After sweating blood and water for a decade game of ThronesDavid Benioff and DB Weiss return to Netflix with a project at least as complex: the series adaptation of the literary trilogy The three-body problem. They are accompanied in their task by Alexander Woo, screenwriter of Real blood and co-creator of the series The terror. Published between 2016 and 2018, Liu Cixin’s novels are considered a monument to contemporary science fiction. Summarizing them is a challenge, but we will try again, and without major spoilers!
At the end of the 1960s, in China, the young Ye Wenjie witnesses the assassination of her father in a public square by the Red Guards, at the height of the cultural revolution. Exiled in the mysterious military base of La Côte Rouge, this brilliant astrophysicist will make a decision that will impact the history of humanity. The main timeline takes place in 2007, in Beijing, as the scientific community is faced with a worrying wave of unexplained suicides. Wang Miao, a nanotechnology researcher, finds himself involved in the investigation. He discovers the existence of a virtual game, The three-body problembased on an advanced physics problem.
These three mysteries are linked to the threatened future of humanity. This fascinating novel, which brilliantly disseminates complex scientific concepts, has already been the subject of a Chinese series, broadcast in 2023 by CCTV. David Benioff, DB Weiss and Alexander Woo have been working on this international version since 2020, that takes liberties with the source material.
The problem of forced Westernization
While almost all the human characters in Three-body problem are Chinese and that the novel explores the history of the country, the showrunners opted for an anglicization of several characters, moving much of the action to England, with the series’ team of scientists made up of former Oxford students. We find characters present in the three volumes of the novel, but also newcomers, such as the billionaire Jack Rooney, played by John Bradley-West, the unforgettable Samwell Tarly Hador even protagonists based on the novels, whose genders or nationalities have been changed.
“We wanted to represent, as much as possible, all of humanity. We wanted people from all over the world. We tried to bring together a very diverse and international cast to convey the idea that this is not one country’s war against an extraterrestrial threat, but the entire world’s effort to survive.”, explains David Benioff. So be it, but the choice of Was it really necessary to center the action in Oxford and doesn’t it betray an “Anglo-Saxon” vision rather than a truly international one?
And then, at a time when pop culture works, such as the South Korean one, work Squid game, are able to reach a global audience, we can question the importance of transforming originally Asian characters, and the risk of distorting history. This choice of crucible is understandable but its execution leaves something to be desired.
Read also: Find out all about The three-body problem : This Netflix sci-fi series is new game of Thrones ?
Female Characters: Have Game of Thrones Lessons Been Learned?
The character of Wang Miao, central to the first volume of the novel, becomes an idealistic physicist of South American origin, Auggie Salazar (Eiza González). A choice that allows us to underline the place of women in the scientific community. In the first scene introducing him and his friend Jin Cheng (Jess Hong), a big shot approaches them at a bar. He is speechless to learn that they are brilliant scientists. So much for the level of feminism – very mainstream – in the series. In a more realistic flashback scene in China, Ye Wenjie sees her work appropriated by a male colleague.
At first glance, David Benioff and DB Weiss appear to have learned their lesson from feminist critics game of Thrones : Female characters are not reduced to stereotypes. The character of Ye Wenjie (played at different times by Zine Tseng and Rosalind Chao, both excellent), captivating and complex, testifies to this care taken in the writing. Most of it isn’t sexualized, except for one superfluous scene where Auggie gets drunk wearing sexy underwear (she sighs).
We often praise their intelligence in dialogue, just to remind ourselves that women have it in their heads! But these moments feel artificial and several male characters – Wade, Will, Saul or Da Shi played by Liam Cunningham, Alex Sharp, Jovan Adepo and Benedict Wong – do the lion’s share of character development. and narrative importance. They also hold more power: military, financial, decision-making, or over the future of humanity.
A series to reconcile the general public with SF
The good idea of the series is to underline the friendship that binds “Oxford Five”. We wish these connections were less parasitized by shaky love stories (Will and Jin, Auggie and Saul). Like many ambitious science fiction works (see the recent Foundation), the showrunners run a risk: that the complex questions of a story about the history of humanity will prevail over everything else. This first season of Three-body problem inevitably suffers from some inconsistencies and uneven characters.
On the other hand, we say goodbye the ambition of this aesthetically very successful adaptation. Between the convincing virtual world (hats off to the set and costume department) and the technological prowess in the real world (the countdown mystery is, for example, well staged), the special effects part had to impress us and it did the case. Seductive mix between a Lost is one Battlestar Galactica, THE Three-body problem will not leave science fiction fans indifferent and could motivate beginners to the genre to get passionate, as game of Thrones has been able to do this in the past with the fantasy genre.
From a thematic point of view, the parallel with our society is evident. While governments organize themselves to face a threat expected in 400 years, some protagonists are not interested in such distant issues. The series shows us the different reactions that humanity can have when faced with the threat of extinction.
Between the Covid pandemic, the climate emergency and the rise of extremes, there is no shortage of threats in our society. The series also lifts everything that makes the sci-fi genre great. : the mysteries of the universe, the great question of the existence of other forms of life, the meaning we want to give to our human existences… So many astonishing philosophical topics that make us hope that the series, despite its weaknesses, will receive a ‘welcome warm enough to be entitled to a second season.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
