3 Body Problem Season 2 At Netflix Means Fans Need To Know What To Expect From The Novels

The Netflix series 3 Body Problem came to life in March 2024 with mind-blowing concepts involving physics and high-production, expensive effects to give us the full visual experience. As we prepare for 3 Body Problem Season 2, let’s revisit the story. First, we meet Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who watches as her father is beaten to death by the military during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. As a result, she decides to respond to correspondence from alien lifeforms from another planet. 

3 Body Problem Season 2 will still be dealing with the outcomes of Ye’s decision. You see, in physics, the three-body problem is one that deals with the unpredictability of three or more orbiting bodies, like the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. Because of gravity’s pull on each of the bodies, it can be difficult to predict how those bodies will move and interact over time.

In Season 1 of 3 Body Problem, we learn that this alien planet, Trisolaris, is dying as a result of the three-body problems. The planet is either burning or freezing because it has three suns forcing it into chaotic eras. 

What many people don’t realize is that 3 Body Problem Season 2 will be using material from all three books. In the first season, we bounce between Ye in the 1960s and the present day, when her grown daughter, also a scientist, commits suicide. In the present day, humans discover that the Trisolarans are coming to colonize Earth, and humans must prepare.

The writers of the series, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, have read ahead and have had to make decisions for the show that help viewers understand such complex issues as orbiting bodies, brain probes, and “Wallfacers.” 

3 Body Problem Season 2 will have to tell us what happens with Saul Durand now that he has been named a Wallfacer. In the second book, he abuses his powers by demanding a fantasy woman who becomes his wife and his own home. Furthermore, his wife puts herself and their child into hibernation. Later, a small Trisolaran probe enters Earth’s solar system and destroys an entire fleet almost instantly.

In the third book, the Trisolarans and humans enter a deterrence, an attempt at peace, only to have it disrupted years later by the Trisolarans. Battles ensue and more hibernations take place, allowing for the same characters to leap forward hundreds of years. And that’s just a peek at some of the insanity we might expect from 3 Body Problem Season 2. It can only get more complicated as the Trisolarans head to Earth and continue to interact with sympathizers and combatants here in the meantime. 

Liu Chin wrote his sci-fi trilogy using real physics issues to reveal the best and worst sides of humanity to his readers. He won the Hugo Award for Best Novel as a result. While there are some differences between the novels and 3 Body Problem, they are largely differences that work. They were necessary to make a show out of such complex material.

We’re likely years away from 3 Body Problem Season 2, so it would make sense for fans and interested parties alike to go ahead and invest the time in reading the books for clues as to what will come next. Then, watch, or rewatch, Season 1. That way, you can play catch-up and know what to expect in the next episodes to be released.