Bodkin's Timeline Explained: All Major Events In Chronological Order

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Bodkin.

Summary Dove's haunting past at a convent is unveiled, leading to emotional reunions and revelations about her upbringing.

Secrets from a fateful night in 1999, involving a brick, a sunken car, and two shocking deaths, all come to light in Bodkin.

From unexpected suicides to buried truths, Bodkin unravels a complex web of mysteries in a small Irish town.

All the big events in Bodkin take place over the course of several decades and have a major impact on the murder mystery as it unfolds. 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. 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.

Will Forte leads Bodkin's cast as the happy-go-lucky Gilbert Power, a lighthearted podcaster. 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, the not-so-cold case is considered solved by the end of the season. It's unclear whether Bodkin will return for a second season or if it will remain as a limited series.

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18 Dove Spent Her Childhood In A Convent

1990s

One of the biggest hidden details about Dove's upbringing was that she spent her childhood at a convent due to her mother's struggles with heroin addiction. It isn't revealed much before the sixth and seventh episodes of Bodkin, during which Dove has frightening flashbacks about her childhood and appears to be mistreated by the nuns at her previous convent. It seems, however, that when Dove returns to the convent at the end of the series, which is separate from the one in Bodkin, the nuns there are gracious enough to hang onto her childhood belongings, which allows Dove to reunite with her beloved stuffed wolf.

17 Teddy Kills Malachy With A Brick On The Night Of Samhain

October 31, 1999

The Bodkin murder mystery has been kept a massive secret in the small Irish coastal town until Gilbert and Dove poke enough holes to uncover the shocking truth. Teddy, the mild-tempered son of Sergeant Power, is revealed to be the one who killed Malachy, Seamus's brother. This all happened in the year 1999 during the annual Samhain festival, which takes place on the same night as Halloween in the United States. Seamus had enlisted the help of Sergeant Power to get Fiona and Malachy out of Bodkin after hearing that the McArdles were coming to town. Teddy and Malachy fought over Fiona and Teddy unintentionally killed Malachy with a brick.

16 Sergeant Power Kills Greta & Sinks His Car Into A Bog

October 31, 1999

On the same night of the Samhain festival in 1999, Sergeant Power tried to cover up Malachy's death by loading his body into the car, relinquishing Teddy from having to face criminal repercussions for murder or manslaughter. Although Sergeant Power was looking out for his son, who was considered a good person that made a terrible mistake, Sergeant Power ended up with blood on his hands after accidentally killing Greta, a member of the New Age Travelers. As Sergeant Power was driving to dispose of Malachy's body, he struck and killed Greta, loaded her body into his car as well, and sunk it into a bog.

15 Fiona Escaped To A Convent But Died Giving Birth To Sean

Late 1999

Fiona and Malachy had both showed up to the Power's house to seek the help of Sergeant Power. After Teddy killed Malachy on the night of Samhain, Fiona fled and sought refuge at the convent outside of Bodkin, where Mother Bernadette and many other nuns hid her away. Fiona was pregnant with Seamus's child and ended up dying during childbirth while at the convent, approximately a few weeks or months after the night of Samhain. Interestingly, the nuns did not think to inform Seamus that Fiona has a child but instead one of them, Mrs. O'Shea, adopted him and raised him as her own.

14 Krtek Dies By Suicide

Present Day

Dove's character is introduced in Bodkin while she is working on another, "more serious" piece of investigative journalism for The Guardian. Essentially, her collaboration with a whistleblower named Krtek leads to him dying by suicide at the start of the series. Although Krtek isn't involved in the murder mystery in Bodkin, it's the shocking event that pushes the hard-nosed, cold-blooded Dove to take on a simpler, less dangerous task with Gilbert. Ironically, the seemingly harmless podcast that Gilbert had intended to make ended up uncovering a much darker murder mystery, which could not have been solved without Dove's expertise in the field.

13 Dove Gets Chased & Hit By A Car In Bodkin

Present Day

A shocking moment from the first episode of Bodkin is when Dove gets chased and hit by a moving car. This happens not long after Dove, Gilbert, and Emmy first arrive in Bodkin and start to discover that there's more to the small coastal town than meets the eye. The drivers get out of the car wearing black ski masks and sunglasses, hiding their identities as they threaten Dove to stop digging around in Bodkin. It is later revealed that the two undercover Interpol agents who were investigating Seamus's illegal smuggling of eels hit Dove with their car.

12 Mrs. O’Shea Sets Sean’s Car On Fire

Present Day

Bodkin episode 1 also ends with the bizarre occurrence of Sean's car being set on fire. At first it seems like the undercover Interpol agents were likely behind it, but it is later revealed that Mrs. O'Shea shockingly set the car on fire herself. This was her way of trying to scare off Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy, who were staying at her house while they were producing their podcast. By the end of Bodkin, Mrs. O'Shea is revealed to be one of the nuns who knew about Fiona's death during childbirth and the truth about Sean, which is why she tries to get Gilbert and Dove out of town.

11 Darragh Dies In An Apparent Suicide

Present Day

The death of the beloved local farmer Darragh sends shockwaves through Bodkin and raises all types of suspicions about who could have potentially been involved. Dove begins to suspect that Darragh's death was framed as a suicide and that Seamus has something to do with it, which inspires her and Emmy to start digging through his past to see what they can find. It's never explicitly made clear whether Darragh's death was truly a suicide or a murder, but it inspired a deeper focus on Seamus since Darragh and Malachy, Seamus's dead brother, were once close. There was also speculation that Darragh was drunk and fell, which caused his death.

10 Greta & Malachy’s Bodies Are Found In Sergeant Power’s Car

Present Day

The mystery in Bodkin really started to unravel with the discovery of two decomposed bodies in the back of a sunken car. For more than two decades, the car was left undetected in a random bog in the small town and no one ever discovered its incredible significance or implications to Fiona, Malachy, and a missing New Age Traveler named Greta. Initially, the two bodies were thought to have been Fiona and Malachy, but Seamus confirms that Fiona had fake teeth and didn't match the second dead body. Upon the discovery that the car belonged to Sergeant Power, Dove is able to start piecing some of the puzzle together.

9 Sergeant Power Is Hospitalized After A Heart Attack

Present Day

The wolf inside Dove really starts to show when she accuses Sergeant Power of being involved in the deaths of Malachy and potentially Fiona. She terrified him so badly that Sergeant Power keels over and has a heart attack in the bar, which ends up leaving him hospitalized. Clueless and shocked by Dove's aggression, Emmy starts to distrust Dove altogether, throwing her coat onto a random tree and screaming at the top of her lungs how much she hates her. Dove, while over the top, was on point and ultimately misunderstood, since she exposed Sergeant Power for his long-buried crimes.

Related Why Dove Keeps Seeing A Wolf In Bodkin (& What It Means) Throughout Netflix's dark comedy crime drama Bodkin, the character Dove keeps seeing a wolf. Why she sees it is all tied back to her childhood.

8 The McArdles Try To Kill Seamus By Lighting His Boat On Fire

Present Day

The McArdles discover where Jackie McFadden, aka Seamus, has been hiding all those years since the night of the Samhain festival in 1999. "Jackie" and the McArdles had been rival criminals back in those days up in Northern Ireland, which is why Seamus had originally gotten paranoid when he heard the McArdles were coming to Bodkin. After showing his face and pointing a gun at one of the McArdles, the family locates his boat and sets it on fire, nearly burning Seamus alive trapped within it. Seamus somehow manages to escape and knows he needs to once again flee in order to save his own life.

7 Gilbert Signs The Divorce Papers With His Wife

Present Day

Gilbert also goes on a personal journey during his time in Bodkin, finally submitting to his wife's desire to finalize their divorce. Gilbert had taken his own martial struggles with his wife and used them for his podcast, which he believes helped many of his listeners. Gilbert's wife, Anna, tells Gilbert that the podcast did not help her and ultimately left her feeling exposed and uncomfortable by all of the online attention she received as a result. This seems to be a major motivating factor in why Anna asks Gilbert for a divorce. Gilbert tries his best to save his marriage but agrees to sign the papers.

6 Dove Has A Psychedelic Experience At The Convent

Present Day

Arguably the most unhinged part of Bodkin was when Dove was experiencing the effects of psychedelic mushrooms while she and Emmy were at the convent. Dove starts to have strange flashbacks which reveal more of her backstory as a troubled young girl at a different convent. Apparently, Mother Bernadette drugged Dove's tea while she and Emmy were meeting with her in her office, which inspired the bizarre mind-bending effects. Dove becomes more emotionally vulnerable than she ever has before in the series, which shocks an onlooking sober Emmy.

5 Maeve Reveals Fiona Was Buried At The Convent

Present Day

Later in the graveyard at the convent outside Bodkin, Maeave reveals that the tombstone that reads "Máthair" is where Fiona was buried after childbirth. This is one of the first major reveals that led to the truth about Fiona after the fateful night of the Samhain festival in 1999. Although Maeve doesn't have a major role in Bodkin, she is revealed to have been the one who hurt Teddy by hitting him in the head with an oar, causing irrecoverable cognitive damage. Maeve eventually takes Teddy and Gilbert to the graveyard to show them where Fiona was buried.

4 Gilbert & Dove Get Arrested By Interpol Agents

Present Day

Gilbert tries to be a hero when the local police and Interpol agents show up to arrest Dove for her connection to Krtek's death. As a result, Gilbert is also arrested and joins Dove in jail back in Bodkin. Dove is ratted out by Mother Bernadette but is able to cut a deal with the Interpol agents, agreeing to help them find Seamus if she can be released. In the jail cell, Dove opens up to Gilbert about her mother and her childhood.

Related Bodkin Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play The Bodkin soundtrack seamlessly mirrors the Netflix limited series' tone and brings out the mood, with a blend of country, Irish, and rock music.

3 The McArdles Come Looking For Seamus & Kill His Dog

Present Day

The McArdles waste no time in trying to kill Seamus once and for all after lighting his boat on fire is unsuccessful. They show up at his house when Dove happens to be there and kill his dog in cold blood. Seamus and Dove watch in silence hiding in the walls of the kitchen. It's never explained why the McArdles want Seamus dead to this day, but it's clear that they have been major enemies for quite some time. It would have been nice to know more about why the McArdles hate Seamus so much, but the backstory doesn't cut that deep.

2 Seamus Tells Sean He Is His Father & Accidentally Shoots Off His Thumb

Present Day

Seamus learns that Fiona gave birth in 1999 and gave birth to a son, who is shockingly Sean. Upon telling Sean this information, Sean completely denies it, claiming to still be from Romania. When Mrs. O'Shea gets involved, who has raised Sean his entire life, Seamus tries to shoot her, but Sean interferes and grabs the gun as it goes off. Seamus accidentally shoots off Sean's thumb, which causes him to lose all hope in the future. He takes Gilbert and heads to an underground save underneath the Samhain festival.

1 Seamus Sets Off Explosives Under The Eel Truck At The Samhain Festival

Present Day

Seamus plots to kill everyone at the Samhain festival in a full circle moment, since he lost Fiona and Malachy on that same night more than two decades ago. Seamus ties Gilbert up next to the explosives and is confronted by Dove on the beach as the McArdles and the Interpol agents surround him. Seamus confesses that he has lost all capacity for human empathy and sets off the explosives before mysteriously disappearing. Gilbert ends up escaping and the crowd is spared thanks to Emmy encouraging Teddy to sing and draw them away from the festival grounds. The illegal eels rain down on Bodkin as Gilbert, Dove, and Emmy go their separate ways.

Related 10 Dark Comedy Crime Shows To Watch Like Netflix's Bodkin Netflix's Bodkin is perfect for fans of crime, mystery, and dark humor, and these additional shows are ideal for fulfilling any remaining cravings.

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