What are the pills in 'The Queen's Gambit'? Here's the effect they had on Beth

The new Netflix drama The Queen’s Gambit has created quite a buzz ever since it was released on the platform. The miniseries is based on author Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name. Helmed by Scott Frank and Allan Scott, the Netflix series stars actor Anya Taylor-Joy. However, ever since binge-watching the series, many fans are still confused about the Green pills in The Queen’s Gambit. Read on to find out, “What are the pills in the Queen's Gambit?”

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What are the pills in the Queen's Gambit?

Fans who have already enjoyed the show must be aware that it revolves around American drug abuse problem, however, it doesn't fully address the dark backstory. It seems as though the creators have glossed over some parts of the dark history in order to create a more appealing storyline for the show. Queen’s Gambit centres on a young chess prodigy who struggles with personal vices as an adult. The show is set in the late '50s and early ‘60s. The show begins at a Kentucky orphanage, when one day, a young girl named Beth Harmon wanders into a basement and learns to play chess from custodian Mr Shaibel (Bill Camp).

Source: Still from Netflix (Queen's Gambit) 

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However, the orphanage kids are being fed with green and white "vitamins," which are later revealed to be tranquilizer pills called Xanzolam. In her odyssey to become a great chess player, young Beth pretends to swallow her pills in front of the adults but actually saves them for recreational purpose. During night time, Beth lies in bed and envisions a chessboard on the ceiling. She goes back and forth strategising new moves while tripping out on the alleged vitamins.

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What do the green pills in the Queen's Gambit do?

In one of the early episodes of The Queen’s Gambit shows her immediately benefitting from consuming several pills at one time. Fans must have seen how Beth is immediately able to focus her thoughts and receive a different strategic perspective after the tranquillizer pills work their magic. Once Beth gets adopted, she realises that her adoptive mother Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller) has a prescription for Xanzolam.

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Was there a drug problem in American orphanages?

In reality, though, Beth Harmon never existed, and the tranquillizer, Xanzolam is fictional too. However, a report in BuzzFeed News has revealed that there was indeed a drug problem in American orphanages in the late 50s and early 60s. Some American orphanages reportedly sedated young residents during the mid-50s. Many women became addicted to drugs and used them to cope with the realities of daily life at the time.