Time travelling sci-fi murder mysteries are not only a real effort to say in one sentence, but rarely measure up to the expectations of others when so many genres are packed into one show. Bodies is a rare exception that bucks the trend, makes a mockery of conventions and does away with any assumption audiences might have after an hour-long opener bounds between timelines and introduces investigating officers DC Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor), DS Karl Whiteman (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), DI Edmund Hillinghead (Kyle Soller), and DC Iris Maplewood (Shira Haas). Intrigued by a murder on Long Harvest Lane in London that poses too many questions, offers no easy answers, and threatens more than the lives of these four, Bodies is a murder mystery that is guaranteed to blindside the unprepared.
What becomes apparent in that opening episode is how effective creator Paul Tomalin proves to be at setting up his story. A naked body in an isolated location, a fatal gunshot wound through the eye with no sign of an assailant and limited forensic evidence on the scene when each officer arrives irrespective of timeline. However, that body is only the first piece of a puzzle that unpacks itself gradually like a poker player sizing up his opponent. Personal relationships in this Netflix thriller are rarely plain sailing as audiences seesaw between time periods racking up an awkward marriage, a philandering detective with one crisis of conscience too many, not to mention a futuristic detective inspector with more than augmentation up her sleeve.
As the timelines overlap in frame and elsewhere, Bodies becomes a time travelling tongue twister of merging plotlines and generational twists that will keep audiences intrigued if not entirely engrossed. Highlights above and beyond the always excellent Stephen Graham in this ensemble include Kyle Soller, who navigates his way through a delicate performance as DI Hillinghead, that sits in perfect opposition to Fortune-Lloyd’s efforts as the smooth-talking DS Whiteman who undergoes a moral transformation all his own. Elsewhere, Gabriel Howell deserves a mention for doing so much with so little screen time as Elias, yet still managing to prove pivotal on a multitude of levels.
For audiences who like to put the work in for their entertainment Bodies is worth every minute of investment, once they get through that uphill opener and really start connecting with a show that fights against every assumption people might have going in. Not only delivering one of the best thrillers to hit Netflix in some time, but the best thriller to hit any streaming platform full stop.
Bodies is available to stream on Netflix now.
