Bodkin follows three podcasters investigate a 25-year-old mystery in the idyllic titular town in Ireland. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Story
Gilbert Power, Dubheasa “Dove” Maloney, and Emmy Sizergh walk into the idyllic Irish town of Bodkin, to investigate a 25-year-old mysterious case of three disappearances, to make a podcast series out of it.
Fiona, Malachy, and Teddy went missing that night of the Samhain festival, among whom only Teddy survived. The group faces many challenges within it and from external forces while digging into the truth that only gets darker and darker.
They manage to find the grave of Fiona and the dead body of Malachy, as well as the truth about what happened to them and Teddy 25 years ago. Meanwhile, the infamous smuggler connected to the case only makes things more dangerous.
The finale of Bodkin sees many forces converge during the Samhain festival as the trio faces the greatest peril yet. After overcoming said peril, they move ahead to new beginnings in life.
Performances
Will Forte plays the doofus who has a heart of gold. And yet, there are darker shades to his character that a great performer like him can effortlessly portray.
Siobhán Cullen plays the rude and abrasive Dove really well, while Robyn Cara is a standout as Emmy, who is very believable on both ends of the personality spectrum.
David Wilmot plays a terrifying force of nature as Seamus — a violent man who can still make you root for him and empathize with him — making him one of the more notable performers.
Positives
The mystery is gripping for a while, and the mood created by the Irish landscape is very conducive to the mystique.
The performances really make one care about the characters which only increases one’s investment in the story.
The character developments are, for the most part, well-handled. The stakes also feel real sometimes, while a paranormal possibility lurks in the background at all times, which makes things more moody.
Negatives
Dove goes through sub-par character development and the core issues of her personality aren’t tackled all that well.
The Interpol subplot just feels unnecessary, when Seamus’s subplot could’ve easily been moved along by the McArdles, who appear too late and too little.
Seamus’s fate with the McArdles’ exit at the end is ambiguous in a bad way, and his arc’s conclusion seems hastily curated. He doesn’t have enough time to reckon with his conscience either.
Many such things feel rather abrupt and tacked on. The mystery becomes obvious and only serves to drag the story on after a point.
A little something about Gilbert’s new beginnings would have been better, one would guess, but the Bodkin wraps him up too unsatisfactorily.
Verdict
Bodkin is a well-made dark comedy mystery thriller which has profferings of each of these genres but only in modest doses.
The weaker parts of the narrative and storytelling ironically overwhelm the stronger parts, which is quite a shame, because the potential here seems huge.
