Aahana Swrup
Bodkin, the crime comedy show, transports the viewers to a small Irish town, charting a story ripe with a maelstrom of menacing mysteries. Journalist Dove is at the narrative’s center as she’s forced to accompany podcasters Gilbert Power and Emmy on their trip to Bodkin. The town where— 25 years ago— three people went missing on Samhain Festival night naturally draws Gilbert’s attention, promising an unsolved mystery for his listeners. However, as they initiate their investigation, the town’s skittish behavior and Dove’s journalistic gut spiral the original idea to newer heights.
As the plot progresses, the case of the Samhain night— presumed to be left behind in the past— threatens to make a return, with bitter sentiments growing about Gilbert and his team’s snooping. Consequently, while holding onto an existing mystery, the narrative introduces new threats, compelling the viewers to wonder about the protagonists’ ultimate fates. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Bodkin Plot Recap
Dove Maloney, an investigative journalist working for The Guardian, finds herself in a precarious situation after Krtek, one of her informants, ends up committing suicide when his identity as a whistleblower gets leaked. Naturally, the tragedy has adverse effects on the woman’s career, inviting police investigations regarding her possible involvement in Krtek’s identity leak. As such, her editor sends her on a laid-back assignment to a small Irish town where she has to collaborate with a famous podcaster, Gilbert Power.
Gilbert wants to bring the culture of a small Irish town to his audience by wrapping it up in a true crime element through the investigation into the Samhain Disappearances. Even though the festival bore the blame for the ordeal for two decades, Fintan McGurk, a tech businessman, is bringing the festival back to Bodkin’s calendar. Thus, Gilbert and his researcher Emmy look forward to uncovering a fascinating— if unanswered— story. Meanwhile, Dove, who only cares about unearthing the truth, remains doubtful of the endeavor— certain there’s no mystery to unravel.
Even so, Gilbert and Emmy embark on their investigation, starting with Sergeant Power, who has been in charge of the town’s law enforcement for a long time. However, the Sergeant insists the Bodkin has no story to tell, seemingly trying to brush the disappearances under the rug. Dove takes a different approach and looks into their tour guide/driver, Sean, who has been AWOL the entire morning. During her personal investigation, two masked individuals attack Dove in an intimidation technique.
Nevertheless, the same only ignites a curiosity in Dove, who realizes a mystery must be afoot if someone is willing to threaten her for it. Consequently, a stolen file from Power’s home reveals the identity of one of the missing people, Edward P., who was only a boy then. Furthermore, he was the only one to return a few days later, unharmed save for gaps in his memories. Thus, the search for Edward takes the trio to Inish Mac Tire, an island where nuns live in a covenant.
Upon stealing a meeting with the aged nun, Sister McDonagh, who found Edward 25 years ago, Dove learns about the boy’s identity. However, the visit to the boy— Teddy Power, a blacksmith— doesn’t end well after his father, the Sergeant, drives the investigators away. Worse yet, the townsfolk collectively talk circles around themselves whenever Dove or the others ask about the lost individuals, Fiona and Malachy. Yet, Dove latches onto a minuscule detail about Malachy, leading her and Emmy to break into a library. After looking through newspaper archives, Dove finds a photograph of Malachy and realizes he’s related to Seamus, a local town grump.
Additionally, the old photograph also brings the realization that Seasmus is actually Jackie McFadden, an infamous drug dealer who has been in hiding for decades. After sneaking into Seamus’ house, Dove realizes that he’s connected to Malachy— his brother— and Fiona— his wife. Therefore, she theorizes that after the brothers had a disagreement about their drug empire, Malachy and Fiona ran away together. Although Dove and Gilbert disagree on their investigative methods, they end up discovering a car in the bog together. After authorities extract the car, Dove finds two dead bodies in the trunk, assumed to be Malachy and Fiona’s.
As a result, Dove’s interest in Seamus grows, compelling her to sneak into a warehouse where he’s brewing up some illegal business with Sean. Much to her surprise, the business ends up revolving around eel smuggling and a secretive ongoing Interpol sting operation. While Interpol’s involvement leads to Gilbert’s hesitation to continue, it only adds to the woman’s interest. As the picture begins to become more puzzling, complications between Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy drive them down their separate paths.
Consequently, three different investigations bear a variety of new information. Putting her skills to good use, Dove traces the bog’s car back to Sergeant Power. Meanwhile, Gilbert’s growing situational friendship with Seamus leads to the revelation that the second body found in the vehicle does not belong to Fiona. Finally, Emmy’s attentive sound bites reveal a connection between Fiona and Maeve— one of the town’s new-age hippies— which brings the trio to startling evidence that proves Fiona was pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
Bodkin Ending: What Happened to Fiona’s Baby? Is Fiona Dead or Alive?
The initial mystery begins with the disappearances of Fiona, Malachy, and Teddy. Unlike the other two, Teddy— who went missing as a kid— saw a return to the town a few days after his disappearance. Furthermore, Dove and the podcasters’ investigation reveals Malachy’s dead body, providing an answer about his demise as well. Thus, Fiona remains the only person whose case sees no development after her initial vanishing at the Samhain festival 25 years ago. As it would turn out, the answers to Fiona’s death also fill in the blanks to Teddy and Malachy’s unsolved stories.
Gilbert’s ill-advised outing with Seamus reveals his contentious relationship with the McArdles, another crime family, whom the man stole from two decades ago. For the same reason, 25 years ago, he believed the rival gang put a hit on his brother and wife and contacted Sergeant Power to get them to safety. Nonetheless, Dove’s confrontation with Power reveals that only Malachy showed up. The interaction also confirms that Teddy killed Malachy in an altercation over Fiona. Therefore, Teddy’s convoluted memories of the night compel Dove to reach out to McDonagh again.
However, Dove and Emmy’s visit to the covenant goes south after the former consumes drugged tea, which results in a hallucinated conversation with McDonagh. As per her delusions, Dove starts to believe Fiona is still alive. Meanwhile, Gilbert manages to learn the absolute truth about Teddy’s disappearance. After Fiona learned about the pregnancy, she tried to escape to Wales with Maeve’s help. Consequently, an unexpected visit by Teddy to the pier led Maeve to hit him with an oar. As such, she brought him to the nuns at Inish Mac Tire.
Similarly, Fiona also sought shelter at the covenant. Nonetheless, she went into early labor, which resulted in her death. While the Reverend Mother, Bernadette, insists Fiona’s baby died with her, Emmy figures out that the baby survived from the lack of a separate grave. Additionally, her gut kicks in, helping her realize that O’Shea, the nun-turned-guest-house-runner, likely adopted Fiona’s kid after leaving the covenant. Thus, she realizes Sean— the driver involved in shady eel dealings, is Fiona’s secret baby.
Does Gilbert Die? What Happens to His Podcast?
Even after Gilbert and the others solve the mystery of the Samhain disappearance, they realize they have much work left ahead of them to tie up the story. Throughout the investigation, Dove’s past with Krtek continues haunting the woman, with the possibility of imprisonment constantly looming over the journalist. Since Krtek died as a result of his identity leak, the authorities can arrest Dove for the case if they prove she was responsible for the leak. By the end, the discovery of Krtek’s laptop in Dove’s house gives the police back home the ammunition they need, resulting in Dove’s extradition orders.
At the covenant, Bernadette sells Dove out to the Interpol officers, which leads to her arrest. Eventually, she manages to make a deal with them. The Interpol’s primary focus is arresting Seamus for the drug/eel dealings. Therefore, if Dove can bring them the former crime boss, the officers agree to ignore her escape from the law. As such, Dove manages to manipulate Gilbert to prevent Seamus’ escape from the Bodkin. In order to do so, Gilbert ends up revealing Sean’s identity as Seamus and Fiona’s child.
Sean is hellbent on making a profit through eel smuggling and unknowingly enters a business deal with undercover Interpol agents. As such, Seamus has no choice but to show up to the meeting and make himself vulnerable to the officers. The altercation leads Sean to learn the horrid truth about his ancestry, ending in a firefight. Even so, Seamus manages to escape the law’s clutches, taking Gilbert with him as hostage. The recent revelations drive Seamus to the edge of his limit, and he decides to take adverse measures.
Seamus plans to blow up the Samhain Festival party in the woods with substantial explosives he stole during his rivalry with the McArdle Family. Consequently, after setting up the explosives in a cave and tying Gilbert to a rock nearby, Seamus prepares to flee— setting Bodkin on fire before his ultimate departure. Yet, Dove manages to intercept him before he can escape. Furthermore, Interpol, as well as the McArdles, catch up to the man. Still, before facing his demise, Seamus sets the bombs off.
Fortunately, Dove’s distraction gives Emmy enough time to divert the crowd from the area in contact with the explosives. Likewise, although Gilbert cuts it a little too close to the bombs’ explosion, he manages to escape in time. Ultimately, Gilbert and the others walk away with their lives. Nonetheless, the experiences teach Gilbert something important about the exploitative nature of his work. Even though his investigation into Bodkin led to decades-old answers, it also revealed family and personal secrets.
Similarly, Gilbert’s recent divorce from his wife Amber— whose cancer journey was the subject of his hit podcast— also makes him realize he has no right to tell others’ stories without their support. Therefore, despite uncovering the story of a lifetime, with all the evidence required in sound bites, Gilbert gives up on his true-crime podcaster career. Ultimately, he decides against creating a podcast about Bodkin.
What Happens to Dove?
Throughout the show, Dove sports a near-dual narrative. While her investigation in Bodkin retains narrative significance, the character’s past case notably influences her storyline. Dove’s involvement in Krtek’s unfortunate demise promises the possibility of a conviction and prison time for the woman. Although she almost gets arrested in Bodkin, Dove manages to sort things out once she leaves the town and returns to her old life.
Dove’s obsessive passion for uncovering the truth led to Krtek’s death. The man was reluctant to work on the case with her, but the woman successfully convinced him otherwise with promises to safeguard his identity. Nevertheless, even after his death, Dove couldn’t help herself— and decided to steal his laptop to dig into the case further. Even though she spins the tale in a more favorable light, it makes her realize her own shortcomings.
Ultimately, once out of Bodkin, Dove strikes a deal with the authorities and her company that prevents her conviction. However, in return, she has to say goodbye to her profession as an investigative journalist. Her passion for the job came from her childhood trauma revolving around a negligent mother and a lonely upbringing in a covenant. Yet, much like Gilbert, the time in Bodkin proves to be educational for Dove as well, who decides to take up the podcasting job, focusing on people’s personal lives and stories as told by them.
