This episode disproportionately portray Beth through her relationships and makes us wonder what the intention is. What was lacking between her and Beltik that neither of them, nor the audience ever felt at ease with? There was a stiffness and hesitation to it seemingly from two fundamentally different hearts and minds that circled each other but never could meet. In contrast, her reunion with Benny appeared effortless, authentic and only ever tense in the form of chemistry. What does this say about the nature of relationships? Even these sharp chess minds have nothing to guide them by besides intuition in something much greater than a game.

Media shapes culture as much as how we think and act inform what we produce. Chick flicks fall into a light-hearted, romcom category where viewers are often looking for a feel-good time with a little bit of sentiments and lots of laughs. Therefore any cultural movement or agenda pushed through which can be received in ways entirely up to the viewer— a conscious interpretation or a convenient context, breaking the fourth wall or much ado about nothing. This makes me think chick flicks are feminist only as much as the audience is feminist.

I’ve been fond of Ghibli productions since I was a kid. It was so easy to lose myself in delicate strokes of events where I relate infinitely to their naturalistic portrayal of character emotions and relationships. Living in Japan, I came to learn the studio’s steep stance in anti-war movement against the actions and remnants of World War II ideology that led to the most harrowing human catastrophes in and outside of their country. This made me view Ghibli’s productions in a new light, searching for symbolism and messaging in Kiki’s delivery service. I notice that all is done very subdued, in classical Japanese manner, to impart and inspire empathy via soothing aesthetics and gentle narration.

In this episode the show’s pendulum makes a full swing to darkness, defeat, and death. In their commitment to fleshing out an honest character, they must allow light into the other side of genius that is crippling insecurity and where being outdone is an identity assault, as well as the resurfacing of childhood trauma in destructive forms when its been bottled up for too long and pacified by past success. Beth’s overwhelming chain of mistakes and devastation, some of her own doing, render this episode the most humanizing of all as we witness a relatable tug-of-war with addiction and cognitive work-in-progress for dealing with failure. Psychological hardships don’t discriminate and intelligence is no replacement for mental fortitude; these experiences serve to set up a path forward where she won’t rely solely on her chess brilliance anymore.

In this episode, chess is depicted as Beth’s currency in an unforgiving society that she has no illusions about. As her excellence is recognized on increasingly larger stages, her own elevation is reflected through growing stylishness in her fashion— a new bounce in her skirt, a pop of color here and there, a lightness of fabric we hadn’t seen before. Meanwhile she remains protective of her  femininity, as with anything in her life, when she notices the difference between hers and that expressed by many girls at school; she is quite content staying in her own grid, which can be viewed as a trace of remnant defensiveness and social qualm from childhood trauma, or perhaps signs of a newfound courage and attitude towards the future which she is headstrong about chartering in her own way.

In this second episode there is a very clear intention on the showrunner’s part to flaunt the intensity and magnetism of a chess game like a dance, in the melodic rhythm of clocks punched and chess pieces propped. As if the camera too is fascinated with Beth, it glides around her in lively manner from every angle and distance to undress this enigmatic prodigy who only ever reveals and asserts herself, undoubtedly and unreservedly, when deep in a chess tournament. The real game happens in the moments between play – the pauses where lie suspense and possibility – as players dive and soar in their own minds in real time for the whole world to see, yet across an intellectual chasm the outsiders will never bridge. Ultimately, it becomes that Beth and the game itself are the only insiders as she flourishes in what looks like wizardry to onlookers in and outside of the screen— playing on the trope that genius is forever shown, not told, but with a refreshing touch that so is chess, the heart of the show, never explained. Beth is no longer a one-woman show; Chess has grown into its own character.

When I think back to the essence of social media, especially platforms like Instagram, they present a foundation for connectivity, entertainment, promotion, and marketing on which we users interact. Without invalidating the good intentions and ripple effect of advocacy through social media, I do worry that the lighthearted if not commercial nature of these outlets dilute the gravity of subjects as political unrest and social debates that we should be approaching with diligent research and reasoning. Do we carry the analytically rigorous mindset demanded in a classroom towards the infographics we browse on social media? Weighty issues like inequity or injustices should concern, not tantalize, while a heightened sensitivity to aesthetics on the Gram colors the lens through which we view them. Similarly, our fixation with soundbites that do well to shock and draw echos tend to drill a stance into people’s minds, effectively reducing issues to black and white. In stripping away the inherent nuance to controversies that made them contentious in the first place, on this platform where presentation is monetized over substance, I think more harm is done to drive apart opinion groups.

As many have noticed in this first episode of Queen’s Gambit, the dark lighting and tense cinematography gives rise to an uneasy feeling within the viewer we can’t quite put a finger on. There are abrupt cuts from scene to scene, whereas other times the camera lingers confusingly long on Beth’s unpenetrable facial expression; the quipped exchange between Beth and Jolene is underlaid by dark humor, while drug-use casts a sinister shadow over the orphanage and its pious mission. Beth and Mr Ganz’s interaction can only be described as an angry for no reason, hopelessly stubborn give-and-take with more time spent posturing than an affectionate mentorship. The coloring is dull but weighty, each dialogue piece only leaves more unsaid, and the background music oscillates between classic and horror-esque. These elements of paradox serve to unsettle the audience, and perhaps in its tangled, unexplained ways actually invite us into Beth’s headspace by inducing a visceral experience of intermixed confusion, melancholy suspicion, and dread in us, so we can empathize a little more with young Beth— a brilliant mind in a meager body, a vulnerable soul behind walls and walls of defence.