If you’re into true crime podcasts, you should check out Bodkin on Netflix. It gives you a peek behind the scenes, showing how these podcasts are made. It’s pretty wild—the risks these podcasters take just to bring you juicy content. The main guy, Gilbert (Will Forte), is the heart of it all. He puts everything on the line, from dealing with death threats to risking his own safety. Now, some people might debate whether to call podcasters journalists, but hey, they’re out there solving mysteries and delivering the news, so why not? Gilbert comes across as a soft-spoken and decent man right from the start. The way he connects with people and earns their trust is something else. But keeping everyone’s trust all the time—is this always possible, especially when you’re finding the truth? Sometimes, you might unintentionally step on someone’s privacy. It’ll be interesting to see how Gilbert does it all until the end.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Gilbert come to Bodkin?
Gilbert might seem like your average, friendly, soft-spoken guy, but deep down, he was struggling. I’m not just talking about money problems; his family life was falling apart too. You see, when Gilbert first started making podcasts, he made one that got really personal about his wife and their relationship. He didn’t exactly make his wife look good, and they shared problems from their rocky marriage. He thought it would be their last podcast together because his wife had cancer, but then she survived. Since then, their relationship has become quite strained. Thankfully, that podcast was a hit. So Gilbert went all in and started a company with everything he had, thinking his big following would guarantee success. But it didn’t work out that way. Once the company launched, his podcast lost steam, and he ended up losing everything. All he had left was a little money in the bank. So, he decided to give the podcast one last shot. He had a mystery to solve. In the small town of Bodkin, there’s an unsolved case from 25 years ago. Three people vanished during the famous Samhain festival, and Gilbert was sure solving this mystery would be a game-changer for his podcast. It would save his company, bring back his followers, make some money, and maybe even save his marriage, showing his wife that podcasting wasn’t just a hobby for him. So, with Emmy, the researcher, and Dove, the investigative journalist, he headed to Bodkin. He was there to tell a story, to find himself, and most importantly, to solve the mystery.
Why did Gilbert help Seamus?
Gilbert had a habit of seeing the good in people, and that’s what happened when he arrived in Bodkin to solve the mystery. He figured the town was small and the folks seemed nice and honest, so he thought if he treated them well, they’d trust him and help him solve the case. But things weren’t what they seemed. Gilbert was a bit naive about that. When he asked around about the three people who disappeared during the festival, he and Emmy ended up at Sergeant Power’s place. Emmy swiped a file sitting in front of them, which Gilbert didn’t like one bit. He believed stealing and lying weren’t right, especially in their line of work. So, he scolded Emmy for it until they discovered that one of the missing boys was Sergeant Power’s son, Teddy. That shook things up. Gilbert started to see that maybe playing by the rules wasn’t always the best move. But then Dove told him about Seamus, a former smuggler who seemed to have turned his life around. Gilbert believed in him, thought he had changed, until they uncovered Seamus’s illegal eel business. However, Gilbert knew Seamus wasn’t really tied to his brother Malachy or Fiona’s murder as much as people thought.
While staying in Bodkin, Gilbert, got drunk and ended up owing eight thousand euros to a guy named Frank. Seamus made Gilbert promise not to reveal his name on the podcast in exchange for giving him money to repay his debt. But, as I mentioned earlier, Gilbert realized that sticking strictly to ethics isn’t always the best path. So, he continued recording everything Seamus had to say about his past life, smuggling business, and hidden identity because he knew it would make for gripping podcast content. But Gilbert knew he somewhat owed Seamus. So, he revealed the secret to him: Malachy and Fiona’s bodies had been found in Sergeant Power’s car in the ditch, and he took Seamus to meet their dead bodies to say his last goodbye. But you know what? He never stopped recording.
Did Gilbert survive the blast?
Meanwhile, as the Samhain festival drew near, the whole town buzzed with festivities. Gilbert and his team were right in the midst of it all. They discovered that the McArdle gang had created a puppet with Gilbert’s face as a threat. They were after him because they wanted to find Seamus and kill him. Gilbert didn’t realize that solving a mystery would turn him into a different person. He found himself chatting, lying, manipulating people, and even receiving death threats. But, like I said before, Gilbert was a pretty gullible guy, and he trusted people easily. So, when Dove suggested that he should tell Seamus about Sean being Seamus and Fiona’s son, so Seamus would surrender to Interpol for his eel smuggling, Gilbert went along with it. He didn’t fully grasp that he was putting his life on the line and was being used for his innocence by Dove so that she could save herself. When Interpol came to arrest Seamus, he captured Gilbert and took him to a tomb. Because of his podcast, Seamus’s life turned upside down. Seamus shoved a microphone into his mouth and detonated the tomb. Thankfully, with Dove and Emmy’s help, he survived the attack and got away safely. But this whole journey changed him. It made him stronger and braver because he was not afraid to take risks anymore.
We’ve seen how Gilbert avoided the divorce papers his wife sent him many times to try to save their marriage. His wife even had to come to Bodkin herself to make Gilbert sign the papers. Even then, Gilbert was apologetic and wanted to give their marriage another chance. He wanted to change and make things better, but nothing seemed to work. To make things worse, his wife called him just an editor, as if he only recorded and edited sounds without any real effort. Gilbert realized his wife would never understand the sacrifices he had to make for his podcast. So, finally, he signed the divorce papers. And with that, he lost all hope about making this podcast because, after all the experiences, the deaths, and the risking lives, Gilbert was just tired. He threw away his microphone and all the pieces of evidence and recordings that he needed for the podcast. He was done making the podcast, and maybe in the future he’ll find another job that suits him better. But can a podcaster, detective, or, should I say, journalist, really walk away from their passion? We can hope that we’ll see him making another podcast and solving mysteries again in the next season.
