Just finished The Queen's gambit on Netflix

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Beth supposed to be autistic?
I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of someone with autism without making it the defining aspect of the character's life/personality.

There was something definitely off/different about her. She had no idea what to do with the doll the high school chess coach gave her and couldn't relate to the Apple Pi girls at all. Maybe it was due to her rough start in life or maybe something else like autism.

Uh. She didn’t want the doll because that didn’t interest her. Same with the vapid HS girls.

She was precocious, not autistic.

I must have missed the part where that was specifically stated. Can you remind me when it was said or when we hear a diagnosis?

Episode 3, 18:34

Try again. I remember Miss Deardorff talking about her talent for chess but don't think she used a specific word for it other than "gifted child" in Episode 1 with the high school coach. There are a lot of other clues in the series about Beth that point to something more than just precocity. Either way its all speculation. In the 1960s that wouldn't have been a common diagnosis for a girl. This was the era of "refrigerator mothers". But given what we know today, we might call it something else.

What “clues”?

She didn’t want to play with a doll and thought the girls were vapid. Nothing at all “off” about that.

I agree with the PP. She seemed unable to relate to most people; very wooden, walled off, and often humorless. I definitely was under the impression that she might be on the spectrum in some capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Beth supposed to be autistic?
I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of someone with autism without making it the defining aspect of the character's life/personality.

There was something definitely off/different about her. She had no idea what to do with the doll the high school chess coach gave her and couldn't relate to the Apple Pi girls at all. Maybe it was due to her rough start in life or maybe something else like autism.

Uh. She didn’t want the doll because that didn’t interest her. Same with the vapid HS girls.

She was precocious, not autistic.

I must have missed the part where that was specifically stated. Can you remind me when it was said or when we hear a diagnosis?

Episode 3, 18:34

Try again. I remember Miss Deardorff talking about her talent for chess but don't think she used a specific word for it other than "gifted child" in Episode 1 with the high school coach. There are a lot of other clues in the series about Beth that point to something more than just precocity. Either way its all speculation. In the 1960s that wouldn't have been a common diagnosis for a girl. This was the era of "refrigerator mothers". But given what we know today, we might call it something else.

What “clues”?

She didn’t want to play with a doll and thought the girls were vapid. Nothing at all “off” about that.

Ok. I'm not going to argue with you about it. Agree to disagree.

So no other clues? Got it.

If you insist... here's a discussion about this very thing. And again, you can see it differently. I don't know why you're getting so defensive.

https://valneil.com/2020/10/30/accidentally-autistic-the-queens-gambit/

DP. Great piece! All of these things were going through my mind as I watched the show. Thanks for posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Beth supposed to be autistic?
I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of someone with autism without making it the defining aspect of the character's life/personality.

There was something definitely off/different about her. She had no idea what to do with the doll the high school chess coach gave her and couldn't relate to the Apple Pi girls at all. Maybe it was due to her rough start in life or maybe something else like autism.

Uh. She didn’t want the doll because that didn’t interest her. Same with the vapid HS girls.

She was precocious, not autistic.

I must have missed the part where that was specifically stated. Can you remind me when it was said or when we hear a diagnosis?

Episode 3, 18:34

Try again. I remember Miss Deardorff talking about her talent for chess but don't think she used a specific word for it other than "gifted child" in Episode 1 with the high school coach. There are a lot of other clues in the series about Beth that point to something more than just precocity. Either way its all speculation. In the 1960s that wouldn't have been a common diagnosis for a girl. This was the era of "refrigerator mothers". But given what we know today, we might call it something else.

What “clues”?

She didn’t want to play with a doll and thought the girls were vapid. Nothing at all “off” about that.

I agree with the PP. She seemed unable to relate to most people; very wooden, walled off, and often humorless. I definitely was under the impression that she might be on the spectrum in some capacity.

I think the trauma of having your mother attempt to murder-suicide you aged 9 might have something to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Beth supposed to be autistic?
I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of someone with autism without making it the defining aspect of the character's life/personality.

There was something definitely off/different about her. She had no idea what to do with the doll the high school chess coach gave her and couldn't relate to the Apple Pi girls at all. Maybe it was due to her rough start in life or maybe something else like autism.

Uh. She didn’t want the doll because that didn’t interest her. Same with the vapid HS girls.

She was precocious, not autistic.

I must have missed the part where that was specifically stated. Can you remind me when it was said or when we hear a diagnosis?

Episode 3, 18:34

Try again. I remember Miss Deardorff talking about her talent for chess but don't think she used a specific word for it other than "gifted child" in Episode 1 with the high school coach. There are a lot of other clues in the series about Beth that point to something more than just precocity. Either way its all speculation. In the 1960s that wouldn't have been a common diagnosis for a girl. This was the era of "refrigerator mothers". But given what we know today, we might call it something else.

What “clues”?

She didn’t want to play with a doll and thought the girls were vapid. Nothing at all “off” about that.

Ok. I'm not going to argue with you about it. Agree to disagree.

So no other clues? Got it.

If you insist... here's a discussion about this very thing. And again, you can see it differently. I don't know why you're getting so defensive.

https://valneil.com/2020/10/30/accidentally-autistic-the-queens-gambit/

Thank you for posting this! I also liked the article!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was Beth supposed to be autistic?
I thought this was a fantastic portrayal of someone with autism without making it the defining aspect of the character's life/personality.

There was something definitely off/different about her. She had no idea what to do with the doll the high school chess coach gave her and couldn't relate to the Apple Pi girls at all. Maybe it was due to her rough start in life or maybe something else like autism.

Uh. She didn’t want the doll because that didn’t interest her. Same with the vapid HS girls.

She was precocious, not autistic.

I must have missed the part where that was specifically stated. Can you remind me when it was said or when we hear a diagnosis?

Episode 3, 18:34

Try again. I remember Miss Deardorff talking about her talent for chess but don't think she used a specific word for it other than "gifted child" in Episode 1 with the high school coach. There are a lot of other clues in the series about Beth that point to something more than just precocity. Either way its all speculation. In the 1960s that wouldn't have been a common diagnosis for a girl. This was the era of "refrigerator mothers". But given what we know today, we might call it something else.

What “clues”?

She didn’t want to play with a doll and thought the girls were vapid. Nothing at all “off” about that.

Ok. I'm not going to argue with you about it. Agree to disagree.

So no other clues? Got it.

If you insist... here's a discussion about this very thing. And again, you can see it differently. I don't know why you're getting so defensive.

https://valneil.com/2020/10/30/accidentally-autistic-the-queens-gambit/

All of her behavior falls squarely in the realm of typical for a bright girl in that situation. No need to “diagnose” her FFS.

I am the first poster to ask about autism. I am the parent of an autistic teenager, and I recognized some of the same behaviors in Beth that I see in my son.
I wasn’t sure if this was intentional on the part of the producers of the show or not. But I really enjoyed this positive and empathetic portrayal of someone who doesn’t fit in.

I am not sure why you are so up in arms about this. Do you find it offensive to consider that people with autism can still have success? Or that it’s ok to have a main character with this diagnosis without making it a disability or defining her life?

[Anonymous]

We just saw episode one last night and it seemed clear that she is on the spectrum. Is it even possible she's not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just saw episode one last night and it seemed clear that she is on the spectrum. Is it even possible she's not?

As she grows up this doesn’t seem as clear - maybe this is also something that can happen with autistic children, but by the end she seems more typical but quirky

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Russian above here again: I must say all other Russians were native speakers.
Also, there would be no kids at the hotel/important tournament.
Let alone serving vodka.

I LOLed at the flight attendant’s outfit and scared the dog. I mean how hard was it to do some basic research? And the kid serving vodka for breakfast? smh.

[Anonymous]

Loving this series so far! (Watched 3 episodes yesterday while my son/husband was at practice.)

Can someone clarify - was she older or younger than 13 when adopted and what was her actual age? She started to correct the admin, but realized she needed to keep quiet. Does the difference come up ever?

[Anonymous]

Pretty sad she never returned the custodian’s $10.

[Anonymous]

I think for the character's situation - an unstable childhood - her social skills were fine. She was able to make friends, when desired. She was also able to adapt quickly to new situations; she could read perceive others' feelings quickly and adjust. She was more receptive than the vapid girls. She explained her cosmopolitan lifestyle and then they were basically "Oh OK. Let's turn on the TV and listen to music."

Many bright people get bored of the idiots.

Diagnosis: brilliant, precocious, and impatient with idiots.

^^^Diagnosis, not wrong!

[Anonymous]

I binged the entire series last night and loved it! What should I watch next? Any recs?

[Anonymous]

Autism was not a diagnosis in the 1960s. Some of you going On and on about autism must be really young. Also, you are apparently too young to know people who grew up in orphanages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Autism was not a diagnosis in the 1960s. Some of you going On and on about autism must be really young. Also, you are apparently too young to know people who grew up in orphanages.

Oh, autism didn't exist in the 60s? Interesting. Just because it didn't exist as a diagnosis doesn't mean people wouldn't have exhibited certain traits. Even back then, boomer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I finished it. There was no flash back explaining what happened after she overdosed. There was one flashback to her falling off the stool. You never saw who discovered her on the floor, if she went to the hospital, whether the school was sanctioned for it, was her stomach pumped, etc.

? The whole orphanage saw her collapse on to the ground. Miss deardorff says “Elizabeth!” When she is discovered.

+1

Do you need it more drawn out than that?

I think that PP is saying we never see how she recovered from that overdose, whether she or the school was punished, etc.

She wasn't allowed to play chess anymore. We know because we saw her approach Schaibel and tell him that she couldn't play and ask him for help (he doesn't respond) and also later there is a flashback to Mrs. What's hername headmistress lady telling her "no more chess". That's all we see because that is all that matters to the character.