While I know the show “The Queen’s Gambit”  is not a movie, I feel like it’s pretty close and is one of my favorite things I’ve ever watched since it came out. The seven episode season follows the life of a young orphan who becomes interested in the game of chess. The thing about this show though, is that the storyline isn’t really about chess at all rather than the intellectual mind of the main character, Beth Harmon. After learning to play the game at nine years old, Beth realized that psychedelics her orphanage would give her daily (the show is based in the 50s/60s), would help in the way she thought about the game. Unlike other girls her age she was incredibly smart and had a brilliant mind especially when playing chess. When Beth was adopted her whole life changed, not for the worst but also not for the best.

The show explores Beth’s career in chess as she goes on to beat grown men in the game at the age of 15, proving everyone wrong and continuing to expand her career. We see her new mother struggle to make ends meet and also struggle through depression and substance abuse. After starting high school Beth  makes her way around the country traveling to chess tournaments and winning prizes of all sorts. We see Beth slowly start to discover who she is through her relationships and experiences with the real world. This show is so well thought out and it amazes me how it’s not a true story but I think that makes it even better. I really loved the way the show examines Beth’s dependence on the psychedelic pills and how she becomes dependent on them as she grows up. I loved this show and I thought that it was so rich with emotion and thought and was 100% worth the watch.