I disagree with you. The Centre mysteries is what kept it going for me. Because at the end it is Jarod's character journey after he escaped a hellhole and how he regains his humanity and how he relates to the world that is important. There also needs to be some resolution to his inner life and turmoil.

You see that also in modern procedurals like Gray's anatomy or NCIS. Yes characters are in their job setting and are resolving those mysteries, but there is also plot B with an even more important task that is their personal problems that they are trying to resolve.

How many copy pasted aimless episodes would the show last if Jarod only did random pretends and not look for his family or work on cases where Centre destroyed someone's life because of his invention?