Saturday, April 6, 2024

My Beefs with 3 Body Problem So Far

A Dreamer

April 6

OK, I started watching this last night based solely on the tiny trailer on Netflix - knew nothing else about it other than seeing the title in passing in entertainment headlines. To be clear - I don't hate it. It's got a great cast - I'd watch Liam Cunningham read a phone book if we're being honest, and I love seeing Benedict Wong and Rosalind Chan do anything, too. Visual effects are great. I'm only 6 episodes in and maybe this will all be resolved in the next two, but I don't know...

If you like SciFi that is mostly earth-based/current reality, I'd give it a shot. I didn't realize when I started watching it that it was based on a Chinese novel - so, at least you know that all these references to China/Chinese history are because the author was Chinese, not that the TV writers had some damn Asian fetish.

It's super fucking weird but I got through 6 episodes in one sitting, so if nothing else, it's definitely gripping and the only reason I stopped watching was that it was near 2AM in the morning.

So - let's bring on the beefs!! There are spoilers, so I am putting space in here so you can leave the page or scroll really fast and not see it.

SPOILERS BELOW!

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This is NOT about a human computer made of millions of soldiers in the Ghengis Khan era, as suggested by the little Netflix preview/trailer thing. To go from that to the Cultural Revolution in China in the actual opening scene was a little jarring. (I am blaming Netflix for this one.)
Bearing in mind that it has been 30+ years since I took a physics class and damn near failed - I had to look up what the 3 Body Problem is and whether or not it is a) real and b) unsolvable. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that physics can't figure it out. Physics and math can figure out everything. OR SO I WAS TOLD.
The aliens have figured out 1% light speed interstellar travel (amongst other things) and they somehow haven't figured out the 3 Body Problem with regards to three known stars in their own system? Seems sketchy.
The aliens will be here in 400 years, but we have to stop them now so they don't conquer the world when they get here? Pretty fuckin' bold to think that this place will still be fit for human habitation and anyone would be left in 400 years.
We're gonna get the whole world to cooperate to build a nuclear staircase so the probe can get to the alien ships? HAHAHAHAHAHA.
What happened to Ye Wenjie's boyfriend who gave her the copy of Silent Spring?! She saved his ass and I'd LOVE to see him pop up in the present somehow and be like, "WTF, I didn't give you the book for all this shit to happen. How the fuck did you get 'start an alien worship cult' from this?"
When Alex is walking out in the water and sees the origami boats - I couldn't have been the only one fully expecting him to look back and see his own deceased body sitting in the beach chair, right?

Here is some stuff I loved:

Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham) - He is SO good at playing the rat bastard, no-nonsense good(ish?) guy, who just wants to get the fucking job done. (The "open the window" scene...)
Da Shi (Benedict Wong) - I suppose you could say it's copaganda, but he's really just an investigator trying to figure this shit out. But I love his character, and though we don't see much about his personal life/backstory, there is an interaction with his son, who is gay, and it's just not a thing other than "he has terrible taste in men" - loved that.
The "video game" visuals are really cool and well done.
Ye Wenjie telling the aliens, "Fuck it, come and get it" - absolutely ill advised, but I totally get it. (And it wouldn't be much of a story if she hadn't done it.)

So, we'll see if any of this is resolved in the next two episodes.