One True Mystery

Bodkin Episode Season 1 Recap, Review, Summary Bodkin Season 1 opens with Gilbert Power narrating about his podcast and a woman named Dove. The scene shifts to Dove in an apartment searching for someone named Krtek on Halloween night. She wanders around the house and finds Krtek hanging from the ceiling. When she tries to leave, a man in a devil mask, looking for a Halloween party, startles her at the front door. It is later revealed that Dove is a journalist for The Guardian, and Krtek was an informant in one of her cases. Her editor Damien advises her to leave town and assigns her a new task in Ireland, collaborating with Gilbert on a true crime podcast. Dove isn’t happy about it but is forced to go; she is from Ireland herself and doesn’t wish to return. At the airport, Dove arrives as Gilbert is discussing the new assignment with Emmy, a researcher at The Guardian. They are enthusiastic, while Dove already seems uninterested. The team arrives in Bodkin and is picked up by Sean, then they head to investigate the Samhain mystery. This involves the unsolved disappearance of three unrelated individuals on the ‘Irish Night of the Dead’ 25 years ago. With the Samhain Festival being revived, Gilbert is excited because he thinks it’s a great opportunity for his podcast to have a compelling story. When they stop to look at the countryside, Gilbert takes a video to appreciate the view while Sean flirts with Emmy, frustrating Dove. Gilbert sees a man on a billboard and asks Sean who it is. Sean calls him “Shitpants,” a local who made money in Silicon Valley and now owns a nearby server farm. Dove, still grumpy, tells a little girl to f*ck off when she compliments Dove’s sunglasses. The team gets back in the car and continues their trip. They arrive at the village and are greeted by two old locals, Barry and Cathal. Gilbert tells them about his podcast, and they are amused that an American would come all the way to a small town in Ireland to make a podcast and earn money from it. Gilbert then asks if they know about the disappearance of three people 25 years ago. Barry thinks their disappearance was related to rogue waves, while Cathal suggests it might have something to do with fairies. The team finally arrives at their stay, where the host, Mrs. O’Shea, lets them in. It's amusing that when she learns Gilbert is from Chicago, she asks if he knows two guests from Chicago who stayed at her place some time ago, as if Chicago is as small as Bodkin. Meanwhile, Dove wanders around the house and sees a wolf in another room. She asks if the owner has a dog, and when Mrs. O’Shea says no, the wolf jumps out of the window and disappears. Mrs. O’Shea makes some tea for the guests. She is quite friendly, even invasive, until Gilbert and Emmy reveal they are there to investigate the disappearance of the three people and to make a podcast about it. She seems nervous upon hearing that, mumbles something unclear, and goes to her room. Gilbert and Emmy are surprised, but they have to leave anyway to go to Ailbhe Hollow, the location where the town held the Samhain Festival every year before the incident happened. Soon, Darragh, the owner of the land, arrives and tells them that during the past festivals, the location would be full of people, but now it's just used by people for sneaky reasons.

Damien calls to check on Dove, and she tells him that Gilbert and Emmy are too upbeat, and she can't take them seriously.

In the evening, the three of them go to the pub to discuss the case. Emmy lists all the missing people: Fiona Doyle, a school teacher who doesn’t have any family in town except her cousin Bridgit; a man named Malachy O’Connor; and a boy, but Emmy can't find any information about him.

Dove finds the conversation boring and checks her phone, seeing news about Krtek, which they call “a whistleblower commits suicide.”

Dove gets more annoyed when Gilbert suggests they should look into Irish folklore and myths about fairies. She tells them to leave the tourist trap pub and go to a local place to investigate the real locals.

At the local pub, Gilbert starts making friends and talking about his podcast. Dove notices Sean having a shady deal with some men in the corner. Suddenly, a man named Teddy stands up and starts singing, and the whole pub goes silent to listen. Gilbert and Emmy find it amazing, while Dove tells them it’s not normal for Irish people to do that. She goes outside while Gilbert tries to talk with Teddy, but he's now sleepy. A man named Seamus approaches Gilbert and asks if he’s American. Gilbert reveals he’s actually Irish, as his great-grandfather was from Cork. Seamus suddenly acts mad and accuses his great-grandfather of being a thief, making Gilbert nervous, but it turns out Seamus is just messing with him. Outside, Dove meets a man who claims he knows what happened to the missing people at Samhain. He says they were attacked by horses and that he once saw a horse turn into a woman, at that point Dove understand he’s talking nonsense. Dove gets frustrated and calls Damien to complain, and he repeats that she better help Gilbert get the job done, or she'll get fired. Just as they hang up, Dove sees the wolf again and walks back inside. The next morning, Gilbert is woken up by a phone call from his wife, Amber. They are facing some financial problems, and Gilbert, still hungover, tells Amber he’s taking care of it. Meanwhile, Emmy tries to reach Sean but can't get through. Gilbert and Dove soon join her at the breakfast table, and Emmy informs them about the issue with Sean.

Emmy thinks they should proceed with their plan anyway, but Dove believes there's something off about Sean and they should start by investigating him. She gets Sean’s address from Emmy and leaves on foot, but the Google Maps app doesn't work well in Bodkin.

Dove goes into a store and asks a woman there for directions, but she’s not helpful at all. Instead, knowing Dove is from the podcaster team, she keeps yapping about Fiona, the woman who disappeared.

Emmy and Gilbert also begin their own journey and go to Brigit’s house, Fiona's cousin. However, Brigit slams the door in their faces when she realizes they’re there for the podcast.

They see Dove walk past and decide their next stop should be the police. They meet Sergeant Power, who invites them in.

Meanwhile, Dove finally finds Sean's house. The back door is open, so she sneaks in but doesn't see anyone. Suddenly, she hears Seamus calling Sean’s name as he enters through the front door with a key. Seamus asks out loud if everything is sorted, but Sean is nowhere to be found. Seamus leaves the house, and Dove decides to follow him.

At Sergeant Power’s house, he tells Gilbert and Emmy that during the festival, people usually disguise themselves to avoid the spirits of their deceased relatives. Power says that Ireland is safer compared to America, which is full of crime and violence. Emmy responds by mentioning the Vanishing Triangle disappearances in the 90s when six women went missing without a trace. She tells him that just because they never caught and executed any serial killers doesn’t mean they don’t have any.

Sergeant Power is visibly offended by this and suggests that the women probably just went away. Gilbert tries to make the atmosphere less tense by mentioning that they share the same surname and might be related. The sergeant gets out some brandy and pours some into Gilbert's cup, then drinks some himself. He soon gets drunk, and Gilbert and Emmy struggle to bring him to his bedroom. However, it’s just an act because as soon as the podcasters leave, Sergeant Power gets up totally sober and looks at them through his window.

Dove follows Seamus and sees him buy some flowers, then rush to a cliff. She follows him there and sees him take a moment of silence, then toss the flowers into the sea. Seamus quickly spots Dove sneaking on him and confronts her. He tells her that he just lives nearby and the town is just a peaceful town that doesn’t have any secrets to be dug into.

Dove notices that Seamus looks familiar and wonders if they met before. He denies it and tells her that they should let the past go, then leaves. Dove walks back to their staying, but then she realizes a black car is following her. She runs into the forest and tries to cross another street but quickly gets hit. Two people with black masks get out from the car and threaten Dove to drop the podcast otherwise she will get seriously hurt.

Meanwhile, Emmy shows Gilbert a file she took from Sergeant Power's house which she thinks would be helpful. Gilbert isn't happy about that and tells her that they need to put the file back when they see an ambulance heading their way. They rush home and find Sean’s car is on fire in front of the house of Mrs. O’Shae. Dove staggers back home after being injured car hit, and once again sees the wolf dog but this time she stares straight at it and says, "Fuck off."