Anya Taylor- Joy Delivers an Overwhelming Performance in Netflix’s Latest Period Drama, ‘ The Queen’s Gambit.’

This period drama series is based on the novel with the same name, and was released as a Netflix Original October 2020.

In pursuit to be the number one chess player, Beth Harmon (Joy) must overcome; abandonment and condition to fortify her journey. Her story begins at an orphanage, Methuen Home for Girls, where she would have to live after the unfortunate passing of her mother. Beth struggles to become situated in her new normal, and makes a confidant out of the buildings custodian, Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp)- who introduces her to the game of Chess. While at the orphanage, Beth acquired both good and bad coping mechanisms, that will eventually lead her to confronting her inner demons.

She is later adopted by the Wheatley family, and begins to delve into the competitive sector of chess playing and almost immediately establishing her stature as a National Prodigy. As she continues to compete, she became more reliant on her vices, and picked up a few more, to help guide her through.

Beth and her adoptive mother, Alma (Marielle Halmer), develop an entrusted bond with one another, and eventually heavily rely on each other’s company. Along the way, Beth meets a number of people, like other chess prodigies; Harry Beltik and Benny Watts, models , journalist and the like. As she continues to play and win more games, her societal status is elevated and she becomes more dependent on drugs and alcohol.

The Queen’s Gambit , is unlike any contemporary drama-coming of age. In a short series, it tackles addiction, desertion, abandonment in the manner of death and then some. The watcher engages in the grotesque nature of these vices, and watches how Beth tries to navigate life while masking her inner horrors.

There is no true way to encapsulate the Netflix Original series. It is beautiful and almost poetic, to witness a series, with a plot centered around chess, unleash the many facets of life.

Watch It.