He did deserve more. But having never received it, made for a very emotional, powerful scene when Beth returned. That scene and that emotion would not have been possible if Mr. Shaibel had gotten what he deserved throughout the series. There were a few simple but powerful scenes with Mr. Shaibel that hit me really hard. When young Beth begged him to help her after she was punished and he couldn't even respond to her because he was so ashamed he didn't have the power to help her. When she drove away in the car after being adopted and he couldn't even wave goodbye to her... you could literally feel his grief without him even saying a word. When she walked down to the basement to see his old room and looked down at the table where he first taught her to play, that was hard enough. But when she looked over at the clippings he kept on his wall of her... that was just too much. Hard to keep your eyes dry watching that scene. This story was written with the purpose of having the reader or watcher, identify with Beth. But I think for a lot of us, we identified with Mr. Shaibel.
Review of The Queen's Gambit
