What a great show. The plot was fairly predictable but I really enjoyed the writing of the characters. The Mom was unlikeable at times but then you really felt for her. Same with Elizabeth. Anya-Taylor Joy was so good.

wife wanted to start this over the weekend, i had not heard about it but ended up really enjoying it as well, more so than the wife i think. would recommend!

Enjoying it so far as this was one of the best scripts I have ever read. The show tackles the difficult sport of chess and making it interesting . Classic Orphan story and the music is sone of the best i have ever read on a limited series

Just finished tonight. Excellent!!

The Milkman said:

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We just watched the first episode and really enjoyed it. My only annoyance is why does the girl do everything so slowly! Pick up the pace girly.

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My guess would be the horse tranqs she's shoveling down

Finally finished it and this is one of the top ten series of the year.
The drummer kid from Love Actually is great and the lead actress makes me want to watch Chess

I didn't know David Spade had a kid..."Benny"

The Lord has spoken

TCTTS said:

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I legit had a hunch you were going to follow up with something along these lines, and you didn't disappoint, in record time. I can't chime in or give an opinion around here without the resident snowflakes thinking it means I'm swinging my d*ck or asserting some kind of lame, message board authority.

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But that is exactly what you did

Finished it tonight, Can't quite figure out why I liked it as much as I did. It wasn't a unique story at its core, plenty of 60s period pieces are out there, plenty of "child prodigy from rough past makes good" stories etc...but it was just really well constructed. If you look at how they progressed her emotionally in the 7 episodes it was nearly perfect.

And I have to say:

when I found out she never paid Mr. Shaibel or went back to see him, that made me angry and broke my heart.

There were a couple of things in last episode or two that could have been awesome, but they missed slightly.

The scene where Beth plays chess with old man in park was good. It would have been less obvious if she just took a walk on day off in middle of the tournament. Then she could stumble on them and realize her joy in playing chess and how much the Soviets and chess fans loved her. Simple

It was unnecessary to have Mr. Schaibel pass away. She and her friend could have visited the school for ten easier reasons. She had mostly conquered her demons and done right by the people in her life.

The last scene should have been Mr. Schaibel receiving a package. It's got $10 and the king from her World Championship victory.

birdman said:

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There were a couple of things in last episode or two that could have been awesome, but they missed slightly.

The scene where Beth plays chess with old man in park was good. It would have been less obvious if she just took a walk on day off in middle of the tournament. Then she could stumble on them and realize her joy in playing chess and how much the Soviets and chess fans loved her. Simple

It was unnecessary to have Mr. Schaibel pass away. She and her friend could have visited the school for ten easier reasons. She had mostly conquered her demons and done right by the people in her life.

The last scene should have been Mr. Schaibel receiving a package. It's got $10 and the king from her World Championship victory.

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I disagree with your second point. I think it's important that her decisions actually cost her something. She kicks the substance addictions almost instantly, so I think it's important that the audience sees some scars

Your suggestion would have made me happier, but I think it would have made the show worse.

I binge watched this in 2 nights. I'm a sucker for a rags to riches type story, more so when it's not mixed in with some fairy tale love bs. I liked how they talked about the cooperation of the Russians vs the competition of the Americans without going all over the top with fake conflict. Definitely one of the best series of the year for me, if not the best. Sad to see it as only a single season, but I don't think it would be as enjoyable much beyond that. I'd like to see more in this same style with different subject matter.

rynning said:

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I almost gave up after the first episode, but it sets the background for the rest. Very stylistic depiction of the 50s (which I haven't seen anywhere for a while) but certainly doesn't glorify it. I was surprised that other than the drugs, they didn't include any other forms of abuse at an orphanage. Not perfect, but not horrible either.

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It seemed like they were purposefully trying to avoid the typical orphanage / boarding school tropes. I appreciated their depiction.