Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit is a masterfully executed historical drama that explores genius chess player, Beth Harmon’s journey to overcome her demons.

The writers of this mini-series give Beth such a dark and mysterious backstory that Beth develops into such an interesting and layered character but it also creates a lot of empathy with her throughout her ups and downs. The Queen’s Gambit is less about chess and more about human nature: loneliness, addiction — not just of drugs and alcohol but also of winning— family, love, and friendship. Anya Taylor Joy really sells the character, the dark, brooding, seemingly confident young woman. But throughout the series, we are introduced to the insecurities and trauma that Beth faces. Both of her fathers abandon her and eventually her adopted mom, Alma Wheatley, dies as well. It was painful for me to see Beth spiral into self-destructive rampages despite the support that she could have reached out to. But it was also so uplifting and heartwarming in the final episode to see Jolene bring Beth back into the right headspace and for all the chess players to come together to help Beth win the Chess World Championship. Every element was artfully brought back to relevance throughout the series. And it was never too much.

Throughout the series, we were given hints and pieces of Beth’s past that the audience really has to piece together. Just as Beth is confused by fragments of memories, we as the audience are also left to piece her past together ourselves. This is a magnificent example of showing, instead of telling. I felt that every character had a role and was important to the plot of the series.

This is hands down the best TV series that I have ever seen.