By Maya Cruz '23
The Queen’s Gambit, a new limited series released on Netflix, is an artistic composition of obsession, loneliness, evolution, internal complexities, and substance abuse. The show delves into the details and intricacies of the mind of the main character, Beth Harmon. Through well thought out moves in every realm, from the chess board to the costuming, the show came together to create a dramatic and emotional story. Even with no chess experience, watching The Queen’s Gambit was extremely entertaining and certainly got my analytical gears turning.
As much as the show focuses on the beauty and intricacy of chess, I believe it is not about the game at all. More than anything, it is about a different game: the relationship between Beth and reality. As a young girl, she was admitted to an orphanage, where she first encountered chess. The janitor would play in the basement, something about it always seeming to spark her interest. In an interview she does later in the show, she mentions what caught her eye: the board. Her words seemed discrete in the interview, but actually hold a lot of meaning and speak strongly to her deep rooted control issues. When the janitor finally taught her the rules of the game, something was born: an extraordinary interrelation between her talent, the drugs she was given, and the board. This birth develops into an obsession with chess through her psychosis, which had been developed by the effects of Benzodiazepines (the “vitamins”). She begins to rely on the drug, which gives her the ability to vividly play through hallucinations on the ceiling. She’d enter “a world in 64 squares”, under her complete control; one that turned the gratification of winning into an addiction. The practice of domination and vanquishing repeatedly in games in her mind becomes her secret weapon to winning all the games she plays, even from the very beginning of her training.
Beth’s issues with control were rooted in her childhood. They were illustrated with flashbacks of her watching her parents break apart and her mother spiraling into mental illness, which resulted in her attempting to get them killed. In a world where her childhood was robbed, and she had no say in what would happen to her, one could only imagine how much she wanted to escape and how out of control she felt. However, she couldn’t escape by playing chess in the physical and in her mind all the time. When she was away from the board, she spiraled into some awful habits. She got into drugs and alcohol, let her house deteriorate into a complete mess, disregarding any responsibilities she had. Her control appeared to be all or nothing, chess being her all, and her downward spirals being her nothing, her distraction from the real world. In the interview, she also mentioned she “doesn’t mind being alone”. Her childhood raised her to be untrusting of people’s roles in her life, as people seemed to be fleeting. As her addictions develop and she becomes more distant from the reality of her responsibilities, she delves deeply into isolating herself. Her friends from chess tournaments call her, concerned, and she completely disregards them. She’d rather live in her own world. What is interesting is she knows they are right to worry; she just doesn’t want to face who she is outside of the board.
Luckily, Beth doesn’t end up as an unredeemed character. What I love most about this show is that you, the viewer, can see the details of Beth’s character evolution. She swirls into stages of addiction while rising to the title of grand master. Her highest and lowest moments are captured in brilliance on screen. From her addiction at the orphanage, standing with a jar of the green pills after taking as many as she could, to her brush with alcoholism, to the end of the show, she grows up mentally and conquers her issues with control. After her big win in Russia against her most feared opponent, the show closes with her playing against elderly russian men in the park, just for the joy of playing the game. No drugs, no escape, disconnect. She finally learns that winning doesn’t always mean domination.
While being a developed and dynamic plot, the show also was also amazing just to look at. The camerawork was incredible, every frame captured with meaning and beauty. I also enjoyed how there was a color scheme; the forest greens and peaches incorporated on screen made the show feel more artistic. It reminded me of Wes Anderson’s iconic yellow color scheme.
Not only was the camera work and editing enthralling, I enjoyed how purposeful the costuming was. Beth’s outfits were a clear reflection of her development and personality. She often wore clothing that included checkers, boxes, and lines to reference the board. The outfits showed a clear development of her character, from a young and emerging chess player to a master and addict. One of the most purposeful choices for her character was her striking red hair. Daniel Parker, the series hair and makeup artist, told the series director that Beth needs to be a redhead. Parker wanted to make Beth stand out even more, than she already was just by being that she is a female in a male-dominated field. Anya Taylor Joy, Beth Harmon’s actress, also tried to make Beth’s movements, posture, and speech more feminine to diverge from her male counterparts.
Overall, I thought the show was extraordinary. I loved everything about it; the characters and their chemistry, the dark recurring themes, the aesthetic, etcetera. As a whole, the show was put together purposefully, giving you space to connect dots and think about Beth’s journey.
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