Netflix Series “Bodies” review

Bodies started well. The mystery is compelling from the start, and the acting is top-notch. All of the characters are interesting, except for Maplewood who neither my wife or I liked from the beginning. Also, the period sets and costumes were fantastic. The scenes set in 1890 and 1941 were extremely well done.

After the first four episodes, we were hooked and excited to see how they would resolve things. But starting around the fifth episode, it started getting less and less entertaining. By the end, I found the mystery resolution to be annoying. My wife and I were trashing the ending as soon as the last episode was over. And then the more you think about it, the more holes you find.

The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.

As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

     

Read more about the RunPee app.

It’s a time travel story, so there are bound to be plot holes. But to me, it seemed as though the writers were only interested in creating dramatic scenes, regardless of the lack of logic behind them.

Based on the excellent beginning to the show and the overall stellar acting, I’ll give the show a C. But, if I graded the first and second half separately, it would be an A- for the first four episodes and a D- for the last four.

Spoilers Below

One thing that I found original is the concept that time travel makes copies, and time travel is symmetric, with copies sent forward a few days, years, and decades in both directions. That much is pretty interesting. But they leave a lot of loose ends. Maplewood travels through time, but we only see the 1890 version of her. What’s up with the other copies? The same goes for Hasan. She traveled through time, but we only saw her story from one time period.

The show ends with Maplewood and Hasan meeting in present-day 2023 as a cliffhanger for the next season. But Maplewood is driving a taxi, so I’d like to see how she pulled that off since she’s paralyzed and her device doesn’t travel through time.

Is there free will or not?

In the second episode, Gabriel Defoe makes a big deal out of saying that there’s no such thing as choice or free will. Everything is predetermined based on the experiences that lead to the present, and free will is an illusion. He’s the physicist and makes a compelling argument, so it feels like that’s going to be a big deal in how the plot ends. I expected something to happen that would indicate that there is free will and for Gabriel to recognize it so that someone could make a different choice, which would almost certainly be some sacrifice. But that never happened. Or if it did it wasn’t pointed out as evidence that there is free will. The whole topic is pretty much dropped after the second episode. Maybe the writers thought they were going somewhere with that but changed their minds.

Second Season?

As I mentioned, I liked a lot about the show other than how the story ended. I don’t plan on watching the next season if it gets one. But only if it gets some outstanding reviews on IMDb. The IMDb rating for the first season is a little surprising. The ratings go up as the season progresses. Entirely opposite of what I would have expected. So I can’t put too much faith in the ratings. But if the ratings fall in the 8+ range, then we’ll probably watch it. Otherwise, there are better things to do with time.

What people are saying
about the RunPee app.

dd33803, 07/05/2023

This is a great app. I wish more people would support it

This app provides info about movies, reviews, ratings from people who have seen it before and after viewing. It has links to info about the movies. It let’s you know when there will be a lull in the action and how long it will last. If you want to know what happens during that time, you can check the brief synopsis (you have to click a link, so no accidental spoilers). It has a timer you can set (silent) to alert you to a break. It also tells you whether there is anything extra during or after the credits. It’s really a wonderful app. I’ve subscribed for a couple of years to support the developers, but I noticed some of the links to provide feedback didn’t seem to work today. They also made it free, with voluntary donations to see the pee-times. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to do so, and subscribe if you like it. I really hope the app is supported so it can continue to be maintained!

Developers note: RunPee doesn’t make much money but it supports itself nicely. Donations are appreciated, but not required. We’ll add as many movies to the database as we can until there are no more movie theaters.

View all reviews: Apple App Store | Google Play Store

     

Dan Gardner

Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂

Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.