'Catch Me If You Can'

Harker/Mannix jumps into the giant infrared hairdryer and finds himself naked in 1890. How do they select the year? Then he gets whisked to a nice, clean hospital even if he's destitute and there somehow convinces a passing-by rich woman to adopt him. What are the chances?

Then he proceeds to seduce Polly (why her?) and gets rid of her father, the one with the gay love story tacked on.

In the year 2053 Iris Maplewood decides to switch sides and we already know she's going to succeed even if it'll cost her, but I didn't get emotionally attached to her, so I don't care.

I still don't understand what was the point of the 1941 story apart from stretching this series. It would have worked (or not worked) just the same.

The purpose of the penultimate episode of Bodies is to fill in the background regarding Mannix/Harker.

In doing so the focus has been more on the Victorian period. You see how Mannix assumed the role of Sir Julian Harker. Used his knowledge of the past to become extremely wealthy.

It also allows him to put his plans in motion. The explosion in London in 2023 but first he needs to marry Polly. Alfred Hillinghead's daughter.

Both Alfred and Charles Whiteman pay a heavy price in opposing Harker.

Only Iris Maplewood has a possible plan to change the outcome. So far all attempts to change the future has instead created the conditions that leads to explosion in 2023.

There is a lot of exposition, but the show probably needed it for the casual viewers. It is notable that Bodies has been streamed at the same time as season two of Loki. Both shows so far have had people trying to change the past with little success.

We had heard that Mannix had assumed the role of Harker, but we never saw how that happened. First he joins the Harker family. The mother is in mourning and wants her child back (he probably died in the war). So slimy Mannix finagled his way into the family and eventually worked it out so he could marry Polly. Now strings are pulled from everywhere and shocking elements appear. This marks Iris's big chance as she reconnects with the Traveler. Eventually there is a wedding and a child. As Polly walks through the crowds, she now knows what she has gotten herself into. But there are alway corrections to situations.