WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Bodkin.
There were several major deaths in the Netflix crime mystery series Bodkin. Throughout Bodkin’s seven episodes, which are all available to stream exclusively on Netflix, an untapped scandal is revealed involving yoga-teaching nuns, illegally smuggled eels, and cold-blooded murder. Will Forte leads Bodkin’s cast as the happy-go-lucky Gilbert Power, who first arrived in Ireland to do a lighthearted podcast about a traditional festival. With the sharp investigative eye of Dove (Siobhán Cullen) and the help of his ambitious assistant Emmy (Robyn Cara), Gilbert discovers a complex web of lies and deceit in a small Irish town.
Bodkin was released on Netflix on May 8, 2024, opening to positive reviews. Bodkin was filmed entirely in Ireland, mostly in the counties of Cork, Wicklow, and Dublin. The small fishing village of Union Hall in West Cork was used as the fictional setting of Bodkin. Although Bodkin is not based on a true story, the series offers a complex mystery full of unexpected twists and wild plot developments. While Bodkin’s ending does not solve every mystery and unanswered question, such as whether Seamus is still alive and whether Dove is in love with Gilbert, many of the deaths in the series are explained.
Krtek was introduced in Bodkin episode 1 “One True Mystery”. At the beginning of the episode, Dove walks into an apartment to discover his dead body to her horror and dismay. Krtek was a whistleblower that Dove had written about in The Guardian, which is one of the most well-respected newspapers in the world. It’s implied that Krtek took his own life following the release of the article, which Dove wrote. Dove later explains to Gilbert in Bodkin episode 7 “Empty Your Pockets” that her article led to Krtek’s death. Even Seamus somehow knew about Dove’s involvement in Kretek’s death in episode 3 “Perfectly Innocent Life”.
Darragh shockingly turns up dead at the end of Bodkin episode 2 “Who We Are” after talking to Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy. Darragh was a beloved local who tended to cattle on the outskirts of Bodkin, living a quaint life on his family’s massive farm. Darragh was found dead in an apparent suicide, which sent shockwaves through the town of Bodkin. A funeral was held for Darragh in episode 3 “Perfetcly Innocent Life”, which is what Darragh was remembered for living. Dove suspects that Seamus has something to do with Darragh’s death. Interestingly, there was no autopsy performed because the death was considered suspicious. It’s later revealed that Darragh went to prison with Seamus’s brother Malachy.
The death of Fiona Doyle, the love of Seamus’s life, drives much of the narrative throughout the final episodes of Bodkin. After Gilbert and Dove figure out that Fiona was not one of the dead bodies found in the trunk of Seargenat Power’s car, which was dumped into a pond 25 years ago, it is finally revealed where Fiona ended up. The notorious crime family, the McArdles, were on their way to Bodkin on the night of the Samhain festival when Fiona and Malachy disappeared. Seamus wanted to make sure the two of them got out of town, but Teddy and Malachy got into a fight over Fiona. Fiona then fled to the Inish Mac Thiere convent and stayed briefly with Mother Bernadette and a group of beekeeping nuns where she died while giving birth to Sean.
Malachy O’Connor ended up being one of the bodies that was found in the back of Sergeant Power’s car. Sergeant Power explained that all those years ago, on the night of that fateful Samhain festival, Teddy had killed Malachy with a brick after the two had gotten into a fight over Fiona. Ever since, Sergeant Power had protected Teddy from the limelight and from facing criminal repercussions. Malachy is revealed to be Seamus’s brother. Seamus confirms Malachy’s body in Bodkin episode 4 but proves that the other decomposed body was not Fiona because her front teeth were knocked out, which didn’t match the body.
Greta was a member of the New Age Travelers group that lived on a commune outside Bodkin. On the night that Teddy killed Malachy, Sergeant Power loaded the body into his car and drove off to hide the evidence. By a cruel twist of fate, he ended up hitting Greta, who was otherwise innocent and uninvolved in the matter, with his car, which makes Sergeant Power guilty of manslaughter. Rather than confessing and turning himself in, Sergeant Power loaded Greta’s body into his trunk as well, which is why there were two bodies found in his car in Bodkin episode 2.