‘3 Body Problem’ Ending Explained: Humanity Prepares For Invasion

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of 3 Body Problem and spoilers for the books in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.

The Big Picture

• An alien invasion is coming in 400 years in
  3 Body Problem
  , so humanity must start on defense plans in order to protect Earth from these invaders.
• Unusual technology and projects like human hibernation and sending a human brain off into space are the rools that humans must use against the powerful San-Ti aliens.
• Season 2 of 3 Body Problem anticipated as creators tease further development of fighting strategies.

It took a long time, but 3 Body Problem is finally here. The first season of the new series created by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo starts adapting Liu Cixin‘s Remembrance of Earth’s Past sci-fi novels, and its eight episodes fly by in a wink. There’s a lot going on, starting with a group of friends getting caught up in the investigation around serial suicides in the scientific community and ending with them taking key roles in humanity’s defense against a full-scale alien invasion that will happen 400 years from the present. The plot is dense and there are many twists, so let’s all make sure we’re on the same page, shall we?

The San-Ti Are Coming, But, We Have 400 Years

At the end of Episode 5, “Judgment Day,” the San-Ti reveal themselves to the world with their “eye in the sky” stunt and “you’re bugs” transmission thanks to their sophons, which are 11-dimensional supercomputers that are folded to the size of a proton and can see and hear everything everywhere. They also reveal their plan of discrediting science and causing it to stagnate. The idea is that humanity won’t be able to create defenses against them when their fleet finally arrives – in 400 years.

Nevertheless, Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham) intends on putting up a fight. To avoid the chaos of London, he moves his base of operations to Wychwood Manor in the countryside and starts recruiting the best and brightest minds in science to start putting things in motion. Of course, Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) is the first scientist he approaches, as she believes in fighting back against the San-Ti after her experiences with Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao). Getting scientists to think outside the box proves difficult, but Jin gets onboard and starts developing Project Staircase, which consists of setting up a series of nuclear blasts in space to push a probe containing an actual human brain to serve as a possible reconnaissance tool.

There’s no way of knowing what the San-Ti will do to the brain, but it’s worth the shot, and Jin knows the perfect candidate — her sweetheart Will Downing (Alex Sharp), who’s dying of cancer, is a physicist by trade, and loves her deeply, to the point of buying her a star. Will spends his last days with their friend Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo), and, when the time comes, the launch is a success… Until it isn’t. One of the cables connecting the probe to its solar sail breaks, and the vessel veers drastically off course. By all accounts, Project Staircase has failed… for now.

But there are many other things among Wade’s plans. Cryogenic hibernation is one of the most important, for example. Research on this technology has advanced a lot since the San-Ti came out, and is now ready to be used. With it, Wade plans to hibernate and wake up only for a week every year to make sure every plan is going the right way. Jin is outraged, but Wade is adamant about his decision. Also, this technology will be available for members of other projects who may eventually require it.

Saul Becomes a Wallfacer and Rejects It, but His Rejection Is Rejected

Jin is not the only one of the remaining Oxford Five who has had her life turned upside down. Augustina “Auggie” Salazar (Eiza González) tried to join her in working for Wade and even designed the solar sail in Project Staircase using her miraculous nanofiber, but, after the events that took place in the Panama Canal, she couldn’t continue, and went back to Mexico to use it to improve the lives of small communities. And Saul has a criptic meeting with Ye Wenjie at the grave of her daughter and his former mentor, Vera Ye (Vedette Lim). There, she tells him a strange joke about Einstein being chastised in Heaven for attempting to play music with God, and, after that, Saul’s life also turns upside down.

Until then, Saul had mostly been supporting Jin, Auggie, and Will in their ordeals, but after he meets with Ye Wenjie, he is nearly killed in a freak accident, and, afterward, is escorted by Clarence Shi (Benedict Wong) to a UN General Assembly meeting in New York. There, Project Wallfacer is announced to the world, with two highly skilled people being nominated as Wallfacers along with Saul. As a Wallfacer, he is tasked with thinking of a secret plan to defeat the San-Ti, but can’t share it with anyone. He must keep the plan in his mind until the moment comes to put it in motion, as the human mind is the only thing the sophons can’t access. Saul doesn’t understand why he’s been made a Wallfacer, and neither does Secretary-General Lilian Joseph (CCH Pounder), who only explains that the San-Ti think he is special, which is why he was chosen.

In reality, the San-Ti are actively trying to kill him because of his conversation with Ye Wenjie, which holds the key to beating them, but Saul must figure this out on his own. If that is the case, then he is one of humanity’s best hopes. He initially refuses to become a Wallfacer and finds no resistance whatsoever. Everyone simply complies and continues as if nothing had changed. Angry, he storms off the UN headquarters only to get shot by a sniper. Were it not for the bullet-proof suit Shi gave him, he’d be dead. In the hospital, Saul asks to meet the person who shot him and is flummoxed to find it was someone working for the San-Ti. Frustrated, he decides to go to Cape Canaveral and witness the launch of Project Staircase with Jin. From that point on, no one will ever believe anything he says, as they will always think what he says and does is part of a miraculous plan to save humanity.

Will There Be a Second Season of ‘3 Body Problem?’

After Project Staircase fails, Jin and Saul are left feeling adrift due to the weight of their responsibilities, depressingly reminiscing about it at the hotel swimming pool. Clarence then decides to take them for a drive to an Everglades swamp filled with bugs. He then talks about how humanity has done everything to get rid of them, but they always come back and aren’t going anywhere. If the San-Ti think humans are bugs, then they are in for a surprise, too. Up in the air, Thomas Wade has an unfortunate meeting with the sophons’ avatar (Sea Shimooka), who promises they will win.

Thus, the first season of 3 Body Problem ends on a cliffhanger after setting the stage for further development of all humanity’s plans to fight back the San-Ti. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed for a Season 2, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo are already working on Season 2. In a THR interview, they have spoken about how it will be “even better” than Season 1 and are only waiting for Netflix to greenlight it. Recently, it has taken shows with large audience numbers and feedback to ensure second seasons, like Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Sandman. Hopefully, a Season 2 is on its way — let’s just hope it doesn’t take 400 years.

3 Body Problem is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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