The Queens Gambit

[Destinysdaughter]

Has anyone seen this? It was a brilliant piece of filmmaking and had me in bits at the end. But, what was striking about it for me was firstly, there was no sexual abuse in it. So, the scenes where she played chess in the basement, I expected the old janitor to have sexual designs on her. But he didn't. And then, when she was adopted, I expected the husband to be sexually abusive towards her, but he wasn't.

And then, when she kept on winning against men after men, she experienced no misogyny, just respect and support

And although that was so lovely and refreshing to see, part of me thought, no that would never happen in the real world!

Maybe I've just become too cynical and too expectant of sexism and misogyny but I found it a bit idealistic in terms of what a young, attractive woman would have experienced in that world?

I haven't read the book, but I felt like the actress was chosen because her face betrays very little emotion, almost like she's been carved out of marble. I thought that was perfect for the part.

@gasp0dethew0nderd0g maybe we weren't which would make more sense from a historical point of view.

I found those scenes distracting too.

You're right about the man giving out the drugs too. Maybe he was a pharmacist and there weren't many female pharmacists around there in those days. I haven't read the book, the show was recommended to me by a friend.

I too expected abuse at more points, especially from adoptive father. But no!

In the book didn’t she have a sexual affair with her pal in the home?

I thought then ending was a bit ‘Hollywood’.

I read somewhere that the author spent years and many rewrites trying to get a publishing deal because no one thought anyone would be interested in chess.

Oh gosh just finished this & loved it. So sensitive and nuanced around the relationship with the adoptive mother. Glad it was not just me who was anticipating abuse at every turn. Or maybe I shouldn't be glad as it's pretty depressing that abuse is shown so casually in so many shows that we all expected it. I'm over it. I no longer watch shows /films with abuse unless it's shot in a non erotic way and deals with the devastating after effects.

It's crazy if you think about it. Abuse of women so widely accepted as entertainment in popular culture.

@mooncakes

Oh god, yes - I thought exactly this.

A feeling of dread with every new male character

• the male nurse giving her tranquilizers and the friend advising her she'll need them at night
• the janitor in the basement
• the friend who gave her a doll
• the adoptive father looking at her in the car mirror

What does this say about how girls and women are usually portrayed in TV dramas?

I felt this too. What an insight into how we are portrayed on TV.

I also didn't understand the trans woman part, was there a trans woman in the book?

I don’t think so and it wasn’t mentioned/observed in the show.