‘3 Body Problem’ Season 1 Review – Spectacular World Building [SXSW 2024]

A live-action adaptation of Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem was once thought to be impossible. Simply put, how can anyone bring Cixin’s accomplishment of world-building across different timelines to life? Well, that’s when you call in a streaming service that hands an open check to the co-creators of Game of Thrones, and a series can become a reality. Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is a layered science fiction tale with more on its mind than its science fiction extraterrestrial trappings by putting our existential crisis at the forefront of what it means to be human.

3 Body Problem has two linear timelines. A stunning scene introduces the audience to one immediately. A young astrophysicist, Ye Wenjie (newcomer Zine Tseng, just terrific here), watches her father beaten to death in front of an angry mob during the height of the 1960s Chinese Cultural Revolution. It’s a visceral and fascinating scene. The creators truly embody the times when Mao Zedong’s mobilization of young people into the “Red Guard” perpetuated public humiliation and persecution of intellectuals like Tseng’s father.

You can then fast forward to the present day, where the writers David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo do a wonderful job of layering in the past with the new. Now, Wenjie is living in America in the present (now played by Sweet Tooth’s Rosalind Chao). To avoid spoilers, we won’t mention her current role. However, Wenjie has a connection to a group of scientists called “The Oxford Five.” Vera (Vedette Lim) and Saul (Jovan Adepo) are astrophysicists who are running out the clock on their government-funded program because of a lack of results.

Like them, the rest of their friends are also going through an existential career crisis—not over government failures, but over whether their work has meaning or any negative impact from those pesky unintended consequences. One is Jin (Jess Hong), a theoretical physicist who is best friends with Auggie (Eiza González), an expert in her field of nanotechnology. She is also in an on-and-off relationship with Saul.

The shy Will (Alex Sharp), a physicist turned teacher who loves Jin, rounds out the group. His best friend, Jack (John Bradley), quit physics years ago but used his knowledge to launch a snack food empire and a network worth 40 million dollars. Soon, a tragedy galvanizes them. Then, inexplicably, Auggie begins to see a countdown clock (and other questionable images) that no one else can see.

The title 3 Body Problem refers to a dilemma that fascinates anyone in the field of physics. The goal is to understand why three objects attract each other with gravity, which can be chaotic. For example, consider the gravitational pull of “the sun, the earth, and the moon.” What makes the dilemma fascinating is that there is no solution. There is an infinite number of possibilities that physicists try to sort through.

There is a strict and comprehensive embargo on 3 Body Problem, even though discussions are happening online within the source material’s large fanbase. The creators do a remarkable job of maintaining Cixin’s deeply thematic concepts and preserving the writer’s ability to communicate them to their audience. It is no small accomplishment to present something complex that can easily be understood and assimilated without being overwhelmed.

The more significant themes never alienate the audience, allowing modern trappings, historical significance, and innovative virtual reality world to explore a complex question. That concept is built into a mysterious VR video game system that these characters begin to play, tying into the overall narrative of impending doom. Da Shi (Benedict Wong, who is excellent here), who, up to this point, has noted several mysterious deaths in the scientific community, is investigating the friends and the people behind the game. Not to mention, the reasoning behind it.

The world-building is spectacular here. The story mixes various historical figures to explore substantive questions while making science fiction relatable. You have searing suns and frostbitten winters, a humorous concept of the dehydrating and hydrating characters, the chaotic celestial phenomena that begin to fill the skies, and how one of the character’s inventions can take apart gigantic metal objects that can ultimately be horrifying.

Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is worth watching because it engages the viewer through its storytelling on individual, group, and institutional levels. Much of it is steeped in the metaphysical debate, explaining conflicts through faith or scientific fact. Even the complementarity aspect of the story, where science and faith slowly become one core belief for many in the series, where an ominous alien presence takes on God-like meaning.

This is a fascinating story arc. That being said, the series trailer gives the impression of more action than what actually happens. Most of the episodes deal with the contemplative nature of existential discovery. Instead of fighting an impending presence, they fight and debate amongst themselves. However, the real excitement and payoff is the unpredictability of the character’s faiths that go against the grain.

There is a calm, evocative, and even pensive approach to 3 Body Problem’s storytelling. The writers employ the science fiction aspect as a backdrop, actively exploring the concept of rationalization in addressing the moral dilemmas of the series. This approach adds excitement and depth that’s thought-provoking. Never more so whenever the series explores the connection between physics and philosophy and moral grey areas in between.

While the ending will be divisive for some, 3 Body Problem is a science fiction saga that sparks and then excites the mind, body, and soul.

3 Body Problem had its World Premiere at SXSW 2024 in the TV Premiere section. The series is set to stream on Netflix on March 21st, 2024.