3 Body Problem follows author Ye Wenjie, who witnessed her father brutally murdered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Later, she was recruited by the military because of her background and sent to a secret radar base. Her decision at the base sends echoes across space and time to a group of scientists in the present day. In case you missed anything, our recap of Season 1 details everything that went down in Episodes 1-8.
3 Body Problem Season 1 Recap (Episodes 1-8)
Episode 1 – “Countdown”
Dr. Vera’s Oxford Accelerator Project is shut down, leading to her committing suicide. As her colleagues attempt to pick up the pieces, Auggie starts seeing a countdown in her vision. A strange woman approaches Auggie, telling her that she can shut down the countdown if she puts an end to her work. She also told her to go outside at midnight to watch the stars blink at her. Author Ye Wenjie finds herself working with the Red Coast Project, a frequency accelerator set to communicate with the unknown. At night, as Auggie, Saul, and the rest of the world watch, the stars begin to blink just as the woman promised.
Episode 2 – “Red Coast”
Auggie’s countdown is nearly hitting zero, so she does what Tatiana tells her to do and shut down her lab. Da Shi reveals to Auggie that many people have seen the countdown with them either shutting down their research or ending up dead. We rewind to 1977 when Dr. Wejie received a response from the universe that said, “Do Not Answer. If you respond, we will come. Your world will be conquered.” Dr. Wejie answered, “Come. We cannot save ourselves. I will help you conquer this world.”
Episode 3 – “Destroyer of Worlds”
Another scientist is dead, and the group is starting to wonder what is happening. Auggie wandered off to Jack’s bedroom to find the gold mask game that Dr. Vera was playing before her death. Although he and Jin told her they wouldn’t play the game anymore, the duo started playing together. Jin and Jack completed Level 3 and were invited to meet to discuss the next level. They discovered the San-ti people were trying to come to Earth via the game. However, Jack wasn’t hearing the nonsense and headed home where Tatiana awaited and killed him.
3 Body Problem. Eiza González as Auggie Salazar in episode 103 of 3 Body Problem. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Episode 4 – “Our Lord”
Thomas and Da Shi talk Jin into heading to the summit even after the killing of their friend Jack. At the summit, Jin runs into Tatiana, who is thrilled she can make it but also reveals that their leader will be revealed tonight. Dr. Wenjie is announced as the group leader and says they must prepare for the San-ti’s arrival. However, she announces that it will be over 400 years before they arrive, so they must prepare the generations to give them a warm welcome. The police raid the facility, leading to the arrest of Dr. Wenjie.
Episode 5 – “Judgement Day”
Thomas Wade uses Auggie’s nanofiber technology to take down Mike Evans’ ship. It works but kills everyone on board the vessel, including Evans himself. A hard drive is on his body, which Wade used to force Dr. Wenjie to listen to where the Lord was telling Evans they couldn’t trust him anymore. Wade and Jin are inside the game, where they find out that the San-ti have the power to take them down. The episode ends with the sky being taken over, and they send a message through electronics saying, “You Are Bugs.”
Episode 6 – “The Stars Our Destination”
Cities around the world are starting to crumble after hearing the message from the San-ti. As they try to get the unrest under control, Wade is attempting to build a super team to get ahead of the taking down of San-ti. Jin tries to talk Auggie into helping her out, but she refuses. Finally, being talked into it by Will, Auggie arrives at Wade’s headquarters to get to work.
Episode 7 – “Only Advance”
Wade learns they will only receive 300 of the 1000 probes needed to create the staircase. This means they must alter their plans and send a brain into space instead of a whole human. He comes up with the idea of presenting the plan to Will Downing, but Jin and Auggie are entirely against it. Although she attempts to talk Will out of it, Jin realizes how much they need him to make this work. The San-ti reaches out to Tatiana to reestablish a connection with the human species.
Episode 8 – “Wallfacer”
The United Nations announced that it was set to launch a new project called the Wallfacer. Since they believe the San-ti can’t read people’s minds, they announce that three people will be Wallfacers, formulate a plan inside their heads, and do not tell anyone. They picked General Hou Bolin, Professor Leyla Arc, and Raul Durand as the Wallfacers. Raul refuses to join as a Wallfacer but sees his life end up in jeopardy as the San-ti don’t believe he didn’t take the deal.
Wade’s plan to send Will’s brain up the staircase to space was a failure. On his flight back, Wade has his flight interrupted by the San-ti, who informs him they will be with him every step of the way as they have a spot for him when the time comes. Da Shi visits Jin and Saul to show them lots of bugs and says that people have been trying to get rid of them for years and have failed. He finishes by saying, “We’ve got work to do.”
That was our recap of 3 Body Problem Season 1 (Episodes 1-8). What did you think of the mind-bending series? Were you disappointed with the finale? Let us know in the comments.
RELATED:
