Summary
3 Body Problem is a little bit of a letdown. The creators deliver a larger-than-life series without a coherent script to keep you invested.
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, co-creators of the smash hit Game of Thrones, have returned with a multi-dimensional series for Netflix titled 3 Body Problem. The mind-bending eight-episode series ties together the past and present to deliver an existential planetary threat. The series stars Benedict Wong, Jess Hong, Jovan Adepo, and Eiza Gonzalez.
3 Body Problem follows the story of astrophysicist Ye Wenjie, who is conscripted by the military to use her scientific background to help at a secret radar base. Her decisions lead to a present-day group of scientists being forced to face humanity’s greatest threat.
Scientists worldwide are either killing themselves or stopping their research, and nobody can determine why. Auggie, who is on the verge of a massive breakthrough, begins to see this countdown in her head. A mysterious stranger named Tatiana tells her that if she doesn’t shut down her research, the countdown could be deadly. After shutting it down, she faces many questions about why.
Alongside Auggie are her friends Jack and Jin, who begin playing a game inside this gold mask. Little did they know they were playing a game of life or death. The duo starts to advance further and further into the game, leading to Tatiana revealing the real truth behind the game.
Quantity Over Quality
A multi-layered story like 3 Body Problem must be driven by concise storytelling that balances out the twisted world in which we are submerged. I found myself intrigued by many of the stories, but I often found myself disinterested in the minutiae of the others. The script falls in line with the recent trend in television of overwriting in quantity and suffering in quality.
The writers do get the aspect of delivering a level of fear of “what if” throughout the entire series. Often, when watching shows of this nature that bring such a realistic aspect to the table, it causes you to wonder, if this happened now, what in the world would you do? I love this stuff because it makes you think and it isn’t easy to process the outside-the-box layers.
Don’t Get Attached to Anyone
I will give credit to the writers for not being afraid to kill characters you might find yourself latching onto. Of course, coming from the creators of Game of Thrones, this doesn’t shock me, but it is still a warm welcome.
Speaking of characters, I found a majority of this ensemble a delight. While the writing of each of them was severely undercooked to start, you could gravitate towards the ones that would provide a lasting impact. Our first introduction to Tatiana was in such a mild mannered way that when you saw her turn into this intimidating person, it was a shock. Marlo Kelly flipped that switch on and off so well in the series that she stole the show every time she was on the screen.
If you watched the trailer, you knew to expect some out-of-this-world visuals, and they delivered. I was thoroughly impressed with the virtual reality aspects, especially in Episode 3. The jaw-dropping moments within that world were nothing short of miraculous. I also give the series much credit for the throwback sequences to China. It looked like two completely different shows (rightfully so), making the individualistic part of the story feel authentic.
3 Body Problem’s Approach Will Prove Divisive
Overall, 3 Body Problem suffers from being overly stylish and lacking substance. You can easily be reeled into a world visually, but if there isn’t anything worth sticking around for, you will check out. The multi-layered storytelling will have people either diving head first or dropping like birds from the sky in Episode 1. I’ve written about how large-scale movies and shows can deliver massive production and great storytelling (Dune: Part Two and Shogun), but 3 Body Problem failed to connect those dots.
What did you think of 3 Body Problem Season 1? Comment below.
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