3 Body Probl三m: Big problems, bigger potential. *This review assumes that you’ve already watched 3 Body Probl三m, and will not give necessary context.* I am completely fascinated by this show and its connections to its source material. I love what this show is fundamentally; writers David Benioff, D. B. Weiss and Alexander Woo brilliantly combine the mind bending cosmic horror of Cixin Liu’s trilogy with their own characters and plot beats. As someone who’s read the original Three Body Problem trilogy and is currently chipping away at a non canon continuation officially supported by Liu himself, I think they’ve done a fantastic job of translating the pages onto the screen and I am SO HAPPY that it’s getting a second season. That being said, I think this first season was rushed, and there are clear signs of it needing another draft or two. For one, the writing is incredibly hit or miss, some exchanges being unforgettable and others being inexcusable. One character in particular feels super underutilized and out of place. I think this is in part due to the fact that the original books, book one in particular, are much more focused on sci-fi than drama. Think back to the juxtaposition of early Game of Thrones, when they were adapting one of our generations defining fantasy novels, to Late Game of Thrones, when they had nothing to go off of but their own wits. The original trilogy gives the writers all the sci-fi their hearts could possibly desire, and while the Oxford Fives characters are based off of the book as well, their relationships with each other are completely original. It’s over reliance on exposition gets uncomfortable, and sometimes it even regurgitates information we already know as if we weren’t paying attention and need reminders of what’s going on. And most damning of all, there’s not enough sci fi! Auggies timer, Sauls theories, the game scenes, the judgment day scene, the sophon reveal, do you see how enjoyable this show is when it just lets itself be sci-fi? Every idea this show has is great, but more often than not it’s botched in the execution. Remember, these are the same writers who brought us Game of Thrones.