The Queen's Gambit (2020)

After zipping through this gripping miniseries, I think I have a new favorite Netflix original. Its star, Anya Taylor-Joy, is quickly becoming a favorite as well, delivering a great performance as Beth Harmon, a genius young chess player struggling with substance abuse and mental and emotional hurdles holding her back from her relationships and from true mastery of the game. She's charming, but also cool and calculated, reserved yet fun when she wants to be, and very beautiful and captivating as the lead in a big period drama like this. Her supporting cast carries their weight well, with lots of faces I've never seen, but many that I won't soon forget. The strange cowboy-esque New Yorker Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and the imposing chess veteran, Soviet world champion Vasily Borgov (Marcin Dorociński) were highlights, both huge parts of what makes the show work and give it some of its biggest emotional moments by the end. Although chess is played on a tiny board and has intricacies far above the heads of most of the audience, careful editing in terms of pacing and commentary has elevated the game here into an exciting spectator sport, even for beginners. When Taylor-Joy's Beth sits across from the champion Borgov for their various matchups, I felt like I was sitting down to watch the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl. The show does a great job building up its climactic matches by laying out the emotional stakes and showing all the nights of hard work, all the mistakes, all the surprises and reversals, zoomed in at the exact right times to drive it home. It really inspires you to want to learn more about this complex game. Lastly, I want to draw attention to the setting, not only the beautiful execution of the mid-century time period, but the many locales featured throughout. Although the show starts in small town Kentucky, it quickly escalates as Beth rises from regional tournaments to international ones, and it really gives the show this great feeling of progression as the hotels and dining get more lavish and the characters navigate new waters. With the exception of the section set in the USSR, which I think is perfect, sure, maybe they could have gotten more out of these locations. But I still think they all color their respective episode really well and are exciting to see. This globetrotting focus is balanced well with Beth's time at home in Kentucky and keeps the show dynamic. I hope more people watch this fantastic show. It's #1 on Netflix right now so looks like they are. I really think it benefits from the miniseries format over being a standard long-form TV drama, getting out just what it needs to with no time to become stale, and no risk of an unresolved cliffhanger ending. Can't wait to see what these people make next!