Netflix's The Queen's Gambit made waves after its 2020 debut, becoming the streaming service's most-watched scripted limited series ever. The miniseries earned praise and gained viewers thanks to its unconventional hero, strong performances, and gripping storytelling, as well as its beautiful and inventive visuals. While chessboards on ceilings and period-accurate clothing are memorable, The Queen's Gambit also often uses visual symbolism to signify plot points; for example, there is another, subtle visual moment that foreshadows Alma Wheatley's death.
Alma Wheatley is the adoptive mother of chess prodigy Beth Harmon. A gifted pianist relegated to being a housewife for an absent husband, Alma suffers from anxiety and struggles with substance abuse. However, she fully s Beth's chess playing, and often takes advantage of the numerous tournaments and their prize money to travel and lead a more lavish, or at least exciting, life. Even though she doesn't always understand chess, Alma cares for Beth and encourages her throughout her journey.
In episode 4, "Middle Game," Alma es away. She and Beth attend a chess tournament in Mexico City, where Alma reconnects with an old pen pal and explores the city. Beth discovers Alma's corpse in their hotel room after she loses her match against Russian grandmaster Borgov. The loss is heartbreaking, but it isn't a surprise. The show hints at Alma's poor health throughout, but it very subtly teases her death moments before it occurs with a reference to a famous illustration, "All Is Vanity."
"All Is Vanity" is a visual illusion by illustrator Charles Allan Gilbert. It depicts a woman looking at herself in the mirror. However, the whole image looks like a skull: the woman's head and its reflection look like the eyes, while the large circular mirror serves as the rest of the head. There is a very similar image in "Middle Game." While Beth begins her match against Borgov, Alma inspects herself in a circular mirror. Just like in "All Is Vanity," her head and reflection resemble the eyes of the skull.
The reference to this illusion both signals Alma's imminent death and comments on her life leading up to this point. "All Is Vanity" is a memento mori: an object or piece of art that reminds the viewer of death's inevitability. That Alma appears in the same position as Gilbert's illusion is no accident: it's a visual cue that she is about to die. While the woman in the illusion looks peaceful, Alma looks horrified, suggesting that she is aware she will away soon.
There is also a further meaning to "All Is Vanity." The woman in the illusion is beautiful and appears to lead a very comfortable life, but the reference to death by way of the skull imagery shows that her beauty and riches won't last forever. The same goes for Alma. Up until this moment, she has been living an indulgent lifestyle: touring with Beth, staying in fancy hotels, and drinking as much as she can. She is living the life she never had with her husband, and she is happy; however, she isn't dealing with her root emotional problem, and her alcoholism and reliance on tranquilizers are bound to catch up to her — which they do in "Middle Game." The reference to "All Is Vanity" is brief and subtle, but it is a clever way of foreshadowing Alma's death and remains further proof that The Queen's Gambit has both style and substance.