Almost five years after they brought the fantasy saga Game of Thrones to an end, DB Weiss and David Benioff are launching the next huge novel adaptation: The sci-fi series 3 Body Problem starts on Netflix on March 21st the Westeros duo implemented together with co-creator Alexander Woo.
Benioff and Weiss once again dedicate themselves to a complex and award-winning book: the Trisolaris trilogy by the Chinese author Cixin Liu. In a spoiler-free first impression I’ll tell you whether the most expensive Netflix series of the year is any good.
After Game of Thrones comes the 3 Body Problem: This is what awaits you in the sci-fi series from Netflix
With the phrase “Winter is coming“Game of Thrones was heading towards a catastrophe for eight years. In 3 Body Problem, humanity is also facing unstoppable disaster, which, however, is still 400 years away: the aliens are coming!
The Netflix series tells an invasion story with fascinating sci-fi concepts, from a perspective we haven’t seen before. However, it is so complex and full of spoilers that no trailer in advance has been able to convey what it is all about. In order not to spoil any surprises, I just want to briefly touch on them here.
Netflix
Your next series favorite: John Bradley in 3 Body Problem
The plot of 3 Body Problem revolves around five scientist friends from London who are drawn into a huge mystery: the suicide rate among their international colleagues begins to skyrocket inexplicably. And that’s not all.
Nanoscientist Augustina Salazar (Eiza González) suddenly sees a threatening countdown on her retina. Meanwhile, their friends Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Jack Rooney (John “Samwell Tarly” Bradley) come across a futuristic virtual reality game. On behalf of secret service agent Thomas Wade (Liam “Davos” Cunningham), they have to find out why science is going crazy and how it is all connected to the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution 60 years ago (with which the series cruelly opens).
3 Body Problem changes the template dramatically and that’s good for now
As an adaptation of Cixin Liu’s novel The Three Suns, the Netflix series comes with numerous changes. For example, five (new) main characters were formed from one central character. For newcomers, this doesn’t make the story more complicated, but rather simplifies access through human perspectives and a stronger emotional underpinning.
While the huge ensemble in Game of Thrones was introduced in the first episode, the showrunners here use a similar trick allow characters to appear that would only appear in later seasons in a 1:1 film adaptation. Since their names and backgrounds have been changed, the series remains exciting and surprising even for book connoisseurs.
3 Body Problem is the light version of a complex sci-fi epic
However, some other changes will offend book fans. What I can reveal about this without spoilers: The template has been extremely streamlined and simplified in parts. The Three Suns was a brain-twisting mini-course in science that could also be compared to the Netflix series Dark.
This adaptation is easier to digest, requires no serial homework, and causes fewer headaches. But it also encourages less philosophical thought games. Fans of the books or similar stories, such as Isaac Asimov’s Foundation cycle, might find this underwhelming.
Netflix
3 Body Problem: Sometimes really visually stunning
Rather, 3 Body Problem is now a captivating and twisty sci-fi mystery story that takes completely new directions with each episode – and surprises with one or two unexpected shockers.
This is less about cerebral physics and more about the spectaclesuch as a blockbuster version of the splatter opening of Ghost Ship or the massive civilizational catastrophes within a VR game.
The Game of Thrones makers also focus on the larger themes of the entire saga, which are revealed here much earlier than in the original. For newcomers this means: 3 Body Problem quickly gets to the point. Due to the density of events, there is no time for complex scientific theories. But don’t worry: you’ll still learn enough about celestial mechanics and pico-technological supercomputers.
Is 3 Body Problem still worth it?
Hardly any other series in recent times has left me as conflicted after watching it for the first time as 3 Body Problem. As a big fan of Cixin Liu’s overly complex Trisolaris novels, I was initially unenthusiastic about the simplification of some elements, even if this was to be expected given the length of only eight episodes.
It took me some time to come to terms with the fact that the Game of Thrones creators were only using the cornerstones of the template and on top of that something different, but no less ambitious want to create. And that is certainly something to be proud of.
Even if the tricky plot seems a bit aimless at times and sometimes forgets plot threads and characters, 3 Body Problem knows how to entertain as an exciting sci-fi story exciting questions of ethics and morals raises. How do people react in the face of impending doom? Does the end really justify the means? And is it okay to just beat up non-player characters in a computer game?
3 Body Problem does a few things differently from the original. But At the end of the eight episodes, I’m left with the same feeling: From now on, when I look at the sky at night, I’m afraid – of the threats from space and the people who welcome them.