The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)

I don't really care for chess. Not played in well over a decade or more, and was avoiding this show.

Couldn't wait to finish it last night. Way surpassed my expectations. Really enjoyed it.

A couple of things I didn't get though..
1) the tournaments just seem to be 1 game against your opponent. I remember back in 90s when chess was on TV didn't they used to play something stupid like best 27?

2) Why did she never visit the janitor again? She obviously had affection for him given that even in her first interviews she was upset that his name wasn't published.
 
1) I thought they played loads of games in the competitions? It seemed they played everyone rather than any kind of knockout?

2) I was actually also annoyed, really honestly felt annoyed at a TV show, when she said she hadn't even paid him his $10 back!!! Yeah, I didn't really get this bit.
 
AndyCr15 said:
1) I thought they played loads of games in the competitions? It seemed they played everyone rather than any kind of knockout?

2) I was actually also annoyed, really honestly felt annoyed at a TV show, when she said she hadn't even paid him his $10 back!!! Yeah, I didn't really get this bit.
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I think that was the point. When she left she only thought about her self and didn’t think to go back and see him. When she went to the basement and he had a wall full of newspaper cuttings it really hit her hard. She’d realised how selfish she’d been with him.
 
Shoza said:
I think that was the point. When she left she only thought about her self and didn’t think to go back and see him. When she went to the basement and he had a wall full of newspaper cuttings it really hit her hard. She’d realised how selfish she’d been with him.
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That's how I took it also, she then made a point of telling the worlds press that he had taught her
 
I absolutely loved this show. That performance from Anya Taylor-Joy was one of the most captivating things I've possibly ever seen.
 
Watched this all over two days. Thoroughly enjoyed it, I know nothing about chess personally. Few bits probably went over my head because of this but don't think it detracted much from of it. Well acted and a great story.
 
Super impressed with this show. What a great story that was delivered superbly.
 
I heard on the radio this morning that it's set some kind of record for Netflix with 62 million views and number 1 streamed series in 63 countries. Quite impressive and thoroughly deserved.
 
Watched it and personally wasn't as impressed as everyone else on here. Its still very good but for me I started to lose interest after the 3rd episode. Me not taking to Anya Taylor-Joy character was the biggest reason I think.
 
I really enjoyed it, but I'm hoping they leave it at that. I don't think there's much left they can do with it, and I'd rather it finished on a high note than trying to milk it and lose the quality.
 
Awesome series, glad its not long and drags out. Perfect for a cold night in (most nights now) and just chilling to a hot coco.
 
Lupis said:
I really enjoyed it, but I'm hoping they leave it at that. I don't think there's much left they can do with it, and I'd rather it finished on a high note than trying to milk it and lose the quality.
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it's based on a book and there's only one book so I agree with you, it should be a single series drama and that's it.
 
Feek said:
it's based on a book and there's only one book so I agree with you, it should be a single series drama and that's it.
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Yeah I knew it was based on a book, and I've been scarred by how GoT went after they ran out of the source material, hence my concern about how this could turn out if they continue with it.
 
I did enjoy it and would recommend it to others, although did have some reservations.

Things that bothered me a bit, off the top of my head:
1. found the whole 'friendship will save you, even when you've be been a complete arse' idea a bit on the nose really, and didn't feel like there was enough build-up to the help from Benny and Beltik etc at the end.

2. I was really surprised to find she never paid the janitor back his $10 or got in touch with him at all, even during one of the phases where things were going well and she seemed more open and friendly to people. Made me retrospectively dislike her younger self, having assumed she must have done it off screen. Them again maybe this should actually be a positive because it fed into the poignancy of his death and her relationship with him. Idk.

3. I found her sociability seemed to vary a little bit unpredictably and not necessarily in line with the ups and downs of the story. To start with I assumed she was meant to be a bit of an Autistic savant or something, but then she started to open up a bit more and relate to people better..
So turns out she does have the ability to relate to others, she's just really rude to people sometimes even when things are going well for her. I guess that is a very subjective point and may have been me projecting things onto her, but that's how I felt.

4. The last episode felt really rushed to me. I didn't get a sense of her getting back on track before Russia, and I felt like more could have happened there.

5. I would like to have seen more of the actual chess games, and to have got more of a sense for the style of the different players etc. I'm not any good at chess, but I've watched programs in the past that still managed to present chess games in interesting and dramatic ways, so it is possible. I guess they made a stab at this by having the commentators talk through games sometimes, bit I might have enjoyed more.
.

Some things I really liked though :
1. For a modern production, the sexism and racism themes were handled really well I thought. I was sort of braced for one of the episodes to be Beth shouting about the evils of old fashioned gender roles and racism etc, but thankfully it never came, and those elements were woven into the story very well. If anything I sort of felt it could have had more of an impact on the story than it did. There was never a 'haha men are stupid weak idiots, look at this brave woman beat them all because she is a woman' moment. Both male and female characters were believable, had flaws and virtues.

2. Despite her flaws, I found Beth to be a sympathetic character by and large, probably because she felt like a real person. Actually, come to think of it I think all the main characters were well written.

3. Good job of showing how even though people might seem to have a lot going for them, and might appear lucky from an outsider's point of view, they can still have all sorts of personal issues and difficulties in other areas of their life.

4. All round enjoyable story with some suspense, well written characters, and didn't break my suspense of disbelief.
 
GreatAuk said:
I did enjoy it and would recommend it to others, although did have some reservations.

Things that bothered me a bit, off the top of my head:
2. I was really surprised to find she never paid the janitor back his $10 or got in touch with him at all, even during one of the phases where things were going well and she seemed more open and friendly to people. Made me retrospectively dislike her younger self, having assumed she must have done it off screen. Them again maybe this should actually be a positive because it fed into the poignancy of his death and her relationship with him. Idk.

3. I found her sociability seemed to vary a little bit unpredictably and not necessarily in line with the ups and downs of the story. To start with I assumed she was meant to be a bit of an Autistic savant or something, but then she started to open up a bit more and relate to people better..
So turns out she does have the ability to relate to others, she's just really rude to people sometimes even when things are going well for her. I guess that is a very subjective point and may have been me projecting things onto her, but that's how I felt.
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I have not read this book, but have read a few other Tevis novels and they all feature people outside normal society interacting with others by copying/impersonating actions and emotions.
Her not repaying the janitor makes sense to me as she never understood friendship or why people were good/bad to her. Her opening up to emotions did feel rushed and never quite real.
I also wonder if the book would have a happy ending - other books I read left main characters never quite achieving their aims
 
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