Remembrance of Earth’s Pastby Chinese writer Liu Cixin is widely considered a fundamental addition to thescience fictiongenre. Consisting of three books,The Three-Body Problem,The Dark Forest, andDeath’s End, Cixin’s book trilogy was an instant success in China and internationally. Netflix’s adaptation,3 Body Problem, uses the first book and parts ofThe Dark Forestto bring the story to screen. In doing so, the writers changed some parts of the book, most notably the removal of the protagonist, Wang Miao, and the addition of five entirely new characters original to the show: The Oxford Five.
Major Spoilers AHEAD
D.B Weiss and David Benioff ofGame of Thrones, as well as Alex Woo ofTrue Blood, are the driving force behind The Oxford Five (and, of course, the actors who play them). The characters who replace Wang Miao are a group of ex-science students called the Oxford Five. The group all attended Oxford University with Vera Ye as their mentor. Vera’s suicide brings them all together again and triggers the events that lead them to uncover the mystery of the San-Ti. The members of the Oxford Five include the following:
Game Rant recently spoke with all the actors behind The Oxford Five, except for Auggie’s actress Eiza González. Each had plenty to share about their ensemble, their own characters, and the characters portrayed by the actors.
The Role of the Oxford Five in 3 Body Problem
Replacing Wang Miao
Asthe Oxford Fivereplace Wang Miao, functions and characteristics of his character can be found split across the characters in the group. For example, Miao works as a nanotechnology professor and works in developing cutting-edge nanotech. This role is given to Auggie, who owns a company that develops nanotechnology. Auggie also becomes the victim of the dreaded countdown that has been plaguing scientists across the world, an issue that Miao deals with in the book.
The VR Game and the San-Ti
The other members of the Oxford Fivediscover the VR gamethat gives clues to the San-Ti world and their conundrum. Where Miao plays the game inThe Three-Body Problemand progresses through the levels, members of the Oxford Five work collaboratively to solve the game and discover the true purpose behind it. They go on to take steps to defend the Earth and humanity against the San-Ti using the Staircase Program, a plotline that’s only introduced inDeath’s End.When it comes to the Oxford Five, one thing Bradley had to say about Jack is how alike they are when it comes to backgrounds:
The thing that I think is the biggest parallel between me and Jack, and it’s something that David and Dan had in their minds when they wrote this character for me, is we’re both from backgrounds where you wouldn’t expect us to be in the world that we currently find ourselves. I think that we’re both from working-class backgrounds, where people from our backgrounds don’t really become actors in big shows or we don’t really becomescience prodigies that go to Oxford. There’s something about the attitude of overachieving in life, and going through the world not wanting to feel that you’re lesser than the people that you see.
3 Body Problem as an Ensemble Story
Drawing on Other Books
3 Body Problemalso brings in characters fromThe Three-Body Problem’s sequels,The Dark ForestandDeath’s End, with Jin Cheng closely resembling Cheng Xin fromDeath’s Endand Will Downing taking on the role of Yun Tianming. The collation of plotlines in3 Body Problemallows for an ensemble cast, and to bring them all together in a group of young scientists who are heavily affected by the halt on all scientific progress is one that makes sense. When discussing each other’s characters, Adepo loves Jin’s mindset, while Hong loves Saul’s “c’est la vie” attitude:
On the opposite side, I really love Saul’s c’est la vie approach to life…He could absolutely crumble and fall, but instead, he’s just like, “Okay, I guess this is happening now. I better just keep moving forward and attempt to deal with it.” It’s really admirable.
Sharp would describe Will Downing as a “quiet hero” and the essence of Will as,
When I read the script, I was just very moved by the simplicity and beauty of the character of Will. I think, in a way, we’re quite different. He has a level of acceptance: self-acceptance, acceptance of circumstances, and a beautiful level of perspective that comes with that, almost like a clarity that he gets to.
Characters and Themes
Netflix’s adaptation of3 Body Problememphasizes the collaborative nature of humans with its ensemble cast, far more than if it had a single protagonist uncovering a mystery. Adepo would emphasize how this ensemble also benefited from the Oxford Five actors:
All of us who play the Oxford Five, we all became friends and spent time together off-set. I think that just really flavored the interactions we had onscreen as well.
As the series is science fiction rather than mystery, seeing a group of people work collectively on a problem is more appropriate for both the genre and the themes of the story, rather than emphasizing the mystery of the VR game and the San-Ti. Although diehard fans of the book series may feel lost with this new group of characters, it’s clear how spreading the plot of Wang Maio creates for a livelier on-screen adaptation.
