By Morgan Martin

“Queen’s Gambit” aired on Netflix on Oct. 23, 2020 and has skyrocketed in popularity. The scripted series is based on Walter Tevis’s book published in 1983 and follows genius orphan Beth Harmon, played by Isla Johnston as a child and Anya Taylor-Joy as an adult. Her quest to overcome her inner demons and become the world's best chess player makes the board game more thrilling than America has ever seen. 

In this fictional 1950s America, young Beth Harmon witnesses her father abandon her and her mother die in a car collision. After being placed in a Kentucky all-girls orphanage which prescribes tranquilizer pills to all children, she flounders socially until finding solace in the basement where janitor Mr. Shaibel, played by Bill Camp, teaches her to play chess. Stifled in the orphanage, Beth turns to the game for comfort and quickly makes a habit of taking tranquilizers at night to visualize chess matches. When Beth is adopted her desire to play chess and enter tournaments is fevered, revealing the game to be her only passion and talent. Her first tournament is a revelation for Beth as she crushes opponents. In the finals she calms her nerves with a tranquilizer and defeats a Grand Master, marking the authenticity of her ambition. 

The season follows a young woman’s rise through the chess world, but her battles with brash Americans, egotistical Europeans and indomitable Russians pale in comparison to her inner demons. She finishes high school an international chess sensation with a hunger for tranquilizer pills, booze and no-strings-attached sex. While living on the verge of catastrophe, she stuns all by laying waste to opponents and improving her chess game. 

“Queen’s Gambit” is engaging and fresh because it subverts viewer expectations with a female-in-a-male-dominated-world story. In a series with a stunning lead constantly surrounded by powerful male characters, one may expect the plot to revolve around Beth’s desire to prove boys wrong about her, break into the elusive boys club, forsake her femininity in favor of power or use the power of true love to win her final match. However, Beth’s wants and needs are practical: become so ruthless on the chessboard she’ll never have to rely on anyone financially. Beth seeks mastery for independence and for the love of the game. Her social issues do not stem from her gender either; Beth is a ‘fish out of water’ in male-dominated chess tournaments not because she is a woman in a dress, but because years in the stifling orphanage left her curt and unempathetic to others. The endgame challenge for our hero isn’t whether or not she is intelligent enough to be the best in the world, but whether she can stay sober and still play. The game of chess uses intelligence, and nothing else matters on the board. Despite being set in 1960s America, the show chooses not to cripple Beth with her gender and chooses to explore less explored challenges of female geniuses. 

The series has garnered rightful praise for engaging performances, gorgeous costumes, immersive set design and ingenious special effects. These elements elevate the show but never feels gratuitous. She portrays struggles relatable to all and if she does with Audry Hepburn-esque style then so be it. All audiences can appreciate Beth and her inspiring tale about talent and hard work defying class, gender and addiction.

Morgan is a culture writer for La Tonique.