Who is Jolene in The Queen's Gambit?

The Methuen survivor with the long memory · Methuen & Home

Jolene (The Methuen survivor with the long memory) is a character in The Queen's Gambit, part of Methuen & Home. Jolene runs Methuen's informal survival school: the older orphan who teaches Beth which pills to save for night, which adults to dodge, and how to take a punch from the world without showing it. Never adopted — too old, too Black, too honest, as she'd tally it — Jolene engineers her own escape into paralegal work and reappears in Beth's lowest chapter like a debt being repaid in person: with car keys, blunt love, and the money for Moscow. 'We're family,' she corrects. The show's truest line.

When does Jolene first appear?

Jolene first appears in Season 1, Episode 1 (“Openings”) of The Queen's Gambit (2020, Netflix).

Who is Jolene connected to?

Relationships already established when Jolene first appears — nothing from later episodes.

• Beth Harmon — 'We're family.'

Which group does Jolene belong to?

By the time Jolene appears, Methuen & Home also includes Mr. Shaibel.

Who else is introduced in this episode?

• Beth Harmon — The orphan who sees the board on the ceiling
• Mr. Shaibel — The janitor with the basement board

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