The Queen's Gambit Ep.7 "End Game" (2020) | First Time Watching | TV Reaction

[@sudhisira]

The final scene is especially powerful. She refused to be a pawn of the DC foreign policy crowd and walked out of the car like a queen.

[@popculturallychallenged]

ohhh, so true! -Toni 🤓

[@henryivpart1]

You really have no idea. The Queen’s Gambit has held the top spot on Netflix’s power rankings across 63 countries and brought in over 62 million views, making it one of the most successful Netflix original series ever. I hope they don't touch it now it was a complete story there is nothing to be gained from regurgitating a mistake many series make.

[@BAD46660]

In addition it is based on a book with no sequel .

[@popculturallychallenged]

I'm hoping they don't make a sequel too.

[@RosaLichtenstein01]

I know you were concerned that Elizabeth's friends were helping her, but Borgov will have had an entire team assisting him.

[@jlerrickson]

I laughed at that: that was the American individualism that Benny mentioned earlier in the show as being a detriment to American players making it on the world stage.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Great point!

[@RosaLichtenstein01]

@@popculturallychallenged Yes, we saw how many were helping the guy with the 'Einstein hair' the night before. There'd be even more assisting Borgov.

[@kschneyer]

Dude: Borgov, the freaking World Champion, had an entire team of expert chess players helping him -- but you want Beth to beat him all by her lonesome? There was no way a single, lonely young person was going to be able to pull that off. Her friends came through in a clutch, which she needed them to do. Yes, ultimately she was able to see her way around Borgov's unexpected maneuver using her weird powers of extrapolation on the ceiling -- but part of the point of the series is that even in chess, the most individualistic of all games, there is room for team work, collaboration, and (most importantly) love. The arc of this series is Beth's journey from someone who is unable to accept love or even friendship because she has so often been hurt and betrayed by it, to someone who is able to appreciate it, accept it, and give it back. The turning point was Scheibel's wall, where she realized that he, at least, really loved her, and that it was now forever too late to receive it and return it. "I owed him ten dollars" is a symbol. There’s a marvelous appetizer made with caviar, hard-boiled egg, cream cheese, sour cream, and red onions. I never wanted to try caviar before tasting that appetizer, but once I’d had it, I was hooked.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Great points! Where did you have that appetizer? It sounds good. 😃

[@kschneyer]

@@popculturallychallenged A friend of mine makes it at her annual New Year’s party. But I’ve made it myself!

[@ecclesrice9789]

When she's looking at the ceiling she is projecting what each move she makes and how it will result in the other players moves. A chess master can see as many as 15 to 20 moves ahead and stay out of traps and maneuvers to force you into checkmate. At my best when I was 17 looking ahead 8 to 10 moves was the best I could do. That's why a chess master can play multiple people at once and win, they are always ahead of the game at each board

[@popculturallychallenged]

WOW!! That's so cool you could do that! - Toni 🥰

[@CoryGasaway]

Excellent reaction. I'm not sure why you don't think this miniseries is "bigger"? It was huge when it came out. Everyone was home during Covid times and binging it. It took home Emmy's, Golden Globes, and other awards. And it's widely considered by numerous critics as one of the best miniseries of the last decade. I don't know many people who haven't seen it and loved it

[@RoSaWa386-33]

It was only huge for Netflix subscribers. Netflix has refused to allow other channels to pass it along so it was "big" in a small pond.

[@CoryGasaway]

​@@RoSaWa386-33Well I don't really know anyone who didn't have Netflix then. As I have said, it had huge ratings and numbers, so it was watched by plenty of people. I really don't know many people who haven't seen it

[@popculturallychallenged]

I think I was surprised how low the views for this series was for us. -David

[@lesgrice4419]

I may be wrong but there's huge symbolism in the beginning to end of her journey, her character arc goes from a black pawn to a white queen...

[@popculturallychallenged]

Great point!

[@cshubs]

If you recall, the father tried to be involved in earlier eps, but mom rebuffed him. He got tired of trying and moved on with his life.

[@popculturallychallenged]

ohhh, - Toni 😔

[@bl3313]

If you look at the paperwork when she's admitted to the orphanage, you'll see it lists father as NK (not known). So Alice apparently didn't claim him as the father when she was born. He may not have any legal rights gto her. No DNA testing in those days.

[@andrewgambin]

I heard you say you are surprised this show wasn't bigger. When it came out it was the most watched series ("62 million households watching within its first 28 days"), it was big. Also it sparked an explosion of Interest in Chess

[@popculturallychallenged]

I must have just missed it when it was released. 😂 I think what surprised me most was how the reaction videos performed. The views for this series were way down for us. Maybe we were just too late to the party. 😂

[@popculturallychallenged]

I guess we were late to the game. I didn't realize it was that big. - Toni 🥰

[@susanliltz3875]

Loved the ending, glad she won (no drugs or alcohol) and glad that the other players gave her so much praise, acknowledged how brilliant she was! Especially loved when she was walking and ran into the “regular “people outside playing chess and how thrilled they were to see her and cute how she sat down ready to play again, for fun..

[@popculturallychallenged]

I think this was my favorite episode. Very well done!

[@susanliltz3875]

I agree!!!She finally looked happy!!

[@LouisReacts]

Love you guys, keep going! Btw, Benny Watts is based of Bobby Fischer, one of America's most famous chess player

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thank you!

[@jeffsherk7056]

Thanks for watching all the series. It is such fun, and I really enjoyed watching it again with you two.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thank you for watching with us. We really enjoyed it. - Toni 🥰

[@KevinLyda]

In the end she went to a park full of William Schiebels. Her love was for the game; the competitions were just a way for her to play. Love the Barbie movie. It's good. And a second series following Jolene as major civil rights cases are fought would be interesting.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Good point. I'll see if we can watch that for the channel. Added to our list. - Toni 🥰

[@757optim]

A lost soul with a single gift. How to make chess emotional. : )

[@popculturallychallenged]

It was great!!! She was great!!! - Toni ☺️

[@sallyatticum]

A brilliant conclusion. I love her white queen outfit at the end.

[@popculturallychallenged]

I think this was my favorite episode of the series. 🙂 -David

[@deepermind4884]

You edited out the "bottom of a hole" conversation with Jolene (and also when she turns down the vodka at dinner). That was such a pivotal moment, where Beth realizes not only is she not alone anymore; if she were to remain alone, her lifelong residue from her childhood trauma would kill her the way it killed her mother & her adoptive mother. It only took one good friend who spoke the truth to her & loved her, to change her course (well-meaning boyfriends notwithstanding). Yes, busy wallpaper was very much in vogue in the '60s & '70s. I kinda like it myself, reminds me of my past. A chess board is 8 rows by 8 rows. If a Queen were to move straight forward one square at a time, it would reach the other end of the board in 7 moves. That MAY be why the series had 7 episodes. 😄 When a pawn reaches the opponent's end of the board, it is (usually) transformed into a Queen, the only piece that can move as far as it wants in all 8 directions. At the end, Beth is dressed to look like a white Queen. Instead of listening to the government guy in the car, she takes the liberty of going where she wants to go. She's free.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Very well said and very insightful. (I think I secretly liked the wallpaper... ) Thank you so much! - Toni 🥰

[@markwang77]

when this came out, it was the biggest show on netflix for a while. i enjoy watching people's reaction to discovering this gem (one of my favorite all-time shows). scott frank (the show's writer/director) says there wouldn't be a sequel since it was a complete story - despite netflix throwing mountains of cash at him to create one, he politely declined.

[@popculturallychallenged]

That's good! I think the story ended perfectly and there's really nothing new that they could do in my opinion. 🙂

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

That was not Elizabeth's father at the beginning - that was her grandfather. Elizabeth's mother was a brilliant mathematician, but mentally ill.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Ohhh, that makes sense. - Toni 🤓

[@susanliltz3875]

Bigger than the “Monkees “!! Loved that line, caught it!! Love the Monkees!!! Grew up with them!!

[@popculturallychallenged]

😃👍 I remember watching the TV show on reruns when I was a kid. 😂

[@susanliltz3875]

I’m so old I saw them when they first came on in 1966!! Then watched every time they put the reruns on!! Still have all their albums and still love the music!!

[@jowbloe3673]

For more chess, you should watch *Searching for Bobby Fischer,* based on the true story of a seven year old.

[@seekermel3079]

Oh, yes, that's a great suggestion.

[@greysongreyhater7667]

Indeed! It was wonderful, and I thought no chess movie would ever come close ... until I saw the mini-series, Queen's Gambit. The boy who played Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc) was amazing (I think it was the only movie he was in).

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thanks for the recommendation, I have added to our list. - Toni ☺️

[@janabraam7963]

I'm very glad you watched this. Everyone that has seen it, that I know of, has liked it, even if they didn't know anything about chess. I enjoyed watching it again, with you guys.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thank you for watching it again with us. - Toni 🥰

[@lewismaddox4132]

She did that on her own.. Her friends tried to help but Borgov did something none of them anticipated. What made their joining together to try to help so important is it helped her realize what Jolene said, "We were never orphans, as long as we had each other." She had an extended family, Jolene at first, then her adopted mother, then the friends she made along the way. Her not being alone allowed her to stop the booze and pills and gain even greater clarity.

[@jackransom.]

Great show, enjoyed the reactions ; ).

[@popculturallychallenged]

Glad you enjoyed, thank you! - Toni 🥰

[@jackransom.]

You guys always seem to have honest reactions. I have mad respect for that ; ).

[@philCTO]

Moving pieces back isn't a bad sign. It was driving me crazy to hear you keep saying that was bad. You have a whole board and its not about moving forward, its about moving strategically.

[@popculturallychallenged]

I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I was thinking it was bad. Sorry if i made you too crazy. - Toni 😔

[@BAD46660]

The book this is based on is an excellent read with some details that were left out. I like that Netflix was able to do a "series" instead of a two hour movie.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Interesting.... Will need to look into it. I enjoyed the series. - Toni ☺️

[@debbill1979]

Two things the chessboard on the ceiling was always Scheibels. At the end she was dressed as the White Queen.

[@popculturallychallenged]

I finally get the white queen.... - Toni ☺️

[@JustinHamsley]

If you're looking for relatively short good tv series, I suggest "Good Omens". Season 1 ran in 2019, then season 2 very recently. Both are 6 episodes each. It's about two angels (one fallen) that decide to work together to save the world from Armageddon. It's somewhat of a bromance, with wonderful writing (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman), and wonderful acting. It's a good watch, and if there's any tears it'll only be the good ones.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thanks for the recommendation. Looking into it and adding it to our list. - Toni 🥰

[@t0dd000]

This miniseries was never intended to be anything but a miniseries. It was hugely popular … a phenomenal success when it was released. At the time, it broke all viewership records to date for a miniseries.

[@alanFconrad]

our "hosts" werent paying attention when Jolene told Beth that Mr Shaibel died

[@americandad8903]

Didn’t say anything till now, did you notice that her clothes changed throughout the series.? By the end the very last scene she was dressed like a queen. And I take my wife coffee every morning and have for over 20 years! She’s not a morning person.

[@popculturallychallenged]

I hadn't noticed the clothes but you're right! 😃

[@bl3313]

You don't really read Modern Chess Openings. It's a reference book. Beth has an updated edition anyway, so the old one is more for sentimental value.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Oh, that makes sense. - Toni ☺️

[@rs91268]

Second. Wonderful reaction. Keep up the amazing work

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thank you!

[@sallyatticum]

I have some friends, a husband & wife musical duo, who dressed up as Barbie and Ken to go see the Barbie movie and they have been obsessed with it ever since. They LOved it.

[@popculturallychallenged]

We'll probably check it out on the channel if there's any interest in us watching it. 🙂

[@jamesodonnell3636]

This and Squid Games are Netflix's best series I know of. They do a lot of disinformation/state propaganda (White Helmets, Navalny, etc.), but they produce excellent art, too. So far as Queen's Gambit's discussion on substances, I like the nuance. Substances helped Beth expand her mind and improve her game, and those same substances threatened to overwhelm her. Anyone who has lived culturally to the left of Lawrence Welk has figured this out for themselves.

[@aresee8208]

Realistically, top chess players all have coaches, just like athletes do.

[@JC-ke7mj]

That was awesome! Thank y'all!

[@popculturallychallenged]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TNgirl546]

I thought it was very special when she saw the chess pieces on the ceiling without the drugs for the first time. That goes to show you she didn't need those little green pills

[@popculturallychallenged]

That's very true!!! thank you for pointing that out. - Toni 😊

[@jeremybr2020]

I don't get it. I'm a 50 year old man, who works in construction in Texas. I'm very much a "man's man" type of person. The part in this episode when Beth finds that Mr Shaibel has been keeping up with her all these years and she finds the old picture and breaks down crying......that part makes me cry like a little girl........EVERY TIME. And I've watched that part over a dozen times. Now we have Toni here. A woman who cries literally at just about everything. If there is even a hint of sadness, the water works are guaranteed to come. YET INEXPLICABLY, at the most emotional part of this show, Toni barely shows a sad face.....and nothing else. How is that possible? Now I will count much of it up to them not paying attention at a pivotal part of the show. Which is a bit annoying. They even missed when Jolene told Beth that Mr Shaibel passed away. And she seemed to take the whole collage found in the basement, as a thing of happiness, rather than the mostly, sad and tragic realization by Beth, that in all the years, she never gave Mr Shaibel more than a passing thought. She never once called him or went to see him again. Yet he closely watched Beth's entire life. That part is gut wrenching when she breaks down in the car, because it is by far the most emotion she has ever shown in the entire show. Before this episode started, I would've bet one of my kidneys that Toni would be bawling at this point in the show. And i would've lost a kidney. 😳

[@popculturallychallenged]

I can't specifically remember how I was feeling at that moment but I think that I was so in my thoughts of how Mr. Shaibel kept up with all that she was doing and the sense that he was so proud of her and the thought that Beth took that for granted. I was in shock that she actually broke down because she never seemed to show much emotion.... I remember that I was so strong when both my parents passed away because I felt that everyone expected that from me and I was only able to fall apart in private. Especially when my mom passed away, I felt that my Dad needed me to be strong. I'm so glad you didn't actually lose a kidney but to make sure, next time just bet a slice of cheesecake. 😊

[@jeremybr2020]

@@popculturallychallenged Whoa whoa....Cheesecake? I love cheesecake....like....a lot. I got 2 kidneys. I'll probably be fine with the one. 😏

[@Jekyll_Island_Creatures]

It's about finding out someone really did care and love you.

[@jaymcnaughton8368]

The author of the books died before he could write the sequel.

[@SwiftieSteph302]

This show was Amazing.

[@amydhm]

Yesss.. Barbie!

[@popculturallychallenged]

👍

[@aladindelic]

Nice show, I enjoyed your reactions, thx for sharing. There's a nice 3-part mini-series Ascension, I think you'd like it.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thanks for your recommendation. Will look into it. - Toni ☺️

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

There is no season two - it's based on the book.

[@popculturallychallenged]

That's good to know! This ended perfectly! 😃

[@alanFconrad]

Great Series

[@kerryferguson2400]

If you just want to watch a wonderful "chess" movie, you should watch "Searching for Bobby Fischer". It is about a seven year old chess prodigy and the difficulties and joys he faced. It is based on a true story. Wonderful writing and every actor in it is a superstar. It has suspense, dram, and heart.

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@mjr320]

highest ranking player is black, so in the games before the final she was a higher rank than her opponent until she got to the final where obviously the world champion was the higher ranked player

[@popculturallychallenged]

Got it!! Thank you so much for the info! - Toni ☺️

[@susanliltz3875]

Wow!!! 1300 movies on your list ,so far!! You guys are going to be very busy!!

[@popculturallychallenged]

I've gotta get faster at editing! 😂 -David

[@susanliltz3875]

There are a lot of great movies out there!! (and some not so good ones) Enjoy your reactions!! Don’t worry I’m not going to recommend any movies,don’t want to stress you out and add to that long list!!👍😂

[@t0dd000]

Popularity of chess. Soccer is the most watched game in the world (American Football is not even in the top ten, to give context). But chess is _played_ by three times more people than who play soccer. So … pretty popular.

[@magnusmagnusson8302]

its like part real story of bobby fischer maybe 10%:)

[@popculturallychallenged]

Will look into that. - Toni ☺️

[@ThomasTreece-mp8md]

Yes to Barbie! 💗

[@popculturallychallenged]

👍

[@alanFconrad]

Oye....barbie after that.....hahahaha

[@user-hn9mb9km6b]

I'd like to recommend a few different movies....but I don't want to make Toni cry, such a kind soul. But Jeremiah Johnson or the Culpeper cattle company are movies from the 70s both very tragic and heart felt

[@popculturallychallenged]

Thank you for your recommendation, I have added to our list. I hope to remember the tissues. - Toni

[@t0dd000]

I kinda wish she lost at the end. Kinda like Rocky. Going the distance was his win. Like all "sports movies" it's not really about the sport.

[@CordeliaWainwright]

Toni’s going to be a mess if you watch lord of the rings

[@popculturallychallenged]

It looks like that's going to be the winner. Stay tuned! 😃

[@WarKrieg]

This dude is being really irritating with the whole "I wish they hadn't helped her" crap. EVERYONE GETS HELP. That was the point of showing the Russian working as a team 🤦‍♂️