Television | Mystery | Podcasts
‘Bodkin’ — Some Stories are Better Left Untold
Review and Analysis of a show about a podcast, disappearances, and eels(?)
Bodkin is an over-ambitious show which adds a bucket load of information in so little time, and then takes everything away at the final moments. But that’s not particularly a bad thing. It allows only the viewers to be privy to anything that has happened in Bodkin. No one else will ever find out. That will all make sense when you watch the end of the series.
Besides, how many shows have you seen that have podcast-loving nuns running a yoga retreat, or gang rivalries spanning decades, or even illegal eel smuggling operations? All of that in the same show. But if that doesn’t intrigue you enough — Barack and Michelle Obama are credited as Executive Producers.
A Journalist, A Podcaster, and A Researcher Enter a Pub
We meet our main protagonist, an investigative journalist named Dove, in the first episode. She is surrounded by problems from the very beginning since her last piece caused a whistleblower to commit suicide.
Dove is a complicated and yet straightforward person, which is a complex statement in itself. She’s driven for her work and especially for the truth, so when she’s told to work with a podcaster (Gilbert) and a researcher (Emmy) — things take an unwanted turn.
In some moments, our other two protagonists seem to balance out Dove with their cheerfulness or moral scale. In others, they are just as tilted as she is.
Gilbert is a buffoon. Dove says it to him first. He seems too easy going since he allows himself to mingle with the people of Bodkin while Dove is brooding around. More so, because he wants to create bonds and relate with people rather than rely on sly tactics like our girl, Dove.
Emmy, on the other hand, is a scared and smart woman. She’s also a pushover which makes sense since she wants to be like Dove, but to be like Dove is to actually do bad things and be untethered. The worst thing Emmy has done, before she gets influenced by Dove, is stealing a file.
One Mystery Leading to Another
Bodkin is a small coastal town in Ireland where our three protagonists arrive looking for a story about a cold case almost 20 years old. The case is about three disappearances which all happened during the Samhain festival.
We are set to believe that this cold case will be the only mystery to keep an eye out for but as the show progresses, the linear story becomes a literal web of mysteries.
We don’t actually know anything about the people of Bodkin, since all of them seem to be lying or hiding crucial facts. There’s also people who want our protagonists to leave the town. But that’s not all. The show also features a murder mystery, the already established disappearances, and to top that off, the mystery of eels.
Everyone’s Starting a Podcast
The podcast craze has extended to TV shows as well, where even fictional characters have podcasts now. Should we be afraid of that? Absolutely not. Because as soon as the first episode of Bodkin begins, we are blessed with crystal clear sounds.
In other words, the show sounds exactly like a podcast. But it definitely cannot be treated like one, even when the show boasts great use of Irish folk songs, and this one dude’s (Teddy) singing. He’s an amazing singer, and his singing saves hundreds of people in the show. That actually happens.
But that’s not the best part of having podcasts mentioned in the show. There’s also a running joke about the podcast, which managed to get a chuckle out of me every time it was said.
“And people will listen to it?”
Stories are Who We Are
One thing to love about the show is the subtle messages it sends us regarding environmental issues as well as moral problems.
The podcast is an ongoing moral issue. This podcast is the reason why old matters are dug up, and old memories are brought to the surface of a bog. Dead bodies are being found and relationships are falling apart, and it’s all because of the podcast.
While Gilbert sees the podcast as his final chance to save his failing marriage and to bring money into his rapidly emptying bank account — he fails to realize that the stories he is seeking out aggressively are not his to tell.
Similarly, Dove is escaping from how bad matters have gotten for her back home with the whistleblower’s suicide case. She is looking for answers to all the mysteries in front of her. She is so blinded by her need to know everything that she also ends up hurting the people around her.
Their collective realizations of what they’re doing wrong is why this show works so perfectly, and why the ending is perfectly aligned with what message the show wants to give us.
“But if we can’t change the things that have happened, maybe we can change the story we tell.” — Dove
Moral issues are not the only matter which make the show such a great watch. It’s also how it highlights environmental crimes with the illegal eel smuggling. Did you know that eels are one of the most smuggled and endangered sea creatures in the world? Of course you didn’t and neither did I. But the show let’s us all know about that. And it’s good information.
Final Thoughts
While watching the show, I was continuously reminded of Deadloch (read my review on ‘Deadloch’), which is a similar show about mysterious murders centered around a small town. But despite the similarities between Bodkin and Deadloch, the show definitely manages to establish its own character.
Bodkin isn’t a bad show. It’s a show with dark humor, and it gives sound conclusions to all the mysteries it has built up from the first episode. Even the characters in the show manage to hold their own, and the character development of our protagonists really makes Bodkin a worthy watch.
But while the show does multiple things incredibly well, it still leaves much to be desired by its final episode. This is mostly because it doesn’t offer anything new to the crime/mystery genre, especially when shows like Deadloch exist. It also relies too much on the wonder of Ireland as if it is a magical place and not one with as many flaws as any other place. Gilbert’s fascination with Ireland is especially annoying since it feels as though his intentions are to use the country’s likeness to benefit his podcast. But maybe that’s just something I felt from his character.
There’s also the fact that not everything is resolved by the end of the show, and perhaps its because we could get another season? But seeing how Netflix has an inclination of cancelling shows right and left — specifically ones which either have female protagonists or lesbian lead characters — I wouldn’t keep my expectations high. ‘I Am Not Okay with This’, ‘1899’ and ‘Warrior Nun’ are a few shows I’m still mad about.
But enough about that. I would just enjoy another adventure with Gilbert, Emmy, and Dove, because I appreciated their dynamic and the way they brought out each other’s potential. Maybe next time around though, their little outings wouldn’t feature eels.
I hope you enjoyed reading this piece on the dark comedy thriller, Bodkin. You can find more of my work here on Medium. Thank you for reading!
