The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit is a seven-episode-long Netflix miniseries that garnered a lot of buzz. I don't watch many miniseries, but I decided to check this one out, and it's really good.

The story of The Queen's Gambit is about Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) who, upon being sent to an orphanage at age 9, gains a knack for chess. The series chronicles her rise from unknown to one of the best chess players in the world. Along the way, she makes friends with a lot of fellow chess players like Townes (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), Harry (Harry Beltik), and Benny (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), all of which are super likeable side characters who play off of each other really well.

The Queen's Gambit does a great job of telling a solid story really well. There's hardly a low point in the series, with every episode being consistently well-made and fun to watch. The acting is strong across the board, especially Taylor-Joy in the lead, and the cast has a great chemistry with each other. The depiction of chess is shockingly accurate and the series does a great job of making chess fun to watch. The dialogue is strong, the set design evokes the 60s era without being cartoonishly 60s, the cinematography is well-done, and the score is very pleasing to listen to. The production values across the board are just astounding, and make The Queen's Gambit feel more like a full-on movie than a TV show.

However, that's probably my only main gripe with the miniseries, the fact that it feels more like an elongated movie. It even follows a fairly predictable third-act structure with a backstory pilot episode, the protagonist losing against the antagonist halfway through the show, the darkest hour penultimate episode, and the triumphant third act in the finale. I think the characters are likable enough to justify a seven-episode-long miniseries, but I also think it could have worked just as well as a movie.

Despite the fairly consistent quality of the show, there are a bunch of particularly strong episodes:

Exchanges: This 68-minute-long beast could have been a movie on its own. Seeing Beth adjust to her new home and slowly start to get into chess is fun to watch, and her adoptive mother has a strong character arc where she learns to accept her role as a mother. It's a heartwarming episode that was a joy to sit through.

End Game: This was a super heartwarming and satisfying finale that manages to tie up the story completely. Even if it was predictable, the way in which Beth defeated Borgov was triumphant and just plain awesome, and I loved seeing all of the cast return to be by her side when all's said and done. The return of Jolene also did a great job of bringing the series full circle to Beth's humble orphanage beginnings (or should I say openings?).

Overall, The Queen's Gambit is a strong miniseries with great performances, writing, and production values. While it can be a bit predictable at times, the great characters and engrossing depiction of chess makes it an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

4.5/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: End Game