Spoilers are ahead for 3 Body Problem season 1.
Although the Oxford Five are introduced in the first episode of 3 Body Problem, the way many of their fates are tied to the looming San-Ti threat doesn’t become apparent until much later, especially where Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo) is concerned. Based on the Hugo Award–winning novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, the Netflix series opens with a young Ye Wenjie watching as her astrophysicist father is beaten to death during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Conscripted by the military due to her scientific prowess, Dr. Wenjie works on a remote military base on a top-secret project.
Ultimately, her decision to respond to contact from an alien group, the San-Ti, reshapes the future of the Earth — and humanity at large. In the present-day storyline, scientists are dying suddenly. Many, including Ye Wenjie’s daughter Vera (Vedette Lim), died by suicide. Vera’s research assistant, Saul, is part of the so-called Oxford Five. The group of science-minded former university peers also includes nanofibers expert Auggie Salazar (Eiza González), Dr. Jing Cheng (Jess Hong), professor Will Downing (Alex Sharp), and entrepreneur Jack Rooney (John Bradley). Together, they learn about humanity’s greatest threat: the San-Ti.
At the end of 3 Body Problem season 1, the series shows that Saul is one of the chosen Wallfacers. Enacted by the United Nations, the Wallfacer Project is a defensive measure that’s meant to thwart the Trisolaran invasion of Earth. Although that’s not going to happen for several hundred years, it’s still an incredibly urgent matter, because the would-be invaders have a technological leg-up on humanity. In fact, everything from the strange 3 Body Problem countdowns, which were fabricated by the San-Ti to stop Earth’s top minds from inventing new tech, to the strange VR headset are the extraterrestrial’s efforts to manipulate humanity’s scientific trajectory.
If the greatest inventors and scientists are removed from the equation, Earth’s tech will never rival that of the San-Ti. That said, the aliens attempt to kill only the most important humans, as many of the deaths in 3 Body Problem season 1 illustrate. The very fact that Saul is one of the San-Ti’s targets indicates that they see him as a threat. While Saul’s role in the first season may not be a massive one, it’s clear that he’s destined for something much bigger. This means it was wise to make Saul a Wallfacer.
Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is packed with incredible moments and the very idea of the Wallfacers sets up an even more exciting sophomore outing. Given a vast amount of resources, the chosen Wallfacers are allowed to enact their own defense plans, so long as they don’t share their plans with anyone else. As proven in season 1, the Sophons are capable of intercepting all forms of communication, which would likewise clue the San-Ti into whatever the humans are planning. A great strategist and planner, Saul’s expertise as a research assistant also makes him the right kind of scientific mind for the job.
From the very first scene he’s in, it’s clear that Saul thinks everything through from many different angles. Since part of the Wallfacers’ job is to intentionally mislead the San-Ti away from their plans, the thoughtful-to-a-fault Saul is a perfect Wallfacer. Not only is Saul a great thinker, but he also never played 3 Body Problem‘s VR game, which means the San-Ti have no ability to analyze his biometrics or thought patterns. Plus, Saul has proven that he doesn’t hold tight to any one train of thought; able to be swayed and alter his point of view, Saul’s openness makes him a crucial asset.
After the San-Ti kill the cult-like welcoming committee that Ye Wenjie had founded, she becomes incredibly disillusioned with the aliens in 3 Body Problem‘s present timeline. Remorseful over what she’s done to help them infiltrate humanity — and, one day, invade Earth — the scientist tries to leave some clues behind for Saul. Of course, in order to evade detection, Dr. Wenjie’s clues are subtle and cryptic. Notably, Ye Wenjie covertly plants the idea of the Fermi Paradox (and thus the Dark Forest) in Saul’s head by having the book with her while she speaks to him.
The Fermi Paradox hypothesizes that many silent and hostile alien civilizations exist in the universe, and they remain hidden for fear of being destroyed by another silent and hostile civilization. That said, it’s highly likely that aliens exist, but there’s a severe lack of conclusive evidence. Theoretically, humanity could stave off the San Ti by revealing more about them to another hostile, more powerful civilization. There’s always a bigger fish. Ye Wenjie subtly plants the notion in Saul’s head without saying a thing.
She also makes a joke about Einstein, a violin, and God, which also echoes this idea of the dark forest. Essentially, her message is a warning about playing god — something she knows all too well as Dr. Wenjie was the one to invite the San-Ti to Earth. The joke echoes the idea that if you make a noise in a dark forest, thus revealing yourself, a hunter will come. Trying to play God and manipulate things is dangerous, but, when it comes to Saul’s position as a Wallfacer, using the dark forest principle could wind up saving humanity.
There are plenty of questions 3 Body Problem season 2 needs to answer, but seeing how Saul’s role as a Wallfacer plays out will certainly be one of the show’s more interesting aspects. The eighth episode of season 1, which sees Detective Da Shi (Benedict Wong) bringing Saul and Jin to a marsh, holds some clues. In the marsh, cicadas are thriving, prompting Da Shi to explain that although people hate bugs and try to stamp them out, the resilient species has persisted. While the scene could just be a crucial metaphor, it’s highly possible that the cicadas and Dr. Wenjie’s cryptic dark forest message will inspire Saul as he carries on his Wallfacer duties in 3 Body Problem season 2.