Summary

  • Chekov's brain-boggling Staircase Project twist leaves Jin reeling as Wade whispers the unspeakable.
  • Wade's cryptic confession hints at deeper connections in the failed San-Ti encounter plot twist.
  • Wade's whisper adds fuel to the fire, leaving viewers on edge for 3 Body Problem season 2 revelations.

Netflix's 3 Body Problem season 1 culminates with the launch of the Staircase Project, prompting Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham) to whisper something to the leader of the initiative, Dr. Jin Cheng (Jess Hong). An adaptation of Liu Cixin's novel, 3 Body Problem spans multiple timelines, beginning with a harrowing moment set during China's Cultural Revolution. In the wake of her father's death, budding astrophysicist Dr. Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) is conscripted by the Chinese military to work on a top-secret project. After intercepting an alien transmission, Ye Wenjie decides to respond, essentially inviting the San-Ti (Trisolarans) to Earth.

A genius theoretical physicist, Dr. Jin Cheng... helms the Staircase Project.

In the present day thread, Dr. Ye Wenjie is a co-founder of a group of cultists who are eager to welcome the San-Ti. Although the extraterrestrials won't reach Earth for 400 years, the San-Ti are taking steps to prepare by thwarting humanity's scientific research efforts. After several leading scientists die, a group of college friends, dubbed the Oxford Five, are pulled into the effort to prevent the San-Ti invasion. A genius theoretical physicist, Dr. Jin Cheng learns more about the aliens from 3 Body Problem's mysterious VR game and headset, and, eventually, helms the Staircase Project.

3 Body Problem Stars Won't Reveal What Wade Whispered To Jin

The Exchange Remains Shrouded In Mystery

To intercept the San-Ti before they arrive on Earth, Jin comes up with the Staircase Project. By 3 Body Problem season 1's ending, the scientist wants to send a small vessel holding a human in cryogenic sleep hurtling through space. In order to achieve the faster-than-light speeds needed to reach the San-Ti fleet, Jin suggests using a thousand nuclear bombs as propulsion sources for a probe equipped with sails. However, it becomes clear that an entire human body will be too heavy, so Wade proposes sending a human brain, which the San-Ti can interface with.

Cunningham, who plays Wade, has refused to divulge the contents of his character's inaudible whisper.

In Wade's mind, Dr. Will Downing (Alex Sharp), a brilliant but terminally ill member of the Oxford Five, is the perfect candidate. Although Will signs his brain over to science, the interstellar probe's sail malfunctions during the launch. With the probe knocked off course, the Staircase Project is deemed a failure. As Jin watches her friend's brain hurtle into the abyss of space, Wade whispers something in her ear. Cunningham, who plays Wade, has refused to divulge the contents of his character's inaudible whisper due to the likelihood of 3 Body Problem season 2.

Rosalind Chao as Dr. Ye Wenjie looking serious in 3 Body Problem with a young Wenjie behind her
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"He sees what happened to that particular plan as a blip," Cunningham offered. "That battle may have been lost, but the war continues" (via TV Guide). In the same interview, Jess Hong revealed that Cunningham didn't actually say anything while filming the scene, and just moved his lips. The actor theorizes that whatever Wade said to Jin was a "trigger" for all of her feelings to "come out." For now, one of the biggest questions 3 Body Problem season 2 needs to answer revolves around the Chekov's gun that is Will's brain. Although the interstellar probe may not arrive at the San-Ti fleet, it could reach someone.

Did Wade Blame Jin For The Staircase Project Launch Failure?

Jin's Connection To Will Makes The Failed Launch Worse

Based on both Cunningham and Hong's quotes, it's unlikely that Wade blamed Jin or said something callous to her. Although he can be cold when needed, Wade understands just how crushing the probe's failure is for Jin. Not only did she miss saying goodbye to Will before his brain was harvested, but Jin is forced to watch the last piece of him drift away in the vacuum of space. For someone who takes pride in her work, the 3 Body Problem's Staircase Project's failure is brutal on another level too. That said, it's unlikely Wade blamed Jin for the malfunction.

3 Body Problem season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Source: TV Guide