Introduction

Bodies is a British crime/science fiction limited series primarily written and created for Netflix by Paul Tomalin.

It is based on the 2015 DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name, written by Si Spencer and illustrated by Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Meghan Hetrick and Phil Winslade.

Also known as Project VI (working title, UK).

Outline

• Maplewood carves a message into the wall, and is locked up at Hillinghead’s station. When he is imprisoned next to her, she tells him the truth about Harker and that he will be killed. When confronted by Harker, Hillinghead tells him he knows he is really Elias Mannix and that he will die alone and unloved. Harker leaves shaken but still has Hillinghead killed. In this new timeline, Harker becomes cold and distant. Polly develops anxiety about their deteriorating relationship and discovers the body of Defoe. Harker admits to having her father killed and tells her that she has no choice and is bound by the time loop to give birth to the child that will be the grandfather of Harker/Elias. Rather than becoming a willing participant in the cult, Polly becomes bitter and grows to despise her husband, with their relationship being devoid of love and affection.
• In 1941, a regretful Harker makes a secret last recording, where he tells younger Elias all the previous recordings were lies, and voices regrets for all the lies as he did not end up finding the love that he so desperately sought. After Whiteman kills Polly, Harker convinces him to get the recording to Hasan, before he is also killed. Hayden Harker survives in this loop and leads a manhunt for Whiteman. Whiteman carves his name into the Longharvest Lane wall and hides the recording in a framed picture of his unit hanging in the local pub. He is then shot dead by Hayden’s officers.
• Hasan discovers Maplewood’s carving in the wall in 2053, which directs her to the pub. She uses the Throat to travel back to 2023 and find the recording left by Whiteman. She then visits Sarah Mannix and calls her younger self, informing her of the bomb’s second trigger. Older Hasan then plays Harker’s new recording for Elias to hear. In response, he tears up the trigger number and doesn’t detonate the bomb. Sarah embraces Elias, who disappears from existence along with older Hasan. As a result, Defoe’s body never shows up in 1890, 1941, or 2023, so the history rewrites and the events from that point onward leading to the catastrophes experienced by Hillinghead, Whiteman, and Hasan never taking place.
• In the closing scene in alternative 2023, Hasan takes a black cab to her father’s birthday after her uneventful shift covering a far right rally, commenting on her uneasy feelings about the future social tensions. The driver is revealed to be Maplewood, who indicates she knows Hasan. In the final seconds, the letters KYAL appear on the side of a skyscraper in the City of London skyline.

Bodies Series

You can find a full index and overview of Bodies here.

Production & Filming Details

• Release Date: 19 October 2023 (internet).
• Running Time: 60 minutes.
• Rating: 15.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)