Three-Body (Chinese TV adaptation), a review

Being a lover and writer of sci-fi, I have always wanted to watch the Chinese TV adaptation of Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. I especially wanted to before Netflix released its version – for reasons. So, I made a big effort to do so at the end of 2023. And I’m glad I did it.

Note: You can watch the Chinese version of Three-Body on the WeTV, Amazon Prime and Viki apps with English subtitles. The first two episodes are available on Youtube with English subtitles.

1. The story
2. The characters
3. What I like
4. What I don’t like
5. Thoughts about the ending
6. Concerns about the Netflix adaptation
7. Final verdict
8. Final verdict: 9

The story

A nanomaterials scientist gets dragged into a massive conspiracy when a fellow scientist commits suicide. Suddenly, he starts seeing a mysterious countdown in his vision and finds himself monitored and later recruited by the authorities to investigate a mysterious organisation.

Together with Shi Qiang, a former cop now working for the military, he enters a VR game, “Three-Body”, developed by a secret organization called ETO.

He discovers that it’s no mere game, but everything is connected to the Cultural Revolution and something even more sinister.

The characters

• Wang Miao: A nanotech scientist who gets dragged into the conspiracy when a scientist friend commits suicide.
• Shi Qiang: A down-and-out cop now working for the Chinese government.
• Ye Wen Jie: A notable female scientist and mother to a scientist who killed herself.

What I like

• I like that Three-Body shows countries around the world working together with China to defeat this threat. They are all equals in this conflict. There was a conversation between our main lead with one of the leaders of a European nation which I found moving. It showed that they were both humans with loved ones to protect. I have real worries that Netflix adaptation would forgo this cooperative element and paint some countries as baddies.
• Shi Qiang is the best, truly. Yu He Wei, what an actor. The Netflix version is going to have a tough time replicating him.
• How fear, tragedy, and devastation are often subtly implied, which makes the horror even more real and terrible.
• The characters, who were mere tools to convey information in the book (so says some readers), are fully fleshed-out human beings with quirks and personalities.
• Admittedly, the show did tone down the brutality of the Cultural Revolution to pass the censors, but they did not dismiss the trauma of that dark period of history either.
• At first, I really didn’t think Liu would give me a good enough reason as to why the scientists were committing suicide, but when I finally found out why, I could feel their existential despair.

What I don’t like

• Episodes 1-10 have slow pacing. Like sloooow. I honestly do not blame people for dropping the drama then. I’d suggest you do what I did to make it more bearable – put it on in the background while you do work and read recaps of the episodes to fill in the gaps of knowledge.
• Some of the acting is pretty awkward, especially from the foreign cast. However, some of the more notable characters were not bad.

Thoughts about the ending

You can read my spoilery reflections of the ending here.

Concerns about the Netflix adaptation

When I saw the Netflix version’s teaser, I compared that same scene with the one in the Chinese drama, and I can tell you – I do not have a good feeling about the Netflix adaptation.

The Netflix version of that scene lacks the gravitas, urgency, and sophistication of the Cdrama version.

I am also worried that the show’s producers and writers will water down or completely erase the Chinese perspectives and cultural context, which is really important to the story.

For example, Liu Cixin imagined a world where every country worked together to save the world. To see the opposite of Netflix would be quite insulting.

I just have little confidence, with the Sinophobic tendencies of the Western media (including Hollywood), that they would portray China in a positive light. And I think a lot of folks in China feel the same way. Many of us are prepared to be mad when the Netflix version comes out.

Of course, I want to be proven wrong. I want it to honour Liu’s message too, and since he’s apparently working with the show’s creators as well, I have a tiny bit of hope that his vision will be honoured.

I’m really glad that China got their TV adaptation out before the Netflix series, because it is super important that China owns the message of this drama that will most probably get lost in the Netflix version.

Again, I have very little confidence that the Netflix adaptation can capture the nuance, cultural themes, and unique Chinese philosophical perspectives of this hard sci-fi drama. And judging from how they’ve Westernised the POV characters in the trailer, I’m also now concerned about the dilution of the Chinese perspective but the complete erasure of it.

I just have a feeling that the Netflix version will be more of a spectacle rather than a profound message about humanity that this version is all about.

And the fact that this is in the hands of the same people who royally effed up the ending of one of the greatest fantasy dramas of all time is (Game of Thrones) … concerning.

Final verdict

The acting is mostly awesome, especially from our main leads Edward Zhang (Wang Miao), Yu He Wei (Shi Qiang), Chen Jin (older Ye Wen Jie) and Wang Ziwen (young Wen Jie).

The characters are well fleshed out, and real.

The camera work is also above average, and the special effects are not bad.

I especially love the way horror is conveyed in this drama. It’s done masterfully, not through blood and gore or scare jumps. The most horrifying thing I saw was not a grisly monster but … ah, I don’t even want to spoil that for you at all. Just that it appears in the last episode, and the full horror of it struck me.

The Cultural Revolution plays a heavy role in this drama. It is one of the most sensitive periods in China’s history and Three-Body is a commentary of not just that, but the impact of such events on human worldviews and how that impacts all of humanity.

Also, this is not Star Wars, more like Interstellar. Even then, I’d argue that it is even more cerebral than Interstellar.

The concepts explored here are deep and often difficult to grasp for mere mortals like us casual CDrama viewers, which is why I think using the game as a device to illustrate said concepts was a brilliant move.

However, because Three-Body explores such high scientific concepts and theories, I still have many questions about how many of the characters reach their conclusions.

I feel like there are some plot points that the writer just wants you to believe without question and those with a questioning mind may be distracted throughout the drama as a result lol.

Ultimately, this is an amazing and very unique Chinese drama, heck, even among the pantheon of sci-fi dramas both East and West, it offers a point of view that is rarely seen.

But would I recommend this drama to just anyone? Probably not. I honestly think that you need to be a big sci-fi fan to appreciate and be patient enough for this. Like I said, the drama started slowly. For the first 10 episodes of the show, very little happens, and if it does, it’s dragged out for a long time. I did wonder what the director was thinking, making these episodes so draggy.

But, watch it if you can, especially before you watch the possibly dumbed down, flashier and more spectacle-laden Netflix version.

I want the Netflix writers of the show to prove me wrong, however. Let’s hope they do.

Final verdict: 9

It would’ve been 9.5 if not for some flaws, which include very slow pacing in the first 10 episodes of the drama and some awkward acting from some of the actors.