Netflix’s 3 Body Problem has been receiving rave reviews lately, both for its sci-fi-based premise and brilliant execution of the source material. The TV series is based on Hugo Award-winning novel The Three Body Problem, penned by Chinese author Liu Cixin.
Showrunners D.B. Weiss, David Benioff, and Alexander Woo have mostly stuck to the book in terms of what’s being shown onscreen. However, there are still some noteworthy changes that the fans will be intrigued to know about!
**SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils some parts of all 3 books and the first season of the Netflix series.**
Change of protagonist
In the book, Wang Miao, who is a nanoscientist by profession, is projected as the protagonist. However, in the show, this character is split into three: Auggie Salazar (Eiza Gonzalez), Jack Rooney (John Bradley), and Jin Cheng (Jess Hong). All three characters are given the characteristics and responsibilities exhibited by Miao in the book. Salazar becomes the nanoscientist tasked with research around the expected alien attack, and another direct parallel between the two characters is her nanotech fibers demolishing the massive ship Judgement Day in the fifth episode (similar to what Wang does in the book).
Similarly, Jack Rooney and Jin Cheng undergo the 3 Body virtual experience, which helps them discover human elements who are working together to facilitate the San-Ti attack. In the text, it is Wang who experiences these events by himself.
Sophons
In the books, Sophons are defined as proton-size supercomputers sent by Trisolarians (San-Ti in the show) to intercept communication between humans and stall scientific progress through data manipulation. They serve a similar purpose in the show, with the major difference being that one of the Sophons is represented by a woman who wears a sword on her back. Apart from that, her way of communicating with other characters (video-calling being the best way to explain it) is not present in the text.
Three Body Problem Game
The representation of the Three Body Problem Game is mostly similar in both the book and the TV series, with just one stark difference: In the novel, it is played through a VR (virtual reality) suit, while in the show, one needs a VR chrome helmet to play it. In the series, it is said that the technology involved in the game is far ahead of what humans are capable of, as it is a work of the advanced San-Ti.
Depiction of Saul Durand’s romantic life
In the season finale of the show, Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo) becomes a Wallfacer, a strategist who is tasked with fighting the San-Ti in secrecy, since the San-Ti can’t comprehend human attributes like lying and can’t read minds. The Wallfacers serve as the only hope for mankind. In the books, Saul’s parallel is Luo Ji, and there is a major difference between the two characters among many similarities: the on-off romance shown in the series between Durand and Auggie Salazar is absent in the books, where Luo Ji ends up dating a novelist and is later obsessed with creating a fictional partner.
(featured image: Netflix)
