The Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank has said that even though there is demand for a second season of the Netflix limited series, there will not be one. He explained, “The joy of a single-season show is the promise of a complete story. Knowing the ending from the onset means that when the season concludes, so will the character arcs, leaving the audience with a clear sense of finality.”

I think the reason there will not be a second season is because Frank would lose his happily ever after ending. The series ends on such a high note where (spoiler ahead, please skip to the next paragraph to avoid) the orphan heroine overcomes her struggles with grief, trauma, self-esteem, trust and drug and alcohol dependency to beat the best chess players in the world AND get her guy. In the real world, healing from trauma, abandonment and substance abuse do not happen overnight without support and/or therapy.

Life is not a happy every after, but a series of highs, lows and the in between. As humans we want to celebrate and live in the highs, bemoan the lows and ignore our time in the messy middle. We feel energized by the highs and lows. We are built that way. The messy middle is hard. It is where we raise our grandchildren, care for aging parents, deal with teenagers, get stuck on a mountain top because of car breakdown and expensive repair, get surprised by water leaks and black mold or have frustrating holdups on a new build because of delays on materials.

We keep watching romcoms, reading fairy tales to children and going to see musical theatre because want to believe in the happily ever after. We keep believing in and working for the next perfect moment. The one thing that is true in these stories is that it is our messiness that reveals our vulnerability which makes us human, loveable, stronger and relatable.

Stay messy.

Stuck in the Middle with You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WROJl6QtNMk

The Queen’s Gambit Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdg