3 Body Problem is one of the most expensive Netflix series ever and the adaptation of the globally acclaimed Trisolaris novels by Cixin Liu. The unusual invasion story surprises with lots of crazy science fiction ideas – and many a Game of Thrones cameo. However, anyone who knows the template will be confronted with drastic changes. As a fan, I was greatly irritated by some, but In one respect, the series adaptation can even surpass the original.
Warning, spoilers follow for the entire first season:
There’s an ingenious twist behind the biggest 3 Body Problem change
The Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and DB Weiss as well as co-showrunner Alexander Woo made numerous changes to the original for their Netflix adaptation. So the main plot was moved from China to Britain and some storylines were deleted, streamlined or rearranged. However, another change seemed particularly strange beforehand.
In the novel The Three Suns – and the first series adaptation Three Body – it is the Chinese nanoscientist Wang Miao who leads through the story and is confronted with looming countdowns, blinking universes and the three-body problem in a virtual reality game. The Netflix series, however, turned one character into fiveinto which the experiences of the original book are split up.
Netflix
The new 3 Body Problem figures aren’t all that new
As a fan of the template, this change initially seemed sensible to me. After all, the characters in the Trisolaris trilogy are not author Cixin Liu’s greatest strength. With the Oxford Five, the Game of Thrones makers have not only replaced the book protagonist Wang Miao with a few more exciting characters. Behind their change there is also an ingenious twist that made 3 Body Problem a particularly surprising viewing experience for me.
It took me a few episodes to realize that Oxford Five no characters reinvented for the Netflix series are, but well-known characters from all three books. However, they have all been given new names and small changes to their stories. The series became an unexpectedly exciting puzzle game in which I was able to spin new theories from episode to episode as to which fictional characters the characters were actually based on.
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem surprises even book fans
The moments of surprise run through the entire first season right up to the finale. However, the big game of theories didn’t really start for me until episode 3. When Oxford Five member Jack Rooney (John Bradley) dies unexpectedly and leaves part of his fortune to his best friend Will (Alex Sharp), the first pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place in my head.
In fact, the lovable snack mogul is a variation of a supporting character who appears on just a few pages in the third book, Beyond Time, and gives his friend Yun Tianming a considerable sum of money. Within one episode, Will Downing, who seemed boring to me, suddenly became exciting. After all, he is the Netflix version of one of the most important characters in the Trisolaris saga.
Netflix
While I was initially bothered as a book fan by the sometimes radical cuts to the story, my disappointment turned into euphoria in the second half of the season. After the spectacular highlights in episode 5, 3 Body Problem surprisingly left the original The Three Suns behind and now also adapted parts of the other two novels.
I could certainly have noticed earlier that the book character Cheng Xin is actually hidden behind the physicist Jin Cheng (Jess Hong). However, I didn’t see any surprise coming. At first I thought that behind the unambitious Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo) was the Netflix version of the laboratory assistant Ding Yu from The Three Suns, I cheered loudly in front of my television when it was chosen to be the wall show in episode 8. The spectacular revelation: Saul Durand takes over the role of Luo Jithe main character from the second book, The Dark Forest.
After the end of the first season I by no means answers to all my theories and questions receive. My hope for a season 2 extension is now all the greater. Because I have to find out whether Raj (Saamer Usmani) turns into the psychopathic spaceship captain Zhang Beihei and whether Auggie (Eiza González) could possibly become interesting as an astronomer AA in the future.
More than a sci-fi surprise: That’s why the 3 Body Problem change is awesome
The character change isn’t just to surprise Trisolaris fans. It is an ingenious solution to adapt the huge original that was actually considered unfilmable. Because 3 Body Problem is not a classic adaptation that progresses through the story book by book, but a remix that chronologically brings together the overall story spread across the trilogy.
Characters are already being built up in season 1 and events are being prepared that will be important later – such as the purchase of a certain star called DX3906. In Cixin Liu’s Trisolaris series there are no consistent protagonists. Each book has different main characterswhich are often blandly drawn and merely functional in telling Liu’s spectacular sci-fi ideas.
You can hear more about Netflix’s 3 Body Problem in the podcast:
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
There are no Oxford Five in the books and most of the characters (almost) never meet. For the series adaptation, however, the showrunners have created a more homogeneous vision through connected human destinies, which can also guide us through the science fiction saga on an emotional level in the long term. It gets even more complex and crazy in its sci-fi ideas (at least in the books).
With its character changes, 3 Body Problem avoids one of the biggest dilemmas of book adaptations. These are often predictable for readers because they know where the story is going – if it doesn’t change dramatically. And yes, even in the case of the Netflix series, the overarching plot surrounding the San-Ti remains the same. But on the character level, the Game of Thrones makers still have some fresh surprises in store for Trisolaris experts.