The central mystery in Three Body Problem is built upon rapidly and without too much in the way of stalling. We learn about the Chinese's secret project to communicate with aliens in the 1960s, and, in the present, a countdown timer that appears in the vision of certain scientists, an extremely immersive virtual reality game, and a blinking sky that is presumably aliens sending a message in Morse code. The mysteries all feel understandable without having to understand too much scientific jargon and are conveyed with an alarming bluntness. The quickness in which the mystery unfolds makes the audience feel like there is no time to grapple with the implications. The audience feels like they already have to play catch up which reflects what everyone on Earth feels in the show.
The characters, however, are all not too compelling so far. Most of the characters all have a similar sarcastic jerk quality without much nuance. It also doesn't help that the acting is mostly fairly mediocre- most of the actors aren't that expressive with their faces or their delivery. To be fair, the characters don't get much to do in the episode except rag on each other and stare fearfully in to the middle distance. The script also feels like it is trying to be overly clever and so much of the dialogue feels unnatural. The actors may be struggling with that.
The only two characters that had any personality were Jack Rooney (played by Game of Thrones alumni John Bradley) and young Ye Wenjie (played by Zine Tseng). Jack, at least, is distinct in that he is a massive tool, even by comparison to the already pretty grouchy group of main scientist characters. Ye Wenjie stands out by being unusually resilient, willful, and introverted. Both of their performances, particularly Tseng's, stand out.
The characters, however, are all not too compelling so far. Most of the characters all have a similar sarcastic jerk quality without much nuance. It also doesn't help that the acting is mostly fairly mediocre- most of the actors aren't that expressive with their faces or their delivery. To be fair, the characters don't get much to do in the episode except rag on each other and stare fearfully in to the middle distance. The script also feels like it is trying to be overly clever and so much of the dialogue feels unnatural. The actors may be struggling with that.
The only two characters that had any personality were Jack Rooney (played by Game of Thrones alumni John Bradley) and young Ye Wenjie (played by Zine Tseng). Jack, at least, is distinct in that he is a massive tool, even by comparison to the already pretty grouchy group of main scientist characters. Ye Wenjie stands out by being unusually resilient, willful, and introverted. Both of their performances, particularly Tseng's, stand out.