Bodkin is an Irish Netflix original that covers the story of people who are investigating the mysterious disappearances of three people from the town of Bodkin in Ireland twenty-five years ago. The show is essentially an investigative thriller, and it introduces the audience to many characters who have lived in the town for many years. Almost all of them are aware of the disappearance, which stirred up a lot of controversy back in the day. This article will help readers understand the chain of events leading up to the reopening of the case and its consequences.
Spoilers Ahead
Why was Dove in trouble?
Dubheasa ‘Dove’ Maloney was an investigative journalist with the Guardian who exposed a scandal in the NHS through her article. Her informant’s name was exposed, which put the man in trouble with the government, and he ended up killing himself. Dove was the first to find him dead and had been in trouble ever since. Her boss, Damien, was livid at the turn of events and wanted her to stay out of the city.
Who joined Dove and Bodkin?
Damien assigned her a job to investigate the mysterious disappearances that happened in Bodkin twenty-five years ago. She was informed that an American podcaster, Gilbert Power, would be joining her. Dove and Gilbert were to collaborate, and they would be joined by Emmy, who would help with research on the subject. On reaching Bodkin, they were driven around by Sean O’Shea, a local who could connect them to people who were in town around the time of the Samhain festival. While Gilbert and Emmy were good to the townspeople, Dove was skeptical of them. The three people who went missing were Edward P., Malachy, and Fiona. Dove, Gilbert, and Emmy found themselves facing hostility when Sean’s car was set on fire, and Dove was threatened by a bunch of people wearing balaclavas asking her to back out of the investigation.
What was their first lead?
The first lead they received was from the local police officer’s home. Emmy stole some files from his home and found out the third missing person, Edward P., was found by sister McDonagh of the convent. In their pursuit to question Sister McDonagh, the reverend’s mother stopped them from meeting her. Dove, being a rebel, decided to meet sister McDonagh nevertheless. She revealed Edward P. was none other than Teddy, a blacksmith with memory issues and his father was Sergeant Power. The trio also found out from a couple of old newspapers from the library about Seamus Gallagher, whose real name was Jack McFadden, aka “the Badger.”.
What did Gilbert find out about Seamus Gallagher?
One of the locals, Seamus Darragh, was found dead on his property, and his funeral brought the entire town to his house for one last goodbye. Many people of interest were present at Darragh’s home, and this became a cesspool of information and secrets. Emmy ran into Fintan, who happened to be Teddy’s old friend and was bragging about hosting the Samhain festival again. Gilbert, at the event, was made aware of the fact that Seamus Gallagher was the older brother of Malachy, whose disappearance the trio was looking into. Seamus Gallagher took Gilbert on his trawler to discuss his pain at losing his brother and Fiona. He also mentioned being in love with Fiona, and how their disappearance broke his heart. Gilbert knew the man in front of him was a smuggler but his kind behavior threw him off.
Why was Interpol after Seamus?
The trio soon learned that Sean, their driver, was the son of Edna O’Shea, the owner of the home they were living in, and that he was also working for Seamus. Dove, Gilbert, and Emmy found out through Interpol officers posing as businessmen that they were investigating Seamus for smuggling eels. This did not stop any of them from going after Seamus and finding out if he was the one who had killed Malachy and Fiona.
What did the trio find in the car?
One of the locals informs Dove and Emmy about a crash they heard around a nearby waterbody. Emmy was alarmed, as Fintan had mentioned hearing a car crash later the night of the festival. Emmy and Dove, using a map, noticed the presence of an object in a water body. On visiting the site, Dove confirmed the presence of a car. The authorities were informed about the same, and they found two decomposed bodies in the trunk. It was assumed the bodies belonged to Malachy and Fiona.
Did the body belong to Malachy and Fiona?
A crime was discovered that was committed twenty-five years ago. Dove and Emmy could not continue their research, but the former had an old newspaper clipping that had photographs of young Malachy, Seamus, and Sergeant Power in it. Both women hoped to blackmail the police officer into divulging some information about the deceased. Sergeant Power revealed the presence of Seamus and Malachy’s rival gang from up north, known as the McArdles, who most likely killed Fiona and Malachy. The body was brought to the mortuary for Seamus to identify his brother and his love interest, Fiona. He was able to identify the body of his brother but informed the authorities that the female body did not belong to Fiona as the deceased used to wear dentures. This proved that Fiona may be alive, and the female body they recovered may belong to another woman who was killed on the night of the Samhain festival.
Who killed Malachy?
The car in which the bodies were found was at the impound. Emmy and Dove found out the vehicle belonged to Sergeant Power. Dove confronted Sergeant Power about her knowledge of the ownership of the car in which the bodies were found. In response, Sergeant Power went into cardiac arrest and was moved to the hospital. Sergeant Power, from the hospital, later confessed that Malachy and Fiona had planned to elope after learning the McArdles were in town. Malachy arrived, but Fiona never showed up, and the sergeant went looking for her, fearing the worst. He returned to find out that Malachy had made off with his car. He chose to keep quiet about it to protect his son, who would be rendered an orphan if Sergeant Power was arrested, as he was the last person to have seen Malachy.
While Seamus wanted to confront the McArdles, he learned from them about their non-involvement in Malachy’s death, which further perplexed him. Meanwhile, Dove and Emmy found an old knife with Teddy’s signature on it in the impounded car, which made her have a conversation with the man. Teddy claimed to have had some memories of blood and Malachy. On confronting a bedridden Sergeant Power, Dove learned Teddy had killed Malachy accidentally, and his father covered the whole crime up to save him, and killed another woman to make it look like it was Fiona who had disappeared.
Was Dove extradited?
The case against Dove for exposing the NHS was escalating, and at this point, her boss Damien could not help her after months of trying to stall the authorities. She was informed that her extradition from Ireland would take place at any moment. She informed Gilbert and Emmy about the orders. Dove was not extradited yet; but she was expecting the officials to be in Bodkin anytime, and she had to find answers before her arrest.
Is Fiona dead?
Dove found certain clothes belonging to the nuns at Edna O’Shea’s home, and soon she became a suspect in regards to Fiona’s disappearance. Dove and Emmy eventually found a sonogram of Fiona’s pregnancy inside Edna’s store. Teddy was haunted by the memories of the night of the festival and followed Maeve to help him jog his memory. One more interrogation with Sister McDonagh made Dove and Emmy believe that Fiona might be alive. Maeve finally revealed she was trying to save a pregnant Fiona from Seamus’ rage and accidentally beat up Teddy, which led to his memory loss. Fiona was kept at the convent away from the town to stop Seamus from harassing her. She eventually died in childbirth, and her child died with it.
Who was Seamus’ son?
Dove and Gilbert were eventually arrested, and the latter offered the Interpol to get Seamus in return for her acquittal. Dove was not extradited yet, but she had an assignment to get Seamus who was being hunted by Interpol as well as the McArdles. Edna finally reveals that she was the one who set Sean’s car and Seamus’ boat on fire. She and Maeve wanted no one to know Fiona’s son had lived, and it was Sean who was raised by Edna as her own. Fiona made them promise not to let Seamus know about Sean being his son.
Fiona was closest to Edna and Maeve, and they made sure to keep Sean safe all this while away from the limelight and raised him without anyone questioning his parentage. Seamus claimed to have loved Fiona, but she probably saw a violent side to him. Fiona probably wanted her son to lead a normal life. Only did she know Sean had begun her work with Seamus and had plans to become a smuggler himself.
What is the fate of everyone by the end of the investigation?
As Fintan was preparing for the next Samhain festival, he was trying to bring some changes to town, and restarting the festival would be the beginning of a new city with a cultural and economic makeover. Sean, who was Seamus’ right-hand man, stole all the eels and ran away with them. Emmy was asked to convince him to give the loot back to Seamus before either of them killed each other. Edna wanted to avoid a bloodbath between the son and the father.
Dove was making sure Seamus and Sean could meet, which could be an easy spot to bring in Interpol to arrest the father figure. Dove was finding her way out of jail time since she wanted to save herself from being wrongfully accused. Her bosses may have given up on her, but she had not given up on herself yet. Dove broke the news about Sean to Seamus, and the son was brought to the spot by Emmy in the hope of making the two reconcile. Seamus was willing to accept his son wholeheartedly, as he was deeply in love with Fiona, and Sean was a product of that affection. He was keen to have Sean by his side since he had lost his only brother, Malachy. Sean, on the other hand, had a tough time believing his parentage.
In that scuffle, Interpol could not arrest Seamus because he took Gilbert hostage, tied him to the hill below the Samhain festival spot, and connected him to the Semtex bomb he had created a long time ago. Seamus was probably done with life, as he was surrounded by enemies. Interpol wanted to arrest him, and the McArdles wanted him dead. He believed Gilbert and Dove took advantage of him. He would probably look to escape Ireland after bombing the place and live in another country with a new identity. Emmy convinced Fintan, with the help of Teddy, to move the people away from the spot to avoid a massacre. They also wanted Seamus to not have any guilt about killing anyone except his enemies.
Seamus was finally cornered by Dove, who wanted him to do the right thing. Seamus had everything to lose, even his newfound son Sean, if the bomb went off. He could very well get arrested, remain safe in prison, and become an informant to bring down other animal trafficking rings around the world. As the bomb went off, the people at the festival were saved, along with Gilbert. Seamus had the choice to either surrender to the Interpol or get killed at the hands of McArdles. Seamus most probably ran away to avoid getting arrested. He was feeling guilty for the people who left his life, and he believed he could never take care of Sean and that his son would be happier with Edna. This may have helped him decide to escape and possibly resurface in the second season, if it is ever announced.
The first season of Bodkin ends ambiguously, as many arcs are left open-ended. Gilbert threw his recording equipment away after realizing he may have to start his work from scratch to become the most sought-after podcaster. Since he was divorced now, it was easy for him to take risks without having to worry about his spouse. He was also hoping to get the details for his production in an ethical way, which made him destroy all the recordings he had of the Samhain festival missing case. Even though they found answers, it also destroyed the lives of many. Dove came back to the island where her convent was located in the hope of confronting her past instead of admonishing the elderly women who had conservatively raised her. The nun shared all of Dove’s items, which they had saved despite her being a rebel kid. Dove came back in the hope of reconciling with her past after having a heart-to-heart conversation with the Mother Reverend before her arrest. It is assumed she is still under investigation, and she quit her job to focus on her podcast featuring the nuns.
Dove was probably ready to hear the story from the perspective of the nuns, who were probably waiting for a platform to speak about their work with young girls and women. Dove also probably wanted an exit from the life she led in London and wanted to work with human interest stories from Bodkin. Emmy, who had been shadowing Dove throughout her time in Bodkin in the hope of becoming the next best investigative journalist, confidently took up the position at the Guardian with the Special Investigator Desk (SID). Emmy had joined two of the most revered people to further her career, and her experience at Bodkin will help her become the next Dove Maloney.
