What is the connection between a series of inexplicable and seemingly impossible phenomena beginning to occur across the globe and a single decision made in rural China in the 1970s? 3 Body Problem’s series premiere, “Countdown,” was written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo and directed by Derek Tsang.
Content warning: please note that this series (and, by extension, this recap) includes a discussion of suicide. You can reach the Suicide Prevention Lifeline by phone at 800-273-TALK (8255).
“Countdown”
An unruly crowd gathers at Tsinghua University in Beijing in 1966. Before them, on a makeshift stage, professors are brought out by uniformed Red Guard soldiers and subjected to the crowd’s judgment. The Red Guard brings out Ye Zhentai, a professor of physics. His daughter, Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng), despondently watches from the crowd.
Ye Zhentai is questioned about whether or not he taught the theory of relativity. He confirms he did. Members of the Red Guard declare relativity is “fake news,” citing Einstein’s assistance to the Americans with the development of the atomic bomb. Ye Zhentai’s wife, Shao Lin, is brought to the stage. She denounces Ye Zhentai’s teachings, stating that she wishes to stand on the side of the people.
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Ye Zhentai is told to bow his head. When he hesitates, a Red Guard hits him with a belt. Shao Lin accuses Ye Zhentai of teaching the Big Bang. Ye Zhentain maintains that this is the most plausible origin of the universe. Shao Lin states that the theory leaves space for god and must be illegitimate.
The crowd chants “Down with Ye Zhentai” and “Down with academic authorities.” The music grows increasingly ominous. Four of the Red Guards on stage begin to beat Ye Zhentai with belts. Ye Zhentai cries out. Eventually, the beating results in his death. The Red Guards stop their beating. The crowd grows quiet, and the music subsides. In the crowd, Ye Wenjie collapses. After the crowd disperses, Ye Wenjie crouches beside her father’s corpse on the stage. She places his pipe in his hand. She is approached by several Red Guards, who address her by name.
I Still See It
London, 2024. A police car joins multiple other emergency vehicles at a crime scene in a suburban neighborhood. Da Shi (Benedict Wong) has arrived on the scene. As he enters the house’s living room, an associate informs Da Shi that Scotland Yard has been helpful for a change. Inside, the walls are covered in a series of numbers that form a countdown written in blood. The victim is Doctor Sadiq Mohammed, born in Karachi. He studied cosmology and theoretical physics at M.I.T. The associate states, “A strange suicide note.” Da Shi notes, “Another countdown.”
Mohammed was a favorite for the Nobel Prize in Physics. The countdown culminates in the legend, “I STILL SEE IT.” Mohammed had no history of mental illness nor any previous suicide attempts. Da Shi approaches the corpse, which holds a bloody knife in its hand. The late Mohammed used the knife to gouge out his own eyes.
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Meanwhile, at the Oxford University Particle Accelerator, Vera Ye approaches Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo). Saul says he’s there so late because he’s hopeful he’ll experience a revelation. He states that the results of their experiments suggest every physics theory of the last 60 years has been inaccurate.
Vera asks Saul if he believes in god. Saul asks if that’s what it’s come to but confirms that he does not. He says that while their results defy all known laws of physics, he does not believe it is an argument for god. Vera asks him what’s left. She leaves his office and enters a room with a fall into water. She throws herself in.
I Kissed a Girl
Elsewhere, Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Auggie Salazar (Eiza González) are drinking beers and shots at a karaoke bar. Auggie says their bar may have turned to sh*t. A man, Rufus, approaches and attempts to pick them up. He’s intimidated by both Auggie’s work (designing “self-assembling, synthetic polymer nanofibers”) and Jin’s (senior researcher at Imperial College’s Theoretical Physics group, studying the results of experiments from particle accelerators around the world). The man flees.
Jin tells Auggie that about a month ago, the world’s particle accelerators began generating nonsensical results. Before Jin and Auggie leave, Auggie notices the karaoke lyric screen flickering strangely.
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Outside, Jin shows Auggie the same particle accelerator results that baffled Saul in the previous scene. Auggie suggests a few possible explanations, like a defect in the programming or a problem with the hardware. Jin confirms that they’ve already looked into these possibilities. According to Jin, Saul says these results are impossible. Jin says the experiments reveal how the world works, but now they show Alice in Wonderland. Auggie receives a cell phone call from Saul. She states she attempted to invite him to join them at the bar multiple times, but he wouldn’t even text her back.
As Auggie looks at the phone, she sees the same visual disturbance she previously saw on the karaoke screen. Auggie sends the call to voicemail. Jin accuses them of being 14-year-olds.
Conspiracy Board
Next, Saul calls Jin. Auggie instructs her to take the call, and she does. After Jin excuses herself, Auggie stops Rufus as he exits the bar to smoke himself. Aggie asks Rufus if he can see the visual disturbance now appearing in thin air. He clearly cannot. The disturbance begins to resolve itself into a countdown. But that’s when Jin returns. She informs Auggie that Saul told her Vera killed herself.
Meanwhile, Da Shi crosses Vera off his “conspiracy board,” including Mohammed. He smokes a cigarette and examines another picture on the board: Saul. Also on the board are Jin, Auggie, Will Downing (Alex Sharp), and Jack Rooney (John Bradley). Rooney is noted to be an “Oxford dropout” and the owner of “Jack’s Snacks,” valued at £90 million.
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Will and Jack stand beside each other as they look in the mirror and prepare to attend Vera’s funeral. Jack asks if Will’s excited to see Jin. Will says he’s distracted by Vera’s death.
Outside the funeral, Jin is comforted by her boyfriend, Raj Varma (Saamer Usmani). Saul arrives. After introducing Raj, Jin fixes Saul’s tie for him. Meanwhile, Auggie is riding on a train. She is increasingly unsettled by the countdown, which now appears to her more frequently and clearly.
Vera’s Funeral
Inside the funeral, Jin tells an older Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) she’s sorry for her loss and assures her that they all loved her daughter very much.
Auggie arrives and is greeted by Saul, Jin and Raj. Auggie says there’s no apparent cause for the countdown. Jin asks if it’s still happening, and Auggie confirms it’s always happening. As the funeral rituals begin, Auggie continues to see the countdown.
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Outside the funeral, Da Shi takes photographs of the exiting attendees from his car across the seat. This includes an older white man in a hat (Mike Evans/Jonathan Pryce), who gets into an SUV with tinted windows and drives away. Da Shi follows the car to a field, where the man gets into a black helicopter labeled “Evans Energy.” The helicopter takes off and flies away as Da Shi watches.
At a restaurant, Saul, Auggie, Will, Jin and Jack — the Oxford Five — and also Raj gather to discuss Vera’s suicide. Saul relays the “do you believe in god” question. Saul reveals the accelerator had lost funding. The others agree this isn’t an apt motivation for suicide. Then, he says the academics will be coming to him and Auggie for loans in a few years. But Auggie is too distracted to keep up with the conversation.
Got a Light?
Auggie excuses herself for a cigarette. Outside, she’s approached by Tatiana (Marlo Kelly), who offers her a light. Auggie can still see the countdown. Tatiana tells Auggie it’s not easy being a person in “this f**ked world.” She asks Auggie how far the countdown has got.
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Tatiana now has Auggie’s attention. She tells Auggie she can stop the countdown by stopping her work. Once the lab has been shut down, the countdown will stop. She urges Auggie to go outside and look at the stars exactly at midnight.
Before leaving, Tatiana tells Auggie she shouldn’t let the countdown get to zero. Then, Tatiana walks away, leaving behind a cigarette package containing a “Toasty-o-Sters” cipher wheel. Her countdown reads, “01:15:35:27.”
Silent Spring
Inner Mongolia, China, 1967. Heavy deforestation is underway. Young Ye Wenjie is one of many individuals charged with cutting down the trees and preparing them to be hauled away. As she examines a stump, a man approaches and asks how old the tree was. Ye Wenjie tells him it was between 300 and 400 years old. The man says Ye Wenjie must have considered the consequences of this destruction. Ye Wenjie tells him she has nothing to say to the Great Production News.
The man, Bai Mulin, assures her he is not asking on behalf of the paper but only himself. An alarm sounds from the satellite dish atop a nearby mountain. Bai states that he has heard soldiers who work near the dish lose their hair and that the dish’s operation affects the weather. He takes out a book and passes it to Ye Wenjie: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.
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Bai tells her that the book explains how “people are poisoning the world.” Bai urges her to keep it if she wants to, but he warns her to keep it from everyone else. At night, Ye Wenjie reads the book.
She and Bai continue to spend time together. As the seasons change, they are shown holding hands. Ye Wenjie sneaks into Bai’s tent, and they have sex. Later, Ye Wenjie takes in piles of chopped wood. But then she discovers someone has taken her hidden copy of Silent Spring from beneath her bunk.
Teng Lihua
In the wake of the revelation of the book’s disappearance, Ye Wenjie is cornered by soldiers. They confront her about her copy of Silent Spring. The guards ask how she obtained an English language book, which they characterize as propaganda. Ye Wenjie lies and states that she does not recall. The soldiers load Ye Wenjie into a truck and take her away.
In prison, Ye Wenjie is approached by Teng Lihua of the Intermediate People’s Court. Teng starts off by playing “good cop.” She tells the guard to fetch coal for the frozen stove. Teng tells Ye Wenjie that thanks to her parentage, she is irredeemable. However, Teng says she doesn’t see it that way, citing Ye Wenjie’s accomplishments as a scholar. She offers Ye Wenjie the opportunity to be reinstated in the Construction Corps. All she needs to do is sign a paper and take a political re-education class.
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Ye Wenjie asks to read the paper. Teng says Ye Wenjie can trust her. Ye Wenjie takes the paper and begins to read it anyway. She says her father is dead. But Teng says others still work in the field, spreading dangerous ideas, and they lack evidence against them. Ye Wenjie says she never saw any of these people with her father. Teng assures her the information is accurate. Ye Wenjie’s mother has already signed.
Ye Wenjie states that she cannot sign and cannot testify. Teng warns her that she will be prosecuted by the Military Control Commission. Nevertheless, Ye Wenjie refuses to sign or testify. Teng gestures for the guard to take the papers away. Then, she dumps the bucket of water over Ye Wenjie’s head and leaves her shivering in the cell.
Red Coast Base
Eventually, Ye Wenjie awakens in a strange place. Soldiers surround her. She’s lying down in the back of a military truck. The truck’s destination is the large satellite dish: Red Coast Base. She’s greeted by Lei Zhicheng, Red Coast Base’s Political Commissar, and Yang Weining, the base’s Chief Engineer.
Yang asks Ye Wenjie if she’s the author of the paper “The Possible Existence of Phase Boundaries within the Solar Radiation Zone and Their Reflective Characteristics.” Ye Wenjie affirms that she is. Lei tells her they need her specific talents. However, if she agrees, she will never again be permitted to leave the base. Ye Wenjie agrees to the terms.
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In 2024, at “The Black Palace,” headquarters of the Strategic Intelligence Agency in London, Da Shi continues working on his conspiracy board. He receives a call from an unidentified voice. It’s Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham), the “charismatic leader of the world’s most elite intelligence operation.” Wade asks about the Oxford Five and Evans.
Da Shi states that Evans has been out of the public eye since taking over his father’s oil company 42 years earlier. Wade asks where he went after the funeral. Da Shi says his helicopter was lost over the Atlantic due to a technical failure with the satellite. Wade states that his satellites don’t fail. Next, he asks about “that shiny bicycle helmet” from Tehran. Da Shi states that whatever it is, they can’t get their hands on one.
3 Body Problem Game
Wade asks if the incident in Tehran is another suicide. Da Shi says Iranian officials haven’t been helpful. Wade notes that Scotland Yard, MI5 and OSCT have fired Da Shi. Da Shi says he’s got a knack for failing upwards.
Elsewhere, Ye Wenjie and Jin light candles together. Ye Wenjie tells Jin to take Vera’s bust of Einstein, sticking his tongue out and telling her that her late daughter would want her to have it. Jin expresses her confusion at Vera’s suicide.
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However, Ye Wenjie reveals Vera had been spending a lot of time playing a video game. Ye Wenjie picks up the same “shiny bicycle helmet” we saw a photo of in the previous scene. Jin asks if there’s more to the game, and Ye Wenjie says that’s it. She assents to Jin taking the helmet. Before leaving, Jin sees a picture of young Ye Wenjie when she was at Red Coast Base.
Red Coast Base II
In the past, Ye Wenjie begins her work at Red Coast Base. She takes in the equipment in the control room. Ye Wenjie asks if they’re testing missiles. She is led outside. After a countdown, a high-pitched sound indicates the satellite dish has been brought online. This causes flocks of birds to rise from the valley below and fly towards the dish. They fall down dead before the dish.
In 2024, Jin takes the helmet out of the box of Vera’s belongings. She puts it on and is immediately transported to a virtual world. She’s in a desert. “Level 1” appears in text and is spoken aloud. Jin realizes she is wearing historical clothing. As she watches, a sun rises behind the ziggurat. Sand begins to be blown in the wind, and the weather quickly grows dire. Under her feet, a dehydrated figure appears. The figure opens its eyes. This causes Jin to quickly remove her helmet in fear.
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Meanwhile, Da Shi tells his assistant they need one of those helmets. He further tells his assistant that “anything strange happening to scientists is relevant” and to keep him apprised of such things. Da Shi tells his assistant that Wade and, by extension, world governments decide what they research.
Blink
Elsewhere in London, Auggie and Saul are walking outside. Auggie recalls Tatiana’s words. She shows the decoder to Saul. She tells Saul he’s her control group. Then, she thanks Saul for being there. Saul says the decoder isn’t Morse Code. Auggie tells him to shut up, as there’s two minutes to midnight.
In the past, Ye Wenjie is called into a meeting at Red Coast Base. She learns not everyone there is on board with what’s being accomplished by the Red Coast project. Lei says Yang has convinced him that Ye Wenjie should be informed of the project’s true nature. In 2024, midnight arrives, and Auggie and Saul continue looking skyward.
Next, Ye Wenjie states the function of the dish does not comport with weaponry — its purpose is communication. In 2024, the stars begin winking like someone is flicking them on and off. Saul realizes the blinking is a code. He turns to the decoder. In the past, Ye Wenjie is told the dish is to communicate with “whomever” is out there.
In 2024, Wade and Da Shi see the flickering stars. Wade tells Da Shi their enemy caused this. Saul decodes the code and finds they are not letters but numbers. These match the countdown before Auggie’s eyes.
All eight episodes of 3 Body Problem are currently streaming on Netflix.
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