Beth and Jolene say goodbye
Beth cannot find her chess book, Jolene coaches her on how to please a Christian home, and Beth apologizes that Jolene never got adopted.
Beth Harmon & Jolene
The friend from the orphanage who comes back when it matters. 10 scenes together, in story order.
10 moments · 19 min · by Favseen
- 01
- 02
Jolene turns up at Beth's door with news of Mr. Shaibel
Jolene reappears after years, teases Beth about her house, brings word that Mr. Shaibel has died and lays out her plan to become a lawyer and a radical.
- 03
Jolene tells Beth to stop digging and gives her a present
Jolene sees the pills and wine, cuts through Beth's Michelangelo self-pity, tells her to stop digging, then reveals she took the book years ago.
- 04
Car ride: Jolene on the law firm, Rick and wanting what Beth has
Driving to Methuen, Jolene explains the gifted car, the white firm that hired her for the times, and why she envies Beth's long run at the top.
- 05
Beth returns to her mother's trailer and remembers Deardorff
Beth and Jolene stop at the abandoned trailer; a Methuen flashback of Mrs. Deardorff on choices and consequences, and Beth decides never to go back in.
- 06
Shaibel's funeral: Deardorff's hip and the ten dollars
At the chapel service Jolene notes nobody is crying, reports Deardorff's fall after Beth left, and Beth confesses she still owes Shaibel ten dollars.
- 07
Beth finds Shaibel's wall of clippings in the Methuen basement
Beth goes back down to the basement where she learned chess, discovers Shaibel kept every article about her, and breaks down in Jolene's arms.
- 08
Beth refuses the Christian Crusade statement and gives the money back
The Crusade wants Beth to publicly denounce Soviet atheism; she calls it nonsense, says she is not sure she is a Christian, and returns their funding.
- 09
Jolene pays for Moscow: we weren't orphans, that's what family does
Jolene offers her law-school savings for the trip, refuses the guardian-angel label, and tells Beth they have always been each other's family.
- 10
Beth sees the board on the ceiling and Borgov hands her his king
Beth visualizes the endgame sober, Borgov resigns and gives her his king, the hall erupts, and Jolene watches at home.