The universe winked at us! Man, I can’t get enough of this visual representation. Just imagine that you’re coming home one evening or on your way. The night sky isn’t too obscured by the city’s background light, so you can see many stars. Suddenly, everything starts blinking like a TV constantly turning on and off. I praise the creators’ creativity here because this visual event is just amazing and surpasses the book’s depiction, even though the same thing happens!
I always have to think about Saul, wondering if he is Lou Ji, as it fits with what happens later, especially in the conversation with Ye Wenjie as they mourn her daughter Vera.
Auggie is definitely Wang Miao. In the book, he is practically used to introduce the story, and he is also the person who sees the countdown. Again, the visual representation in the series surpasses that in the book.
But with all the comparisons, we can’t forget Da Shi, played by Benedict Wong. Interestingly, his character’s name was changed in IMDb; he was originally called Clarence Shi. I found him fascinating in the book, and it’s the same in the series, even though he is portrayed a bit more moderately in the series than in the book. Still, his traits from the book are recognizable.
In general, the series explains a lot, which the book, being hard science fiction, does less often. Although there are explanations for various names and terms at the end of each book, the characters don’t always explain everything in the book.
Please excuse all the comparisons with the book; I’m just fascinated by how some things were implemented. Sure, I could sit and complain about all the changes, but what would be the point? I prefer to enjoy the portrayal and explore the differences.
Jin Cheng now really experiences the game for the first time, and we also learn more about the Trisolarans. I understand that they had to cut some parts, and thus we don’t learn much about this civilization yet. In the books, this information is also spread out but with higher intensity. I hope more will be revealed later.
One thing I want to highlight is the music, which was excellently chosen and composed by Ramin Djawadi.
In the German dubbing, she has a great voice (yes, I have a strong affinity for voices and dubbing), and in the second episode, we meet her for the first time, Sophon! That’s her name in the series and on IMDb, but in the book, based on her description and role, she should be Tomoko. We’ll get to know her better later, but she is already a fascinating character.
Jack is actually a character that annoys me a bit. I can’t think of an equivalent in the book, and I don’t know why he is portrayed so drastically in the series. The question is if he is only there to give Will his money so he can buy the star for Jin Cheng, thus setting further events in motion.
This brings me back to the thought that Netflix might make a cut and not show everything from the books, but rather end at a certain point, though I wouldn’t know what the right place would be. I also wonder what from the books will be included because there are many main locations and also some side plots. Yes, the character development is super exciting, and I am looking forward to that, but what’s coming and how it will be portrayed is another level of excitement. Especially the events from the last book—there’s one thing I’m curious if they will include or not, because the way it’s depicted will be, in my opinion, a real challenge. I’ll reveal exactly what I mean at a later time.
What I find pleasant, and this aligns mostly with the book, is the location. Not in big America, but in England, which is just as fascinating and a nice change since it’s not so overdone.
I’m curious why some things were “toned down.” The fate of the Trisolaris civilization is much more devastating in the book than shown in the series. The planet they live on was torn apart many eras ago. The civilizations that have gone through it number over 900 in the book, but a bit less than 300 in the series. They could have amped up the drama here, just like the later event involving Will.
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