In Bodkin, three podcasters, Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy, travel to a small Irish town to record a podcast about a long-unsolved mystery. They intend to uncover the truth about the disappearance of three individuals on a fateful fall night twenty years ago.
However, as they delve deeper, they uncover an unexpected web of secrets that involves yoga-teaching nuns, international smugglers, eels, a sunken car, and even Interpol agents. The case proves far more complex than they anticipated, with twists, turns, and hidden truths at every corner.
Throughout Bodkin, the podcasters—Gilbert, the friendly but naive one; Dove, the hard-hitting journalist; and Emmy, the aspiring reporter—work together to investigate the missing persons’ case. They encounter numerous local figures, such as Sean O’Shea, a temporary chauffeur; Garda Sergeant Power; and the elusive Seamus Gallagher.
Seamus has a personal stake in the case because his brother Malachy and girlfriend Fiona disappeared, and they may hold the key to the puzzle. The group discovers a significant lead when Dove investigates a sunken car in a bog, finding one of the missing bodies, though it is not Fiona.
Siobhán Cullen as Dove (Photo: Bodkin/Higher Ground)The Smuggling Connection and Deeper Secrets
The investigation reveals a surprising connection to an international eel-smuggling operation. It turns out that the missing persons are tied to an underground network involved in smuggling eels—an in-demand commodity in the black market.
Sean, in an attempt to help Seamus broker a deal with a mysterious group, unknowingly becomes entangled with agents from Interpol working to dismantle the operation. Furthermore, it is revealed that Seamus isn’t who he claims to be, as he is actually Jackie McFadden, a notorious Northern Irish smuggler with a bitter feud with another local family, the McArdles.
The mystery intensifies as the podcasters explore the key night in question—Samhain, a Celtic festival akin to Halloween. This night serves as a potent metaphor for the many “ghosts” haunting the characters, both literally and figuratively. As the group uncovers the truth, they piece together a tragic sequence of events.
Seamus learns that Malachy and Fiona were in Bodkin for the festival, and a violent altercation occurred between Malachy and Teddy Power, resulting in Malachy’s death. The tragedy deepens when Sergeant Power accidentally kills an innocent woman, Greta, and hides her body alongside Malachy’s in the trunk of his car, which he then sinks in the bog.
Will Forte as Gilbert and Robyn Cara as Emmy (Photo: Bodkin/Higher Ground)The Mystery of Fiona’s Disappearance
The fate of Fiona takes another unexpected turn. After the events of Samhain, Fiona flees to a convent on Inish Mac Thiere, where she hides among the nuns. However, she harbors a significant secret—she is pregnant. Tragically, she dies during childbirth, leaving behind a healthy baby boy named Sean. The truth about Sean’s parentage is revealed as his adoptive mother, Mrs. O’Shea, is not from Romania, as previously believed. Instead, she is a nun who left the convent to raise the child in his hometown of Bodkin, keeping his true origins hidden.
The eel smuggling operation, though bizarre, plays a critical role in the unfolding story. Eels, which are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, are a major commodity in the illegal wildlife trade, particularly in Northern Europe and Ireland. The show’s creators incorporated this obscure element after learning about the phenomenon. The strange allure of eels, coupled with their mysterious breeding process, creates an absurd yet compelling narrative thread that ties together the show’s crime investigation with elements of the surreal.
As the investigation draws to a close, the three podcasters reflect on how their experiences in Bodkin have changed them. Gilbert, initially a somewhat clueless journalist, begins to question his methods, becoming more self-aware and honest. Dove, who has always been driven by a hard-edged, no-nonsense attitude, learns to push herself further, influenced by Emmy’s enthusiasm.
On the other hand, Emmy, who initially feels overshadowed by the other two, grows into her role as a journalist, learning the value of both curiosity and persistence. These character transformations are deeply interwoven with the unfolding mystery, highlighting the personal growth each podcaster undergoes as they unearth long-buried secrets.
As the story concludes, the podcasters have not only uncovered the mystery of the missing persons but have also confronted their own personal demons. The ending of Bodkin provides both closure and an open-ended conclusion, suggesting that the podcasters have learned valuable lessons from their experiences. They return home with new insights about themselves, their work, and the complexities of the world they’ve just begun to understand.
