Beginning in the mid-1950s, The Queen’s Gambit follows the journey of Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and exquisitely displays the collision between her love for chess and her addiction to both tranquilizing pills and alcohol. Not only is the mini-series absolutely riveting in terms of costumes and set, but the actors also do an amazing job of capturing the essence of the character’s feelings and emotions during both the chess matches and while dealing with emotional turmoil. From Anya’s impressive display of anger to excitement to her quirky personality and charm, she creates a charismatic character that is an absolute masterpiece.
I never believed it was possible, but I now know the truth: one can definitely be in love with more than one person at the same time. Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomas Brodie Sanger have officially stolen my heart. Their performance in the series makes for both a captivating and exciting performance as they transform rudimentary and trivial scenes into works of art. I don’t think I have ever clicked “next episode” on Netflix so fast, but this series is utterly brilliant and brings to life an incredible script. Not only is the series thrilling and emotional, but it is so powerful as it displays the impacts of struggling with adversity, past tragedy and drug dependency on a person’s mental state. Along with Beth’s journey to becoming a champion chess player, her dependency on drugs and alcohol attempt to consume her life and take control of her actions. The show is able to capture and present a serious message about addiction and how it is not only used to deal with grief and trauma, by its way of entrapping the mind.
Beth Harmon’s quest to become the greatest chess player means facing adversity on the board and during everyday life as a woman in the 1960s. Her ambition is astonishing and inspiring, as she constantly demolishes others for referring to her as brilliant simply because she is a woman in a male-dominated field. Her character’s transformation is extremely captivating as it pays special attention to a woman’s experience in a time where they were expected to simply look pretty instead of having career goals, ambitions or even interests unrelated to motherhood. Beth’s accomplishments are dismissed by other women, as seen when the girls at her school ask about her travels but quickly switch gears to ask her if any of her opponents are bed worthy. Don’t worry though because by the end of the series, Beth has earned the respect of her male opponents and has gained both support and recognition, as she one day had hoped for.
The clever costume choices and set design also display important attention to detail that is hard to overlook throughout the series. Beth’s assortment of plaid coats greatly resembles a chessboard and her final, all-white ensemble makes her look like a chess piece. Not only do her outfits make the scenes come to life and represent the time frame perfectly, but they also leave the audience searching for a deeper meaning. Though many see Beth’s final outfit as a tribute to the queen in chess, my first thought was that she was a pawn in the game of alcoholism and drug addiction.
Thank you for reading! The Queen’s Gambit is the definition of a binge-worthy series, and if you haven’t seen it yet, prepare to become completely obsessed and undeniably in love with the characters and story.