of the series, Beth entered the Moscow Invitational with a clear head and a group of friends ready to help her at any moment, which finally allowed her to beat Borgov.

As if that were not symmetrical enough, Beth also starts the final with a chess move known as the "Queen's Gambit." Just as Beth had to overcome the deaths of her biological and adoptive mothers, a difficult childhood, and drug abuse to become the best player she could be.

Having finally achieved her lifelong dream of defeating the Russian Grandmaster, what's next for Beth? While being driven to the airport in Moscow, Beth demands to get out of the car and abandon (at least for the time being) the cutthroat and highly regimented world of competitive chess to wander through a park where a group of old men have long arranged chessboards. After the men mob her, congratulating her on her victory, she settles in for a game.

Of course, there is symmetry here: Beth's chess journey in The Queen's Gambit begins and ends with her playing against an old man on a crude chessboard. First she plays against Mr. Scheibel, the janitor, in the basement of the orphanage, and later against random Russian men in a Moscow park. This moment also provides an emotional coda to the show: after working single-mindedly toward the victory she finally achieved the day before, Beth finally has some time to herself, walking slowly through the park and playing a casual game of chess that will not make or break her career.

Taylor-Joy couldn't help herself either, so she can't be blamed for shedding a tear during this powerful moment. "Every time that sequence ended, I was shedding tears." She found this satisfaction. She found this satisfaction.

As to whether the fact that she forsook a ride to the airport means that Beth will stay in Russia and continue to compete with the grandmasters and grandpas (she has to use her Russian lessons somehow), even the woman behind the chess champ is unsure. Whether she stays in Russia, returns (to the US), travels with Jolene for a while, whatever - Beth feels more comfortable with herself now, like she has a home inside her."