Some inevitable spoilers for earlier episodes.

Jin is recruited to infiltrate the followers of the San-Ti, following Jack’s death

It was all going so well…

I’ve been admiring the craftsmanship of 3 Body Problem up until now, but in Episode 4 – Our Lord – the cracks start to show, as it buckles under the more evident absurdities of the story, and in the following episode – Judgement Day – it jumps the pan-dimensional shark altogether and becomes, at times, laughably ridiculous.

Ep 4 starts confidently enough, so much so that we are introduced to a fourth timeline in the 1980s, where we encounter the developing relationship between Ye Wenjie and millionaire Mike Evans.

Back in the present, Jack is dead, after rejecting the invitation to get involved with the whole alien invasion thing, but Jin (Jess Hong) is persuaded to play along so that Wade (Liam Cunningham) and his investigator (Benedict Wong) can get intel on the activities of the elite group of San-Ti followers.

Let’s just say, it doesn’t end well and Jin and Auggie (Eliza González) are forced to go into hiding.

Unfortunately, Mike Evans (now old enough to be played by Jonathan Pryce) is running a cult-like commune on a converted oil tanker and reading fairy stories to the aliens via a Bakelite radio…

See what I mean?

And then Episode 5 lets go of the side altogether leading to one of the most bonkers sequences I’ve seen in a good few years, giving the phrase ‘slice of life’ drama a whole new meaning. Aside from the pointless absurdity of the premise, sadly, given the high standard of the VFX so far, the CGI takes on an embarrassingly artificial quality adding to the unintentional hilarity. For the first time in the series, characterisation gets lost, leaving the technical shortcomings horribly exposed, exacerbated by having two of the weaker cast members at the centre of the action.

The final act manages to regain its composure to a small degree, although we now seem to have entered a head banging mash-up of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mars Attacks, Battlefield Earth, Inception to name but four of the somewhat ill-matched ingredients.

Verdict: Having said all of that, it is still a hugely enjoyable watch, and I am greatly looking forward to what comes next. More shark hurdling, or will the show manage to plant its feet back on more solid narrative ground? 6/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com