The Queen’s Gambit
Netflix
Pupule rating 4.0 (out of 4)
Chess? As a drama setting?
Who watches these things? I gave in and binged (binjjed) “The Queen’s Gambit” last week, thinking I’d last a couple of episodes.
Within three days, it was done. I wanted more. There’s no question that any great writer, crew and cast loves an absurd challenge like this, but very few accomplish this feat in such a uncompromising, velvety way.
In an age when the masses indulge in extreme plot points and characters, Queen’s Gambit offers nothing of the sort. We get to know Elizabeth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) bit by bit as each layer is peeled away. Her quiet, intense world from childhood to adulthood is mesmerizing, heartbreaking and alluring. She pulls us in without inherently changing her core.
The beauty of QG is that it is neither Disney material nor would have been rated R. It remains in that pocket where introverts become friends, and their passion for a singular quest — to checkmate every challenge — transforms from isolation to teamwork.
One reason there aren’t a lot of social media critics of QG is simple: once most of them learn that chess is the center piece, they tune out. There were no expectations of this series, not like, say, Wonder Woman 1984.
2020 has been a year of remorse in too many ways, but the existence of a great series available to anyone with internet is evidence that good can still happen in a sometimes nightmarish world.
As for a potential sequel: no. There's no need. This was based on a book, and the material has been fully used. Maybe a sequel would work well in five or 10 years as the characters live some life. Anything sooner might have been rushed, and that never makes for a good second act.
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