The 3-body problem has no solution. The theory of the 3 chapters, perhaps neither. It is a problem, which is theorized here, a widespread phrase among some, too many, irredeemable series fans: “hang in there because from the third episode onwards it hooks you hopelessly.” Some big bets serialized in streaming start dancing with a slow rhythm and do not catch the viewer until the third installment, or more, of their first season. It's not always worth the sacrifice. Not everyone arrives, and it is not an obligation, especially if the series is not released all at once. Disney + realized it with 'Andor', derived from 'Star Wars'. It grew and grew but did not show real interest until the end of the third episode, hence three pieces were launched at once. A similar thing happens with 'The Three Body Problem', although its initial session is available in its entirety on Netflix. It is difficult to enter this science fiction story led by David Benioff and DB Weiss as showrunners, the same ones who devastated 'Game of Thrones', although they destroyed, for many critical minds, the starting novels. Now they are based on another literary hit, looking for a new hit, written by computer engineer and lyricist Liu Cixin, whose publication began in 2006.
The problem of the 3 bodies has no solution, as we anticipated. He talks about orbital mechanics and the dilemma raises how difficult it is to predict the movement of three celestial bodies that belong to the same system. Question of gravity. By including a third object, chaos and destruction is generated. The protagonists of the series are scientists who try to understand some strange phenomena that happen in their daily lives. Some receive as a gift, without return address, a strange golden helmet that allows them to enter a video game where everything seems real. By solving the questions raised by the different levels, they learn the reality of an unstable planet, San-Ti, which has a solar system of three suns that fluctuates, giving rise to periods of balance or destabilization.
A story is woven around this idea with a diverse and international choral cast. Several characters, with different characteristics, physicists, theorists and agents of something, intersect, facing a threat that does not really show its paw until the conclusion of, it is easy to guess, the third episode of a total of eight installments that leave several doors open in the big climax of the season, played by Eiza González, Benedict Wong, Jess Wong, Rosalind Chao, Jonathan Pryce…
'The problem of the 3 bodies', the series, also has no solution, because it immediately reveals its scheme, extended in the series that are currently seeking success on Netflix. The formula consists of the aforementioned multicultural casting, some flashbacks, a notable variety of locations and continuous twists, cliffhangers included at the end of each chapter. A well-known template that does not always work as it should. There is dense information here, a big problem in reaching the general public, and the spectacular scenes that the preview images promised are scarce, except when the protagonists make full use of futuristic technology glasses and immersive games. The fifth episode breaks the mold, with a brutal sequence, which we will talk about later, but the feeling that this top-notch production conveys is that eight episodes are too many to sow the seed of an epic that is yet to come. The bold proposal grows, the expected hook finally arrives, once the ingredients are on the table, but they are ultra-processed.
The starting text is inevitably simplified, and events accelerate as the “season finale” approaches, which will give rise to countless articles and videos on YouTube with the odious “finale explained” label. By the way, Liu Cixin's best-selling book, the first in the trilogy titled 'The Memory of Earth's Past', has a Chinese version that can be viewed for free, if we want more and a more reliable interpretation. It consists of thirty installments lasting around 40 minutes per piece. It is on Viki, Rakuten's Asian series platform that does not ask the user for the credit card number for the subscription.
A series that requires concentration
'The 3-Body Problem' requires a certain concentration on the part of the viewer. It is not a series that can be chosen as background noise while we do other things, like tweeting or watching TikTok videos. The scientific challenges faced by the protagonists require our attention. To talk about some of the series' strong points, it is inevitable to spoil it a little. In the aforementioned third episode, where light is shed on what is happening, a fact that we probably already imagined as an active viewer is confirmed: humanity is in danger because an extraterrestrial invasion is on the way. Precisely a good asset of this adaptation is that it ends its first season without us knowing the physical aspect of the ultimatum that comes from outer space. The aliens are a mystery in this sense. It's like 'V' but cubed. Will they show themselves as they are in the sequel? Furthermore, his intentions become clear as the action progresses. Humans are liars, so living with them is not an option.
Benioff and Weiss have already announced that they will need at least four seasons to adapt the written material. If the series works above expectations, they will stretch the gum as they did in 'Game of Thrones'. At the moment, the number of views does not attract attention, although the reviews are largely positive. There are no big battles to wait for by preparing the ground. In the fifth installment there is a chilling sequence that should have appeared earlier – how terrible the prologue to the first chapter is, by the way. Explicit violence when representing the collateral damage when the possible invasion is stopped, which will take centuries to reach our planet. A ship is cut up like a sausage with sharp nanofiber filaments, giving rise to some images that are as shocking as they are spectacular. The parallelism with some current tragic events is inexcusable. We are in war.
#39The #3body #problem39 #big #problem
