The Queen’s Gambit and the Myth of Genius
As a Former Gifted Kid, the Show Hits Different
Like everyone else with a Netflix account, I got sucked into the fervor around The Queen’s Gambit when it was released late last year. It usually takes weeks or even months after people have stopped talking about a show for me to finally watch it, but this time was different.
The vivid color pallet and erratic visuals of the trailer instantly captivated me. Add to that how intense the story looked, and I was in. Here was this woman carving a swath through the sixties, laying waste to opponents and coming up in the world on the strength of…her chess skills.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon is the quintessential “gifted” character, wildly intelligent and independent from a young age. Chess becomes the one thing in her life she can control after everything else gets ripped away, and she locks onto it with every cell in her body.
The trope of the highly intelligent, socially blunt main character isn’t new. Shows like Sherlock, Mr. Robot, and House have beaten us…
