The Queen’s Gambit came out on Netflix on Oct. 23 and I could not be more hooked. The story follows Beth Harmon, a young orphan, as she navigates through life struggling with addiction while trying to become the world’s greatest chess player.
Without giving too many spoilers away, The Queen’s Gambit is one of the most binge-worthy shows of 2020. It’s set in the Cold War era and starts off with young nine-year-old Beth getting sent to an orphanage after her mother dies in a car crash. With such easy access to medicine, the orphanage believed keeping the children sedated was the best method. While Beth begins navigating her life in the orphanage, with the help of an older orphan named Jolene, she slowly falls into addiction.
She later stumbles upon the janitor’s room and finds his chessboard and, after a long power-struggle between the two, he begins to teach her chess. In a way, she used chess to escape from the harsh realities she was facing. The relationship between the two characters is stubborn, yet heartfelt. Throughout the show, they both seem to harbor similar outlooks on life without realizing it. The janitor serves as the first real adult role model that truly wants the best for Beth. He pushes her to be the best chess player she can be, while at the same time, teaching her valuable lessons on respect and patience.
Fast forward a couple of episodes and Beth soon finds her “forever home” and gets adopted. At first, all seems normal. I was excited for Beth to finally have a positive home life but silly me, I was getting way too ahead of myself. Quickly it became evident that not all was as it seems and there are a lot more problems with the parents than meets the eye. Shortly after getting adopted, the father bails, leaving Beth and her new mother Alma to fend for themselves.
Even though Alma has her demons, her and Beth’s relationship grows into something beautiful. In a game so heavily populated by men, Alma teaches Beth to stand her ground and to not let stereotypes faze her. She truly empowers Beth to become the best version of herself, while at the same time teaching her the power of women supporting one another. These two together are the most empowering and dynamic duo in the show. They inspired me to realize that you don’t need a man in your life to be successful. This show truly emphasizes women are a force to be reckoned with and how badass independent women can be.
The rest of the series focuses on Beth and her struggle to be the best chessplayer due to her addictions and inability to let people get close to her because of her past. She kept herself from unlocking her full potential but towards the end, many unexpected people pulled through for her, showing the power of having a good support system.
Even if you have no interest in chess, I highly recommend The Queen’s Gambit to anyone who wants a coming-of-age drama that exposes not only the issues orphans in the Cold War era faced, but also Beth’s ability to find control in a very uncontrollable world. I was unable to take my eyes off the tv so forewarning you may feel obligated to binge the series in one sitting.