Sartaj Singh
‘Bodkin’ is a mystery series that revolves around the titular town in Ireland’s countryside, following a group of journalists who are investigating 2-decade-old disappearances for a crime podcast. The group includes Dove, a jaded investigative journalist with a dark past, Gilbert, the cheerful leader who hides the pressures of financial debt, and Emmy, a young researcher eager to prove herself. The investigators soon discover that the seemingly idyllic town is hiding secrets from them, with uncooperative witnesses and hostile individuals seeking to scare them away.
Created by Jez Scharf, the Netflix show is highlighted by powerful performances from its cast and a healthy dose of comedy punctuating its grim themes. The mystery itself is filled with twists and turns, connecting to grounded problems and some historical events, prompting an investigation of our own into whether or not its story is based on actual events.
Bodkin Explores Journalism and True Crime with an Unconventional Irish Twist
The Netflix series creates a compelling fictional narrative that creatively combines the trend of podcasting with the evergreen fascination of true crime. While the town of Bodkin is not a real place, the rough characters inhabiting it grip us in its stories and culture. This immersion is deepened by subplots of an encroaching Halloween-esque festival, smuggling, and the absurdities of investigating a decades-old traumatic event. The story for the show is written by Jez Scharf, with contributions from writers Oneika Barrett, Paddy Campbell, Mike O’Leary, Alex Metcalf, Megan Mostyn-Brown, and Ursula Rani Sarma.
At first glance, Bodkin embodies the quintessential small-town Irish setting with scenic mountainous vistas and verdant landscapes. However, it soon crushes any fairytale notions about it, with the journalists meeting downright hostile people and sensing suspicious activities taking place within its shadowy corners. This layer of gritty realism and increasing tension serves to create a believable backdrop that breaks notional stereotypes surrounding it, which Dove so sourly loathes.
A major symbological center of the film is the Samhain festival, which roots the story, imbuing it with Irish tradition and mystique. The characters in the show frequently refer to the festival as it marks the day of the disappearances. And the town’s first Samhain celebration in twenty years marks the show’s climax. Samhain is considered a precursor and influence to the Halloween tradition. As seen in the show, the celebration carries a unique charm, blending ancient customs with modern festivities. One of its highlights is the procession, where locals don elaborate costumes and parade through the streets, often accompanied by music and dancing.
The festival poetically connects to the murder mystery plot line, as Samhain is linked to ancient Celtic beliefs about the boundary between the living and the dead becoming blurred during this time. The celebration of Samhain after two decades lives up to its reputation, as the secrets of the town and its dead are brought to light. It’s a time for honoring ancestors and seeking protection from malevolent spirits. Seán is discovered by a previously unknown, dangerous ancestor, and the journalists rush to save the townsfolk from his wrath.
A subplot of ‘Bodkin’ delves into the very relevant and alarming illegal trade of eels. The global eel trade is reportedly valued at $3 billion as of 2023, and in Europe, it includes the smuggling of endangered eel species to Asian markets. In the show, smugglers are shown keeping baby glass eels in captivity after presumably obtaining them from fishermen. The Interpol investigates the town’s contribution to the trade, which is not a stretch given its severe repercussions to the fast-depleting population of eels.
As correctly pointed out by Seamus Gallagher, the mating practices of the eels are a complete mystery and have not been observed by a human being. The eels do not mate in captivity, which makes smugglers directly tap into wild populations that are becoming critically endangered. The show also depicts Spanish buyers connected with the local smugglers of Bodkin, which also stands to reason as Spain is a European hub for illegal trade. Between 2018 and 2020, authorities, including Europol and SEG, arrested over 250 smugglers connected with the eel trade.
The smuggling subplot also mentions the historic Good Friday Agreement, which Gallagher recalls as having a negative impact on the early days of his illegal trade activities. His desperation from the resulting crackdown on smuggling indirectly led to the events of the show’s core mystery. This storyline aligns with the real-world impact of the Good Friday Agreement. Signed in 1998, it brought an end to decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles. While the agreement primarily focused on political reconciliation and power-sharing, its impact on Irish smugglers was potent.
The improved security and stability resulting from the agreement led to increased surveillance along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This made it more challenging for smugglers to transport contraband, including drugs, weapons, and illicit goods, across the border undetected. Additionally, the agreement fostered closer cooperation between law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border, leading to more effective crackdowns on smuggling operations. This made it riskier and less profitable for smugglers to engage in illegal activities.
‘Bodkin’ is driven by the clash between Gilbert and his elaborate tale-spinning podcasting approach versus Dove and her cruise missile investigative journalism, which seeks the shortest path to the truth. Scharf explained his fascination with true crime podcasts in an interview, saying, “Whenever I listen to a true crime podcast, I always think about what it must be like to be that researcher on the ground, in that town, knocking on doors, trying to get people to open up about their most traumatic and difficult experiences, and how absurd that might feel.” While its story is developed by the writing team, ‘Bodkin’ is driven by a fascinating and rather realistic blend of podcasting and investigative journalism, a relevant smuggling scenario, and a balanced exploration of Irish scenery and culture.
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