TV Show review
Review basis: 1 season · through October 23, 2020
October 23, 2020 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Queen's Gambit is a drama show about Beth Harmon, a young orphan who discovers she is amazing at chess. She struggles with drug addiction as she tries to become the best player in the world during the 1960s. The show features a strong girl power theme as Beth constantly beats men in a male-dominated sport. It also includes visible identity elements, such as a Black childhood friend who becomes a civil rights activist, and several characters who are written as gay or bisexual.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Queen's Gambit.
Woke representation / casting
The casting includes prominent identity signaling, particularly with Jolene, a Black female childhood friend who later becomes a civil rights activist and lawyer. The show also casts characters who portray LGBTQ+ identities, including a gay friend, Townes, and a bisexual love interest, Cleo. While the setting is historical, these casting choices emphasize modern diversity priorities rather than strict historical accuracy.
Woke political dialogue
Political dialogue is kept quite light. There are brief mentions of civil rights when Jolene returns, and some discussions about gender barriers in the chess world. However, the dialogue does not feel like an activist sermon. Characters speak in ways that generally fit the 1960s setting without pushing heavy modern political slogans.
Identity-driven story themes
The main story relies heavily on female empowerment themes, showing a young woman defeating men in a male-dominated field. The narrative also includes queer themes, showing the main character explore her sexuality through a brief bisexual encounter with a model and featuring a gay male friend. While the focus remains on her personal addiction and chess talent, these identity-focused subplots are clearly visible and elevate the theme score.
Production
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show critiques the rigid gender norms of the 1950s and 1960s, showing how women were expected to be housewives and how the male chess establishment initially dismissed Beth. It also shows a somewhat depressing view of traditional institutions like the orphanage. However, it avoids turning this into a loud, modern activist critique of capitalism or Western culture, and the male characters eventually become highly supportive of Beth.
Woke character or canon changes
The show makes major identity-driven changes to the original 1983 novel. In the book, all characters are heterosexual. The TV adaptation changes the male character Townes to be gay and introduces a brief bisexual relationship between Beth and Cleo. It also changes Jolene's character by removing problematic scenes and turning her into a highly successful, politically active civil rights lawyer who rescues the main character financially.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some conservative and anti-woke viewers complained about the show's feminist themes, calling it an unrealistic, historically inaccurate "girlboss" fantasy where men easily accept her superiority. Others criticized the addition of gay and bisexual subplots that were not in the original book, arguing these changes were made solely to satisfy modern diversity quotas. However, because the show was widely praised for its storytelling and avoided preachy writing, this backlash remained relatively moderate.
Creator track record context
The key creative team, including writer Scott Frank and the directors and producers, have an extremely low woke track record. Their careers are largely focused on mainstream technical work and traditional character-driven storytelling, with no history of public activism or identity-driven messaging.
