“The Queen’s Gambit” limited series on Netflix

Introversion

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Any other fans of it?

I was hooked within the first 10-15 minutes. I’d heard good buzz, but avoided it because the title sounded like a royal soap opera and I just wasn’t feeling it.

We’re on episode 4, so half-done when we’ve watched it. Who knew chess could be so interesting?
 

mccardey

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I binged up till the 60s last night. Adored it till then - but I hate the 60s. Should I push on regardless?

Also - do you remember Waiting for Bobby Fischer? (I think in the US it was Innocent Moves.) That came out when my kids were little and it was such a hit at our house.
 
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ap123

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Well worth it. And yes, I watched Waiting for Bobby Fischer countless times with eldest, who was a chess kid from the age of 5 on. Many, many hours spent at tournaments while he played.
 

Maryn

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Our plan is to start this tonight, with two episodes, paused in between for just a little election coverage, then diving back in.

"Searching for Bobby Fischer" was a family favorite even though nobody in our family plays chess. I wonder if it's streaming anywhere. I might want to see it when we finish "The Queen's Gambit."

Maryn, who paid to rent an Amazon movie she realized she owns, duh
 

mccardey

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Okay, well I just finished (and yes, that last scene made me teary). It is delicious, and perfectly paint-by-numbers terrific, so thanks for the recommendation. Who was that gorgeous actress, though? Lord, she's lovely!
 
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lizmonster

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I don't know if anyone has read the book, but for those who haven't, I'd probably not recommend it. I downloaded a sample yesterday, and I noped out pretty quickly. If folks want details I can spoiler some stuff, but suffice to say I think the tweaks made by the writers were extremely good ones.
 

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I found the show very engaging and couldn't wait to see how it ended.

But my nitpick of it is that, while the end is very satisfying narratively, I wondered what Beth had done to deserve such an entourage of helpers, other than be talented. She didn't particularly treat anybody well, and the only friendship I bought (maybe because we knew it was so long, despite only seeing pieces of it) was with Jolene. Otherwise, it just seemed like boys obsessed with her talent putting their hand in to help enhance it.
 

mccardey

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I found the show very engaging and couldn't wait to see how it ended.

But my nitpick of it is that, while the end is very satisfying narratively, I wondered what Beth had done to deserve such an entourage of helpers, other than be talented. She didn't particularly treat anybody well, and the only friendship I bought (maybe because we knew it was so long, despite only seeing pieces of it) was with Jolene. Otherwise, it just seemed like boys obsessed with her talent putting their hand in to help enhance it.
Also, she's gorgeous - she's the gorgeousest fall-down-drunk alcoholic I've ever seen - but paint-by-numbers is a lovely thing during a pandemic. I don't regret that bingewatch, no I do not.
 

mrsmig

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My husband and I watched and enjoyed it - him more than me.

SPOILERS:
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I thought Moses Ingram was splendid as Jolene and resented that her character was relegated to the Magic Negro trope, existing merely to "rescue" Beth. I was also bugged when Beth was struggling during the world championship and only got through it with coaching from the male players she'd defeated. I know it was meant to show her realization that she needs others - but I still wanted her to do it on her own.

That said - Anya Taylor-Joy's performance, along with Ingram's and that of Marielle Heller as Alma (Beth's adoptive mother) made the show worth watching. And it was fun to see Thomas Brody-Sangster (little Sam from Love, Actually) grown up and playing a leather-clad hipster-rebel chess master.
 

Maryn

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We, too, marveled that the men she'd defeated were so eager to help her, singly or together. It's not like she actually offered any of them her friendship or skills. She was pretty consistently aloof.

We joked that in the real world, since she was gorgeous*, several of them might have done it in hope of pay-back sex. Hey, it's the late 60s, right?

And the Magic Negro thing bothered me a lot. If you need three grand and you live in a furnished house, you don't expect or need your friend from the orphanage, who you abandoned without so much as a look back or a pen pal relationship, to arrive, having been quite successful herself, to give you an amount of money that's a lot to her. Honey, do it on your own. Sell the appliances and furniture. You'll have your three grand.

Maryn

* Best upper lip in show biz, but those wigs were not good enough. If you wear your hair parted, there needs to be a natural looking part.
 

lizmonster

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We, too, marveled that the men she'd defeated were so eager to help her, singly or together. It's not like she actually offered any of them her friendship or skills. She was pretty consistently aloof.

We joked that in the real world, since she was gorgeous*, several of them might have done it in hope of pay-back sex. Hey, it's the late 60s, right?

That's of course a fair point. But one of the things I liked about the series was the kindness running through it. Beth herself wasn't especially kind, no; but she was completely and utterly broken, and she managed to fall in with a pack of really decent people. Fantasy, all of it, but I liked it anyway.
 

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The boys also represented an equality versus the way the Russians did adjournment. (And to be fair, she did end up beating him herself because the Russian didn't do an "expected" move the boys had covered with her)

As a viewer who likes when all the people we meet are involved in an ending, the boys coming together during the adjournment was very satisfying (as was Jolene contributing and Shaibel spurring her on). As a writer and someone who's analyzing it afterwards, I don't love the message that if you're hot and talented everyone will give you what you need to succeed your entire life (from Shaibel's loan to Jolene's to the boys constantly coming back to help her), even if you don't treat them particularly well.

If this had been presented more strongly as an American victory, rather than Beth's, I probably would've liked this aspect better in retrospect.

Jolene's contribution, even though I thought she had the strongest relationship, was the most problematic, though.
 
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mccardey

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I thought Moses Ingram was splendid as Jolene and resented that her character was relegated to the Magic Negro trope, existing merely to "rescue" Beth.
I find it eye-wateringly awful that I didn't notice that. It is so obvious now. I saw the paint-by-numbers kind school friend who was there at the end when needed (and with a small sin to confess and so be absolved as well) - but not the trope. (Which is, in fact new to me - I don't see much tv or film because of face-blindness.)

The thing is - I should have noticed that element, because we've had lots of talk about a very similar thing down here with various Aboriginal-as-rescuer story planks. I should have noticed it and I missed it entirely. :(

God, internalised racism runs deep. It's really pernicious.
 
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Lyv

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I enjoyed it, and as someone born in 1961, with older sisters who were music-crazy teens over most of the years the show covered, I have to give high praise to whomever made the song choices. They were perfect. Not the same overplayed 1960s songs productions often use, but songs that were popular but less expected. And I loved Classical Gas over the montage. The clothes, hair, and music brought me right back to my childhood.
 

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I thought it was slow at first, then I did get into it. The only thing I would say is that the ending was a bit twee.

Beautifully shot, though, and very well acted. The only casting I disagreed with was Thomas Brodie-Sangster. It was very hard to take him seriously as the bad boy of chess, especially in that sodding hat.
 

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I loved it too. Couldn’t stop watching. The clothing, the settings and the music all took me back in time. My only complaint was her rather magical recovery from addiction. It felt too pat and easy to me. But my recovering alcoholic husband didn’t agree. He said he knew some addicts who were able to walk away because of some kind of turning point in the lives.