QUEENS GAMBIT EP 5 FULL LENGTH REACTION
Added 2026-01-09 09:15:19 +0000 UTC
Comments
I always got the feeling that Beth was on the spectrum too. I recommend the series to a friend of mine that is autistic and she really enjoyed it
Sofia W
2026-01-10 13:23:53 +0000 UTCTheir faces are also very copy and paste to me. You got the same fae eternal youth vibes going on here.
Jessica
2026-01-10 06:19:09 +0000 UTCI wish I could enjoy Benny more. He’s just such a tiny baby it’s hard to take him seriously, even though he has good chemistry with Beth. He’s still Jojen Reed to me.
Valaree
2026-01-10 02:33:21 +0000 UTCI love the compilation of the games leading up to Beth and Benny facing off. So creative and the music is perfect. I think you're right in what you said about Beth -- I always thought her lack of facial expression (as a child and an adult) was just her retreating within, being sort of fearful, protecting herself -- which it may be -- but it could also be due to being on the spectrum. I want to learn more about her biological mother. I honestly can't remember how much more, if anything, we get about her since I only watched this once when it first aired. I really like the chemistry she has with the actor playing Benny, and I'm also glad Beltik came back. He helped her just by being there after her mother died. This episode is called "Fork," and it makes me think about what you were saying about what are your options in life? Like a fork in the road. She runs into her old classmate who has taken the typical path into marriage and motherhood (and the bottles of alcohol under the baby carriage tell us how well that is going). Harry offers her that kind of life when he starts talking about his feelings. And even though he is important on her journey and a good guy, she needs something more. With Benny, she has an equal as well as a challenge. When they play speed chess and she comes back to her room, I felt like it was almost a feeling of euphoria you may have after sex. I mean, she lost, but the thrill of it, the striving to win, the way it pushed her is the type of air she wants to breathe. But, the big question remains: What will she become if/when she peaks? That's the question she asked the young boy -- what would he do after, and he didn't even know what she meant. She's in a similar position, but I'm not sure she knows it. I like how this show touches on the societal expectations of women in the 60s without being heavy handed. We see this through her mother's unhappy marriage and loss of a child. The grief was so heavy, and her husband was basically an asshole. So, she drank. Took pills. His idea to adopt an older child was almost certainly to give her a companion so that he wouldn't have to bother with her. Soon after, he leaves for good. She and Beth were good for one another. Beth was loved. I think her mother reinforced the bad habits Beth already has started, but I really enjoyed the trajectory of their relationship. Back to societal expectations, this comes up again with the friend I mentioned earlier (women settling into marriage and children but being unfulfilled -- even if she was a brat, that girl had so much life in her, and now she's like an empty shell). We also see this come up with Harry in a sense because even though she stops him, we know he could offer her this type of life, that I cannot imagine ever making Beth happy -- at least at this point in time anyway.
Melissa
2026-01-10 00:01:10 +0000 UTC
