The British series “Bodies” has been running on German Netflix since October 19th: What at first glance seems like a police thriller or historical crime thriller turns out to be a science fiction thriller in the first episode is well thought out and clever and zigzags the audience through the almost 6 hour plot with lots of twists and puzzles. A well-composed plot is just the thing for the Christmas season, says MeinMMO author Schuhmann – and you feel so clever while watching when you realize where the plot is leading.
This is how Bodies begins: The story undergoes some rapid changes in the first episode, giving the impression that you are watching 3 series at once:
At the beginning you accompany a Muslim policewoman through her working day in modern London. She monitors a right-wing demonstration, discovers a suspicious young man, engages in a heated chase with him and finally finds the body of a naked man in a side alley.
This is how a “normal” contemporary crime or thriller would begin, as one often sees in England: culturally charged, a diverse cast and an exciting beginning with a central, unsolvable mystery: Why is there a naked man lying there, to whom there are no clues gives? Why can’t you find a ball?
This is exactly how series from the island begin.
Bodies – Official trailer for the Netflix series
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“Know you are loved”
This is how Bodies surprises: But now “Bodies” takes a wild turn and sends the viewer to London in 1943: The Nazis are bombing the capital and a Jewish cop is sent by a mysterious voice into the very alley where the body of a naked man lies and he disappears should let. In every scene you can feel the mistrust and dislike that the Jewish cop faces.
But we don’t stay in this time frame for long either. A short time later we are in historic London 1890. Again we accompany a police officer and he leads us into the alley to this corpse.
The police are investigating and everyone is watching with excitement. You quickly get the feeling that you can see parallels:
For example, the whispered “Know you are loved” – which must be the sign of a secret society that is somehow connected to the murders. And isn’t that the same body that is found in that alley in London every time?
Now you’ve arrived at something like a historical mystery thriller. Puzzle together with the police officers what connections and parallels there could be between the present and the two historical time periods.
But just when you feel like you understand what the series is showing and how it’s going, there’s a final jump in time to the year 2053, in which a mysterious power has taken control of London and assures the population via large displays: ” Know you are loved.”
New Netflix series “Bodies” is reminiscent of Cloud Atlas
This is what makes the series so attractive: The individual time levels are interesting in themselves and show exciting conflicts. Each of the investigating police officers is an outsider in his time and carries some kind of stigma with him:
Bodies gives a great feeling when you understand what it’s actually about
But the real appeal comes when you realize how cleverly the plot is constructed and how individual characters play similar roles and pursue goals in each era.
As in Cloud Atlas, each part of the plot works on its own, but the big picture has its own charm. When you understand over the course of the plot how the individual characters and narrative threads are really connected to each other, it’s a very satisfying feeling to hear the penny drop.
Kyle Soller particularly shines as the buttoned-up police officer Alfred Hillinghead and Stephen Graham as a nebulous figure who plays the decisive role in all 4 time periods.
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