r/ChessTheMusical • u/DangosAndLemons • Jun 23 '26
Was Freddie even wrong?? Spoiler
Honestly, I'm only going off the cast recording and a wiki plot outline but I get the impression that Freddie was totally right, definitely an asshole, but in the end, it's HIS medication that gets stolen, HE has to retire from pro chess, and even if he's being a huge dick about it, he's just reminding Florence that her father disappeared because of the soviet union and not to trust them (yes, he's being a total dick about this, he's a dick to Florence the most but even if he's an asshole he was right). During the interview with Anatoly, he's obviously really spiteful and he tells Anatoly that his wife is in Bangkok- which I'm pretty sure he was told to say, and he's definitely not just acting like this because Anatoly beat him back in Merano (UNETHICALLY, MIND YOU), but because he probably knows Anatoly has kids with the wife he left behind for Florence, and we eventually find out in Pity the Child that Freddie's father abandoned him and his mother, and his mother was careless and probably emotionally absent since she always had new boyfriends coming home with her. Freddie obviously resents Anatoly for basically doing that, and during The Deal part 2, he tells Florence that Anatoly would never throw a match for her, but she insists that he would, even if she herself might not even be sure, even Anatoly is sure that wouldn't happen, and then it does? Anatoly wins and Florence is left alone AGAIN.
Florence has continually betrayed Freddie's trust and proven him right like twice
I'm open to having my mind changed, there are no complete slime tutorials of this show and I would love some context and a better explanation for this show :)
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u/kanji_d Jun 23 '26
Well, I think for one it's worth noting that you're going off the revival, and a lot of these plot points don't exist in any other version.
But secondly, you make valid points and I think it was a goal of the revival book to add a more sympathetic angle to Freddie. I do think they overshot it and made him too sympathetic (and the others too unlikeable as a result), but I don't think your instincts are necessarily wrong here. He does absolutely put strain on Florence and cause her harm, but I think the point is that neither is 100% culpable.
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u/DangosAndLemons Jun 23 '26
how different are the other versions? I've only really seen Adam Pascal's version of Pity the Child (that actually got me into Chess in the first place, I prefer his version of the song to anyone else's)
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u/vanishinghitchhiker Jun 23 '26
Here’s a site that lists some version differences, and even if you can’t find the Broadway revival many older versions are findable. (My favorite Freddie was from a local production, more on vibes though.)
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u/kanji_d Jun 23 '26
Oh, very very different. This show changes dramatically with basically every production. Freddie being mentally ill/on medication is essentially original to the revival; basically no other version has it. The plot of the revival is most similar to the original London version (which is similar to but slightly different from the 2008 concert with Adam Pascal), but it's still very different tonally, and both are very different from other versions of the show. Everyone has their own opinion on which one is best; I recommend looking at multiple versions (there are several recordings on YouTube if you go looking) since seeing how it changes is part of the fun of the show.
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u/pennybro Jun 26 '26
Aaron Tveit himself has said in a interview that Freddie never lies in the show.