Bodies Series 1 Finale Recap

Bodies Series 1 Episode 8 Recap

Know You Are Loved – The episode opens in 2053, with Iris Maplewood (Shira Haas) lying naked on the ground. She feels frantically for her back piece which is missing. Crawling into the alcove at Longharvest Lane, she spots Detective Alfred Hillinghead’s (Kyle Soller) name and symbol etched into the wall. Chaos erupts outside as she remains hidden.

2053 Longharvest Lane – Gabriel Defoe (Tom Mothersdale) assures Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor) if it worked, they wouldn’t be there. Finding “Maplewood” etched into the wall inside the cave, they know Iris made it. She points out something strange about Hillinghead etching.

1890 – Alfred signs a Statement of Confession on September 16, 1940. He confesses to the Longharvest Lane murder. Alby (Edwin Thomas) alerts him of a female inmate with disabilities wanting to speak with him. Alfred continues to Chief Inspector Paxman’s (Nicholas Farrell) office to hand in his Statement of Confession. Without looking at the document, Paxman marks the murder case closed. Leaving the office, Alfred encounters Alby insisting he speak with Maplewood. Alfred says to tell her that he is a wanted man.

When Alfred returns home, Paxman informs Charlotte Hillinghead (Amy Manson) that he is a killer. Charlotte pleads with Alfred to not do it when Paxman gives her Alfred’s signed confession. Alfred is beaten and thrown into a cell. After asking if he confessed to the Longharvest Lane murder, she explains the details of the murder. She confesses to shooting the man before saying she and Julian Harker (Stephen Graham) are from the future. She claims Julian killed thousands of people in the future. Refusing to listen to her, he crawls over to a mat on the floor. She reminds him of his name and a symbol etched inside the alcove at Longharvest Lane. He claims it is a message. She adds for the future before holding up her wrist bearing the unique symbol. She claims to be investigating the same case in the future. She explains the purpose of her visit is to break Julian’s loop. She warns that Julian will marry Polly Hillinghead (Synnove Karlsen) and they will have a child together.

Iris assures Alfred if they stop Julian, there would be no murder on Longharvest Lane and Elias Mannix (Stephen Graham) would not exist. She claims to have joined the police force to belong while joined to hide. Ladbroke (Andrew Whipp) arrives to transfer him to a different location. Claiming he dies en route to Pentonville Prison, Iris says his death is labeled a suicide. Alfred gets in the transport vehicle with Ladbroke. A short time later, Julian joins them. Julian calls him a fool for not letting Henry Ashe (George Parker) go down for the murder. Alfred warns him that he would tell Polly who Julian really is if he could see her one more time. He refers to Julian as Elias Mannix. Shocked, Julian demands to know where he heard the name from. Alfred claims the spirits told him that Julian would die alone, weak, and afraid to change. Julian emerges from the vehicle. Ladbroke strangles Alfred.

Julian informs Polly of Alfred’s death. Ladbroke tells Julian to “know he is loved”. Speaking to a deceased Alfred, Julian claims to have found love with Polly. Later, Polly tells Julian that she is pregnant. He tells her that the baby will be a boy. He wakes up to find Polly in the room with the body in the cylinder. She asks if he saw Alfred on the night he died. She says Alfred confessed to killing the man in the cylinder. She threatens to leave him forever if he refuses to tell her the truth. He admits to killing Alfred before saying he is from the future. He stresses the need for it to be done to ensure he and their baby exist.

Polly gives birth to a boy. Doctor Kingsley (Joe Osborne) congratulates Julian. She refuses to have anything to do with the baby. Later, she walks past different people who say, “Know you are loved”. When she reaches the man in the cylinder, she tells her baby that he is loved.

1941 – Polly says Detective Charles Whiteman (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) has Esther Jankovsky (Chloe Raphael) in his flat. She asks Mannix how long before she dies. He pleads with her to stop. He suggests making a different record but she demands he lie because everything he creates depends on it. Reading from a script, Mannix says, “I have lived your life, Elias. As you sit on that boat with your heart beating in your chest….” Old Mullins (Michael Byrne) adds the record to Mannix’s collection. Mannix watches Polly leave before recording another record. He says, “I pray these truths find you, Elias. Somehow, they have laid dormant in me for far too long. Every word you’ve ever heard from me has been a lie.”

Whiteman tells Mannix that Esther was 11 years old. Mannix pleads with him to not kill him yet. Whiteman cocks his pistol when Mannix says, “Karl Weismann.” Mannix asks what he would do to save Esther and thousands of others before giving him his previously recorded record. He says the truth will change everything but it must be heard by Shahara. Mannix tells him that Iris, Shahara, and Alfred also investigated the Longharvest Lane murder. He places the muzzle of Whiteman’s pistol on his forehead and pulls the trigger. Whiteman answers the phone to hear Hayden Harker (Michael Shaeffer) say patrols have been dispatched to keep Polly and Mannix safe. Whiteman offers his condolences before ending the call. Hayden issues an order for Whiteman to be shot on sight. Whiteman is shot several times before he arrives at the alcove on Longharvest Lane where he etches something into a brick. He later goes to The Silk Mercer. “When They Sound The Last All Clear” by Vera Lynn plays in the background. Whiteman stares at the Inverness ticket that he purchased for Esther when Hayden arrives with an entourage of police. Whiteman is shot and killed.

2053 Longharvest Lane – Whiteman, Pint, and Hasan are etched into a brick inside the alcove. Shahara recalls Clive Jones (Anthony O’Donnell) telling her that the murder was Whiteman’s last before he was killed by his fellow officers. She says Whiteman wants her to find something at The Silk Pub which was hit in a blast 30 years ago. As the record plays, time reverses with Elias (Gabriel Howell) screaming, “I want to know” as a bomb explodes in the distance. Commander Brown (John Alastair) tells the press about a WWII bomb that is currently being dismantled.

Shahara stares at The Star article, “Police Manhunt Ends In Grisly Shootout At Policeman’s Local” in a frame. She removes the back of a Whitechapel Police photo frame to find Mannix’s record. Whiteman’s message reads, “Don’t believe everything they say about me. Here’s one good thing.”

Sarah calls Shahara in 2023 to connect her to Shahara in 2053. 2023 Shahara sees 2053 Shahara standing in front of a window in Sarah’s flat. 2053 Shahara warns that one call from Elias will kill everyone. She tells her to not let him flee before ordering her to get rid of the children in the parking lot. On speaker phone, 2053 Shahara tells Elias that she knows what Barber gave him. She claims he dialed the number, killing thousands of people, including her son, Jawad. She puts on the record to let Elias hear Mannix before he died in 1941. Mannix admits to lying about everything. He speaks of holding a sick boy whom he will have to kill. He says they know what must be done but always remember that we are loved. Distraught, Elias jumps out of the vehicle. He tears the phone number to shreds. Shahara thanks him when Sarah emerges from her flat. While Sarah and Elias embrace, the Shaharas embrace. Elias and 2053 Sharaha disappear.

2023 – Shahara rushes into her room to find Jawad (Oscar Coleman) wants toast with honey and butter. She bear hugs him. Ishmael (Nitin Ganatra) announces it is his birthday. Later, Shahara, Rick Williams (Anton Cross), and other officers arrive at a protest. Brown orders them to not engage unless necessary.

1941 – Whiteman is walking down the street reading a newspaper when he encounters Esther. After staring at each other, he tells her to go. As she flees, she turns to smile at him.

1890 – Alfred oversees the arrest of a boy. The mother pleads to go with her son in the police wagon. Alfred says let her go. Henry snaps his photo. They stare at each other before walking away in different directions.

2023 – Shahara texts Ishmael from a taxi. She listens to “What A Difference A Day Makes” by Bobby Darin. She voices concern about the future. The driver, Iris, addresses Shahara by her name. The episode ends.

 

Bodies Review

The finale was predictable and not very revealing. The only explanation for Mannix’s time travel was a recording from 1941. He tells Elias that he lied to him about everything. Once Elias destroys Barber’s phone number, life changes for Alfred, Whiteman, and Shahara which was to be expected. I was hoping to hear more from Mannix but was disappointed.

Iris’ appearance in 2023 is probably an attempt for a series two. With Netflix’s history of chopping its shows, a second season is slim to none.

Shahara and Mannix’s old-age makeup was amateurish. It was terribly distracting because it was so bad. Shahara finding Mannix’s record where Whiteman hid it was a bit too easy.

This is my encounter with Jacob Fortune-Lloyd. I was truly impressed with his acting abilities. He stayed strong throughout the series, all the way up to the end. Kyle Soller did a great job as well. I would add Stephen Graham to the list but his reputation says it all.

The finale deserves a 6.2. Get more Bodies recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more. Join our forum to discuss the latest Hollywood happenings.