Bodies review: The crime challenge audiences need

When it comes to the genre of crime, viewers have experienced it all. Happily plodding along dramas like NCIS still exist, while more exciting whodunits such as Poker Face and Luther have been and gone. Bodies, coming to Netflix, is a mystery like no other.

In a world where everything frequently feels like too much to bear, an effective way to deal with things is to take on something bigger than you can handle. Bodies is the fictional equivalent of this thinking, bursting from the confines of what the genre of crime is able to be. Based on the graphic novel by Si Spencer, the show evolves beyond a by-the-numbers mystery to incorporate a heavy slice of dystopia, thriller, and period drama. All in all, it’s a total head scramble.

Just like scratching an itch, all this head scrambling can only make viewers want for more. Never quite getting to the bottom of things until the last minute, the series is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. A Russian doll of questions and delayed answers playing out on screen, there’s enough content packed into Bodies to make anyone forget what’s happening outside of each episode.

That being said, there are multiple instances throughout the series where the action noticeably lags. While viewers are desperate to briskly move toward the next big bombshell, our 4 detectives falling over themselves to discover the undiscoverable can result in more meandering than necessary. However, it’s worth bearing with for the ultimate cryptic ride.

Mind-bending timelines make for satisfying viewing

Unlike a straight-laced episode of Law & Order, Bodies has 4 timelines simultaneously on the go. DI Hillinghead (Kyle Soller) is across the action in 1890, DCI Whiteman (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) in 1941, DS Hasan (Amaka Okafor) in 2023, and DC Maplewood (Shira Haas) in 2053. Each of them is working toward the same goal of figuring out who killed the same unidentified body found on a backstreet in East London. As this is a dystopian drama, the answers connected all 4 coppers across their separate timelines, converging into one big glorious mess.

That glorious mess comes stacked with an immense amount of detail, with almost every episode revealing at least one explosive twist that completely changes the outlook of what might be happening. Do viewers actually know anything about what’s to come? Can they believe what they’ve already seen? The answer to both of these questions is probably no – but the overall ride is all the better for it.

As expected, it’s often difficult to keep track of dramatic climaxes as they unfold. Viewers are possibly best off keeping the remote control close in order to rewind for timeline Easter eggs and missed connections. For a general public that is saturated with criminal content, Bodies is the first show in a long while that provides an actual challenge. Anyone who watches needs to meticulously keep up appearances, almost going as far as to preempt what might happen next. Of course, this isn’t something that Spencer or series creator Paul Tomalin will let happen, executing a complex narrative to near perfection.

Stephen Graham makes a cruelly calculating antagonist

At the center of it all lies Stephen Graham, who has shed his trademark Scouse accent in favor of something much more clinical. Whatever secrets lie at the heart of Bodies’ mystery he is the keeper of, being everywhere and nowhere all at once. Not only is he the beating drum of the operation, but his performance never drops the facade of mystery – which will hopefully allow him to be more rightly recognized on an international level.

Graham’s supporting cast of seemingly endless detectives are each cunning and charismatic in their own right, although it occasionally feels like DS Hasan’s present timeline of 2023 holds the most weight. This does beg the question of whether the story can be streamlined to play out within one timeline while merely referencing the others in order to avoid confusion down the line. Even so, this confusion is part of the cat-and-mouse game that viewers have knowingly signed up for, feeding on its own possibly endless cycle of intrigue.

While it’s easy to get wrapped up in the headiness of solving a crime, the moments that lag really show up. Episode 2 is a particularly mundane stroll from one plot point to the next, merely existing to allow all of the characters to cross the bridges to places they need to be for action to kick up a notch. From there on out, it’s pedal to the metal, with each detective in a race to a brutal finish line that holds no clear form.

Bodies review score: 4/5

The ultimate streamable puzzle, Bodies is a veritable thrill for anyone who can handle their fair share of mystery.

While the going sometimes slows down, it’s worth persevering with to get to the good stuff – just make sure there’s a notepad and pencil nearby.

Bodies is available to stream on Netflix from October 19. Check out some of our other Netflix hubs below:

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