3 Body Problem Season 2 Must Fix One Key Problem Using Its $160 Million Budget

Summary Season 2 of 3 Body Problem needs to address its poor CGI despite a high budget to maintain its world-building and suspense.

CGI challenges are expected due to the show's unique visuals and complex narrative scale, putting pressure on VFX artists for improvement.

Fixing CGI in season 2 will be crucial for 3 Body Problem's success as it faces higher stakes and the need to save humanity.

3 Body Problem had an impressive budget to work with, but season 2 of the Netflix show must clean up one area using that money. Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones) in collaboration with Alexander Woo, this Netflix series is an adaptation of Liu Cixin’s acclaimed trilogy, Remembrance of Earth's Past. The 8-episode first season predominantly draws from the first book, The Three-Body Problem. Netflix's adaptation opens with a gripping sequence during China's Cultural Revolution that sows the seeds for the catastrophe that follows. 3 Body Problem opened to stellar reviews praising its world-building, ambition, and high stakes.

Most of the show's action happens in contemporary England, where Detective Da Shi (Benedict Wong) is assigned to investigate a string of scientist suicides. The technologically advanced aliens, known as the San-Ti, are en route to Earth, set to arrive in 400 years. 3 Body Problem season 1 ends with a cliffhanger, where the potential fate of humanity is hanging by a thread. However, despite its compelling characters and suspenseful screenplay, 3 Body Problem had one fundamental flaw that was deeply disappointing. Hopefully, the much-anticipated 3 Body Problem season 2 will address it with its high budget and production value.

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3 Body Problem's CGI Is Inconsistent, Despite Its Huge Budget

Certain Wonky Visuals Compromise The Show's Imagination

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Even though 3 Body Problem cost Netflix $160 million, its CGI is inconsistent. Not all of it is bad, but with $20 million per episode, one would expect its visuals to be more arresting, especially since the show's biggest strength is its ambition. In one crucial scene in the first episode, for instance, Auggie brings Saul with her outside to observe the sky at midnight. As the clocktower bells ring the midnight hour, the entire sky, full of stars, begins to flicker, a visual that is meant to be shocking and extremely intriguing.

Narratively, this visual symbolizes that the horror is real, and the situation is really that dangerous: the extinction of the human race. Thomas Wade and Da Shi also watch this happen from a rooftop in London, noting that it is the enemy aiming to communicate something. However, the poor CGI in parts of 3 Body Problem is distracting from the otherwise jaw-dropping idea on paper. Other 3 Body Problem moments, like the chimpanzee scene and the mind-bending Sophon creation, which should have left the audience awe-struck, end up reducing their impact due to wonky visuals that compromised the show's imagination.

3 Body Problem's CGI Was Always Going To Be A Huge Challenge

It Has Several Sci-Fi Visuals To Construct

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CGI was bound to be a problem for a show like 3 Body Problem and its focus on creating impressive moments. The story is so unique that it entails immense world-building, not only to be explained in the screenplay but also to be realized visually. The fact that it's helmed by Game of Thrones creators naturally invites comparisons to the HBO series, especially in terms of its visuals. 3 Body Problem has several sci-fi elements to construct in space, along with an immersive virtual reality video game with its own world.

This narrative scale is extremely difficult to depict visually, posing a major challenge for CGI and VFX artists. Often, a show's budget tends to go to locations, actor fees, and other production aspects, rather than CGI and post-production. On TV, especially, VFX artists face several unique obstacles. For starters, they are historically overworked and understaffed. Moreover, VFX artists usually have to deliver the final product under crunch time and mounting pressure from producers seeking to meet a certain release date. With 3 Body Problem's complex world-building, these challenges were likely magnified.

Related Every Death In 3 Body Problem Explained Netflix's adaptation of 3 Body Problem depicts several major character deaths, all of which feed into the larger story of Liu Cixin's sci-fi epic.

3 Body Problem Season 2 Fixing Its CGI Will Be Very Important

The Stakes Will Be Even Higher

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If Liu Cixin’s subsequent novels serve as any guide, 3 Body Problem faces significant challenges in future adaptations.

Solving this CGI problem will be crucial for the next installment, considering 3 Body Problem season 2 will see Saul Durand as a Wallfacer seeking to thwart the San-Ti's arrival on Earth in 400 years. With the countdown closing in, the looming threat will undeniably be greater, heightening the need to save humanity from the hostile aliens. If Liu Cixin’s subsequent novels serve as any guide, 3 Body Problem faces significant challenges in future adaptations. The second and third installments, The Dark Forest and Death’s End, expand upon the existing premise, heightening the tension as the San-Ti invasion approaches.

The show's creators have suggested that 3 Body Problem season 2 will have the show's Red Wedding moment, a shocking revelation that dramatically escalates the conflict. With the first season generating so much buzz and becoming a hit, pressure is mounting on the creators to deliver a spectacle to match the hype. Netflix is yet to confirm whether it will make a $640 million gamble on 3 Body Problem season 2. If they do, one can only hope they allocate more resources to the CGI and get their visuals right.