Though science fiction is one of the most watched and hit genres of TV shows and films, no new show ever fails at gaining traction. The most intriguing question that many shows have based their core idea upon is how humanity would react to the discovery of alien life.
From the invasion depicted in H. G. Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds‘ to the thrilling encounters in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’, storytellers have often resorted to and explored scenarios of “first contact” with extraterrestrial beings to weave a story around. In a refreshing twist to this narrative, Netflix’s newest series ‘3 Body Problem‘ has come up with a different approach by introducing time as another vital factor in the alien invasion theory. Here’s all we know about the show and what its ending signifies.
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What Is ‘3 Body Problem’ About?
‘3 Body Problem‘ has very creatively woven a story by introducing a rather less-explored twist into the science fiction narrative with alien existence at its center point. The show makers have introduced the possibility of an invasion with the approaching alien civilization being 400 years away.
Adapted from Chinese author Liu Cixin’s revered book trilogy titled ‘Remembrance of Earth’s Past‘, the show tells a story that spans decades and continents. The show gets its value also from the masterminds behind ‘Game of Thrones’, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo of ‘True Blood‘ fame.
The series has cleverly brought together elements from Cixin’s trilogy, and has primarily drawn motivation from the first book, ‘The Three-Body Problem’. It is set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, as the story follows astrophysics prodigy Ye Wenjie, played by Zine Tseng and later Rosalind Chao.
It’s this character that makes the fateful decision to contact an alien civilization, and it later reverberates through time on the show. Fast forward to modern-day England, Detective Da Shi, played by Benedict Wong, is shown to be investigating a string of scientist suicides.
As the narrative unfolds, many new characters get introduced including the Oxford Five—Jin Cheng played by Jess Hong, Saul Durand played by Jovan Adepo, Auggie Salazar played by Eiza González, Jack Rooney played by John Bradley, and Will Downing played by Alex Sharp. These take centre stage as the characters get entangled in humanity’s struggle for survival against the impending alien threat.
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How Does ‘3 Body Problem’ End And What Does It Signify?
The main twist in the story comes in the last episode of Season 1 which starts with someone trying to hurt Saul. This happens after Ye talks to Saul about a strange joke before she dies, which leads him to go to the United Nations in New York. He finds out there that he’s been chosen as one of three Wallfacers.
The Wallfacers are told to make secret plans in their minds to protect Earth from the San-Ti aliens, who can hear everything people say. The challenge therefore lies in keeping the plans secret until it’s time to use them.
Saul doesn’t want to do the job, but the UN believes it is just a trick he has adapted to fool the aliens. The UN Secretary-General tells Saul that there’s a reason he was chosen, but he can’t say why yet. Saul then demands to watch a spy probe with Will’s brain on its launch into space. This is called the Staircase Project, Jin’s idea. But the launch goes wrong, and the probe goes off course.
Even though things look bad for humanity, the season ends on a hopeful note. Da Shi reminds Jin and Saul that insects have survived even though humans tried to get rid of them. This is like when San-Ti’s message stating, “You are bugs“.
Netflix hasn’t said if there will be more seasons of ‘3 Body Problem‘ yet, but the creators are already working on a second season. They have asserted that they want it to be like the second book in Cixin’s series. They have also assured that they plan on having three or four seasons in total.
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