#Harry beltik

[screencapshd]

HARRY: She won!

[headlessandhellbent]

me thinking neville grew up hot af in the queens gambit and it's fucking dudley

d u d l e y

hot AF dudley dursley

[korixae]

just finished the queens gambit and the way i sobbed so many times on the last episode

[tqgincorrectquotes]

Harry: I asked Beth to share her queen-sized blanket, to which she replied she was a queen and therefore the blanket was already at max capacity.

[our-future-is-up-to-us-2]

The Queen’s Gambit

Yes, I know this show is old by 3 years. 

I have heard about it, constantly, but overall, I’m just a person that’s stubborn to explore new media. 

But, I can safely say that after binge watching this show one episode a week, I went through a beautiful emotional rollercoaster and couldn’t have been happier with the show’s ending. 

I just love the entire plot. The design, the artistry, the way the show used chess as its own art form, to propel storytelling, all while using chess coaches and real-life game inspiration along the way. 

Truth be told, I’m not a chess person, but The Queen’s Gambit has made me more interested. 

Chess becomes the vehicle for exploring the complexity of the character. Beth Harmon, most notably. Her wins, her losses, the calculations running through her head as she plays, how she navigates her world... Since her entire world does rest inside those 64 squares.

Her relationships with Townes, Beltik and Benny all form from her love of chess, and break in one way or another. By the end, she realises that relationships can help, but friendships can last a lifetime. I personally think that her chemistry with Benny was the strongest, but that can be saved for another ramble, potentially. 

The portrayal of addiction is very strong (thus I warn those who have struggled with addiction who may want to watch the show) yet poignant. It left me heartbroken for Beth, and frankly angry with her during Episode 6, but it was because of how invested I was that I revelled in joy with her final victory against Borgov. 

The costuming, set design, and aesthetic were off the charts. Starting off like a pawn and ending as the White Queen, moving first and in control?! Agh, so, so beautiful, and again it reflects her journey powerfully. 

And that’s all I can really say. 

Thank you to The Queen’s Gambit for being so incredibly uplifting, emotional, cerebral and amazing <3 

[gallowsraisedarc]

beth and her inability to connect to her sexual partners leaves her always disappointed & disconnected & feeling kinda icky , home girl just needs someone who cares abt her and how gives her TIME to work thru her own emotions so she can realise she cares

[nothing0fnothing]

The characters in the show do a lot to draw comparisons between Beth and Morphy. The American champion Grandmaster who went too insane to play and ended his own life decades before her. Harry Beltik especially can't help but issue the tragic life of Morphy as a cautionary tale to Beth. Keep taking the drugs and see where you end up.

But is Beth really comparable? He's clearly an idol and an inspiration to her, but was his sickness in any way comparable to hers?

From what we know about Morphy and his struggles with mental illness we're told his suffered from some kind of mania "he'd sit up all night chatting to strangers in cafés then play the next day sharp as a knife" that soon gave way to paranoia, and eventually into some kind of delusion where he "feared people were trying to steal his shoes."

I'm not sure if I missed something, but that doesn't sound like Beth to me. Beth is a drunk and a tranquilliser addict, but she's never really shown to be disconnected from reality or paranoid for no reason. In fact we know she drinks and takes the drugs because she's traumatised and is self medicating to numb the pain.

Nope to me, the paranoid, extroverted anxious chess genius sounds more like Benny. With his extravagant fashion and his extroverted personality.

We know Beth can't play having not had a good night of sleep given how her second match against Borgov played out, shes not staying up all night and and playing like a shark the next day. You know who does stay up all night in the university cafeteria drinking coffee and talking shit with the other tournament players, then plays so well hes in the finals the next day? Benny.

Beth is consistently shown to be introverted, preferring to socialise in small bites than constantly around people. Benny is the one who loves to be surrounded on all sides in a chat about chess and theory, him in the center of course.

Then we have the scene, it's so quick it's barely touched on. Where Beth asks Benny about the knife. And he tells her it's for protection... idk that seems like a peek into the sprouting start of Bennys paranoia to me.

Remember Morphy had an entire chess career before falling off the deep end. He was probably a little bit disconnected from reality as a young man, but he wasn't really noticablely unwell until we'll into his life and his career. Benny is only young himself and showing these minor cracks of paranoia already. Beth is like 23 at the oldest and EVERYONE knows she's not okay. She's struggling openly and publicly and she has already been almost completely incapacitated by her addiction.

Basically Beth isn't Morphy, Benny is.

[bookwormlily]

Harry Beltik: I guess you've helped me, too. You've helped me realize something. Beth Harmon: What? Harry Beltik: That I don't love chess. No, it's okay. I just don't love it as much as I once did. I'm not obsessed with it the way one has to be to win it all.

[mistressvera]

[humiliatedrook]

On THAT Parallel between Beth & Benny and Beth & Harry in bed

tl;dr: There's a parallel, but the differences between them stand out to me SO much more than the similarities itself.  The differences helped me realize I shipped B2!  Benny thinking about Beth’s chess is so INTIMATE compared to Beth lighting a cigarette and picking up a book to read post-coitus.

I accidentally wrote an essay basically centered around this parallel because when I first watched the show, I spent ages analyzing it to figure out why the parallel existed and what it intended to say about Beth's relationships with both guys.

Originally created by faearies.

Let's compare the following:

- PHYSICAL POSITION 

B2's physical proximity (they're right on top of each other, Benny inside her) versus Harry and Beth being totally separate. This shows a few things - the difference in how much both parties enjoyed it (because I don't think Harry enjoyed his time in bed with Beth much, either, though he pretended he did); passion vs lack thereof. 

Chess and sex can go really well together for Beth -- Benny views chess way more passionately (immersive because it’s his life and all he’s ever cared about really) than Harry does (arguably more clinical, a little clumsier/more inexperienced in technique, by the books).

The night ends with Harry and Beth in separate rooms, while Benny and Beth fall asleep together (although she is mad and he is confused).

- THE SHEETS

The sheets cover Harry and Beth but not B2 - I interpreted this as the distance that separates B2 is different from the distance that separates Harry and Beth. Harry and Beth are so different, with Harry having an image of what he expects Beth to be, and Beth isn't interested in him back, while B2 ARE close enough to be intimate but they're still figuring themselves out.

The show evokes a lot of imagery, with Beth in white and Benny in black [gifset by NRGBurst], but when they’re in bed together, Benny’s bedsheets are gray. [credit]

When Beth and Harry sleep together, they sleep in Alma’s bed, with blue sheets, a color reminiscent of Alma and a symbol that her adoptive mother’s presence is still lingering, and Beth’s loneliness without her is driving her time with Harry more than anything else. 

- THE LIGHTING 

Benny and Harry are both in the background compared to Beth, but B2 are evenly lit, while Beth has the light turned on to only focus on her. They’re equals!

- THE DIALOGUE

The line "You should play the Sicilian" (+ the two other pieces of advice about check and kings) is very much representative of their relationship: Benny pouring his knowledge and time and effort into Beth, and Beth not realizing this isn't how he express love and affection. Likewise, Beth lighting a cigarette and opening a book is representative of her mentoring relationship with Harry, who gave her his collection of books basically: she doesn't need him to work with her step-by-step. They’re friends, but anything more is obligatory, to fill a void. She studies because she’s lost two major games, and she has sex with him because she’s just lost someone important to her and she’s lonely.

- The two scenes also illustrate how Beth sees chess the same way Benny does: a way to express desire, as well as a safety net to fall back into. She doesn’t crave affection the way Harry would want to give/receive it, she’s proven that. She thinks she wants it from Benny, but Benny is just like her in that he’s not really the type. If he were the type, she might not like him as much as she does.

- Harry proves Beth wanting affection is not so simple as “she wants affection.” She doesn’t want any affection, or the affection that Harry gives, not because Harry is a bad person, but because she’s disinterested in that kind of relationship (domesticity, stability, safety, etc). She DOES crave more touches and affection (since neither are necessarily representative of domesticity!) She associates them with her mothers and Jolene, but she now realizes she wants Benny as well. And while Beth figures out what she wants, both she and Benny can learn to navigate that.

- She also still cares about impressing Harry (putting effort into their relationship and her studies), since that’s how I interpret shopping for lingerie at Ben Snyder’s. But she can’t pretend to want what she doesn’t.

- This might be a stretch (logistically, it’s a lot to have to pump up an air mattress), but I think from what I understand about Beth, she tends to imitate her past experiences. Both she and Harry are rent-free guests at the time. Harry leaves after they sleep together, and yes she throws Benny off of her, but she still sleeps in his bed afterward. Subconsciously, she knows Benny is okay with her staying, and she wants to stay with Benny anyway.

- While Beth and Harry don’t say each other’s names, Beth says “Good night, Benny.” Emotional distance but she still thinks of him, wants him!

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ABOUT CHARACTER:

- I read Beth’s picking up the book as a mix of three things: (1) she doesn’t hide her feelings well enough to pretend to give Harry the affection he wants, (2) she’s deliberately putting him off any further action for the night, (3) she loves chess that much, she needs to think about it all the time! I think (2) is slightly stronger a reason than (1), because she does pat Tim as he’s falling asleep next to her stoned, so she is capable of indulging people even when she doesn’t feel it. [In an interview, ATJ stated wanted the shoulder pat was improvised to establish a connection between chess and sex with Tim. After playing against an opponent, Beth had to shake hands with them, because it was expected of her. So, after sleeping with Tim, the shoulder pat meant something akin to "At least you tried."]

- Harry is aware that the space he takes up in Beth's life is very limited, knows that she's keeping him at arms length, whereas Beth and Benny are so similar that she doesn't even really anticipate him rejecting her like that. However, I think Beth just misinterprets in this moment - although I can see how it can be viewed as Benny putting an emotional wall back up, I don’t see Benny’s chess talk as a rejection. I think Beth interprets it as a rejection, her wanting to close the emotional distance but him doing it in a way she didn’t expect.

MISCELLANEOUS PARALLELS:

- Beth speaks first after sex with Benny, but says nothing (probably would continue to say nothing) after sex with Harry.

- Should I stay here or go back to my room?" versus “You should play the Sicilian” —> the first line both men say. So much of Harry’s time with Beth is about her finding her place, about filling space in the house. With Benny, she can keep her mind simple; she understands chess. He knows her and her strengths as a player well. (Yes, there’s more to their relationship than just the game, but hey, it’s cool they both think about chess so much!)

- Beth says "Whatever you want" with Harry versus "Anything else?" to Benny. She doesn't need anything more from Harry for the night, whereas with Benny she does!

- Harry’s eyes flickering between Beth’s face and the book versus Beth going “Seriously, this is what you’re talking about right now?” Harry is in shock; Beth is in shock. Not much to say, the moments are just funny. Same when I compare the two questions: "Should I stay here or go back to my room?" versus “Anything else? Are you serious? Seriously, this is what you’re talking about right now?” The comedic value is sublime.

P.S. Why is everyone's hair so perfect in bed??

[stevenrogered]

THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT 1x07, End Game

[thefangirllife10]

I don't know who made these but please let me know because these are hilarious

[abrokefangirl]

I think part of the reason The Queen’s Gambit is so good is because it’s genuinely fun to watch. I think a lot of tv shows nowadays rely on ‘gritty’ torture and heavily sexualised and violent content to be considered edgy and ‘good’. But Queens Gambit wasn’t like that- it didn’t have a female character who just had terrible things DONE to her; her obstacles came from her OWN behaviour and it was so refreshing to see a female character have agency and basically I’m going to rewatch this until I die

[tqgincorrectquotes]

Benny: You know what, Beltik? You’re pretty cool.

Harry: The cooliest?

Benny: Don’t ruin it.

[three-cheers-for-pretty-odd]

beth's little voice crack when she heard benny on the other line of the phone kills me ,, and that smile when the rest of them came on too, that's a girl who has been alone most of her life, and has gotten used to being alone and abandoned, who now realized that she isn't alone - she had alma, who did so much for her during the years they were together, she has jolene, who helped her get to russia, she has benny, who helped her train and train and was a worthy opponent, getting her to the top of her game, she has harry, who was one of her biggest supporters and helped her learn a great deal outside of chess, she has townes (whom this move redeemed a little in my eyes) who flew out to moscow to help support her and orchestrated the whole thing, she has matt and mike who were the first friends she made in the chess world

i just kinda melted, this is so wholesome

[diana-bookfairchild]

TV Show Wins! For the first time ever...

I actually like the Queen's Gambit show better than the book!

Sure, Beth seeking out Jolene and paying for her own trip to Moscow, and working out would definitely have been nice to see, and Benny and Beth's relationship is slightly more expanded upon in the book, but the TV show was just. . . more heartwarming.

In the book, Beth remains isolated throughout - forming exactly two relationships, Jolene and Benny, and even those two are problematic.

In the movie, Beth is still ostracized by her schoolmates and adopted father, but forms incredible relationships with her mother Alma, Matt and Mike, Jolene, Townes, Harry, and Benny and even his friends - Cleo, Arthur and Hilton.

Is the book version more realistic? Probably. But the TV show shows Beth transforming from the awkward gangly teenager to the amazing and dynamic woman in episode 7, I mean did you see her??

Townes was definitely a deus ex machina, though, if they wanted Beth to greet him so enthusiastically, they should've developed him more, even if she was incredibly lonely there.

The TV show seemed to make the Benny-Beth relationship on nearly equal terms with Beth-Harry and even Beth-Townes. In the book only Benny called her, but I liked the TV show version so much better, with Beth having so many people in her corner. Is it rather unrealistic that people seem to drop everything to help Beth and the difficulties she faced in the matches are omitted? Sure, but to someone like me watching this is cathartic and much, much better and warmer than the book version.

Beth grieves for Alma more in the TV version too, Alma becoming a better and more encouraging mother than her book self. Beth's spiral is emphasized on more in the TV show, making the Moscow matches and her sobriety and her elegance and her flushing the pills, and her final assertive "Let's play" rather than "Would you like to play?" that much better and the effect more piercing.