EntertainmentTVSci-Fi Shows3 Body Problem3 Body Problem ending explained: Your biggest questions about the Netflix sci-fi show answeredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentTVSci-Fi Shows3 Body Problem3 Body Problem ending explained: Your biggest questions about the Netflix sci-fi show answeredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Netflix)
Netflix’s latest series3 Body Problemhas arrived on the streamer, and the sci-fi adaptation has given us a lot to contend with. From theoretical physics to nanofibers to alien civilizations, there’s a lot to wrap your head around in the show, which hails from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and The Terror season 2 showrunner Alexander Woo.
Based on Liu Cixin’s novel, the show takes us from present-day Oxford to ’60s China (via a turbulent VR universe), as a group of scientists try to make sense of a world that seems to be slowly coming apart at the seams. You’d be forgiven for still having some question marks in your head once the final credits started to roll, but that’s where we come in.
We’ve got everything you need to know about the 3 Body Problem ending, answering all your biggest questions about sophons, Wallfacers, and more. Be warned, though: as you might expect, there aremajor 3 Body Problem spoilersahead, so proceed with caution if you haven’t finished the show yet and don’t want to know what happens!
3 Body Problem ending explained
(Image credit: Netflix)
This is where the Wallfacer project launched. The Wallfacers are a group of people chosen to make plans entirely in their heads in order to keep defense strategies secret from the San-Ti aliens. Saul is chosen as a third Wallfacer, much to his surprise, along with a Chinese general and a Kurdish war hero. Saul, in denial, tries to quit, but is shot at as soon as he leaves the UN building.
Back in the UK, we see that Tatiana’s (Marlo Kelly) home has been broken into and she’s been gifted a VR helmet. The package is left for her with a note with the San-Ti motto: ‘If one of us survives, we all survive.’
Meanwhile, the Staircase Program is about to kick off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, with Wade (Liam Cunningham), Jin (Jess Hong), and a group of other scientists assembling for the launch of the reconnaissance probe – with Will’s (Alex Sharp) brain inside. It’s incredibly tense, but the first few explosions needed to launch the probe into lightspeed to reach the San-Ti go off without a hitch. That is, until one of the strings on the probe’s parachute breaks, and the capsule veers off course. Jin and the rest of the team are crushed: their mission has failed.
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We haven’t seen Auggie (Eiza González) for a while, and that’s because she’s in Mexico, trying to forget what happened at the Panama Canal in episode 5. Instead, she’s trying to use her inventions for good, and she’s employing her nanofiber technology to filter water in a rural village suffering from a dysentery epidemic.
Who are the San-Ti? When are they arriving on Earth?
(Image credit: Netflix)
What are sophons?
(Image credit: Netflix)
What happened to Ye Wenjie?
(Image credit: Netflix)
What happened to Will? Was the Staircase Program successful?
(Image credit: Netflix)
In episode 2, Will is diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer and given two to six months to live. In episode 5, Wade pitches Operation Staircase, which will involve sending a reconnaissance probe to intercept the San-Ti on their journey to Earth.
Will undergoes a procedure to remove his brain from his body, which is then frozen and put into the craft. Wade, Jin, and other scientists travel to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the launch, and the first few explosions are successful. That is, until one of the parachute strings breaks and the capsule veers off its course. That means Will’s brain is left to float in space indefinitely.
Who are the Wallfacers? Why was Saul chosen to join them?
(Image credit: Netflix)
Saul is chosen to be a Wallfacer, along with a Chinese general and a Kurdish war hero. The trio will have the world’s resources at their hands and won’t be questioned on how they use them, as long as it doesn’t violate international law. No one is able to tell Saul why he was selected, even the UN General Secretary – just that the San-Ti think he’s important. And just why they think that is a question we’ll have to wait until season 2 to answer.
All episodes of 3 Body Problem are streaming now on Netflix. For more on the show, check out our guide towhat could happen in a potential season 2 based on the books.
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