The Queen's Gambit is a fantasy. Shall I count the ways? The trail of defeated boys and men, including those characterised as notably arrogant, condescending and dismissive of women - which rings true to my lay stereotype of elite chess players - left by Harmon as she ascends, ultimately all helping her towards her ultimate triumph (their individual aid is forgivable on a story-telling level, the way they all band together at the end much less credible). The her celebrity and rockstar-like treatment (the association for me was crowds mobbing the Beatles) in Russia during that ultimate tournament is depicted as emanating from what she stands for as a successful woman, implied clearly by the way the crowds of cheering fans seeking her autograph after each victory are overwhelmingly, if not wholly, made up of women. The respectful recognition, and indeed celebration of her victories, that she is accorded by her Russian opponents at the end - both the ageing champion Luchenko and her main adversary Borgov.
But it's a beautifully put together fantasy. Not just on the obvious level of how it looks - although it looks sumptuous, and its stylishness across an array of settings and set pieces, as well as in its fashions, makes it very appealing in a way that reminds me of Killing Eve (the parallel is reinforced by the implacable, often opaque figure at its centre in Beth Harmon). And there are some striking visuals, made even better by their connection to story, character and theme (rather than being there for their own sake) - especially the imagery of the looming chesspieces overhead when Harmon visualises moves.
But it's also well assembled on the level of story construction - it feels aware that many of its own moves strain credulity and makes an effort to maintain at least enough suspended disbelief (eg the various type of obnoxiousness displayed by other defeated men in that climactic tournament in Moscow). Another example is the character of Jolene, whose speech asserting her own agency and framing it in terms of family - the latter especially clever given that the women had met as girls in an orphanage - in making the choice to return and rescue Beth at a critical moment gets close, but doesn't quite get the show over the line for reproducing what looks awfully like the trope of the magical black person saving the white hero.
I suppose another beautifully put together fantasy is the character of Harmon herself. I don't have any trouble accepting the idea of a chess prodigy - that particular figure lives in our culture and in reality. Nor with the idea of a female one. The notion that childhood trauma and addiction may both underpin her extraordinary successes and be the greatest barrier to them, likewise, is familiar from this broad genre - as is the structure of escalating success, setbacks, and ultimate triumphs with its inherent suspense as seen in many a sports film. The less believable bit is how extremely glamorous she is - which hopefully doesn't reflect my own sexist beliefs about how extremely capable women should, or can, look, but is more disbelief that anyone playing such a demanding game at such a high level could look that way. But that can be overlooked in a tv series, of course.
What's more important is how compelling she is, as played by Anya Taylor-Joy. There's something uncanny in her appearance, which serves the character well, with all those demons in her psyche and the extraordinary way her mind works, and both her composedness and the way it's broken down by drugs and alcohol are of a piece in Taylor-Joy's performance. (In terms of the typical spiral of out-of-controlness, it's refreshing how matter of fact she is about sex without that matter of factness itself being particularly pathologised.) The supporting characters, too, have a bit of fizz - especially her adoptive mother (a poignant figure and a counterpoint in terms of the limitations placed on women at the time, and their consequences) and rival turned supporter Benny Watts (played with huge swagger by Jojen Reed from Game of Thrones), while there are some nice dramatic moments generated by the way several of them disappear and then return at crucial moments.
In the end I don't think this was a great show - it has too many flaws and at its heart is too straightforward. But it's a very entertaining one that doesn't outstay its welcome, and put together in a way that its best and most interesting aspects (which are considerable) are able to shine. I'm glad I watched it.
