You can’t solve a mystery twice, which is the primary obstacle standing in the way of Bodkin Season 2. The first season’s ending seemed to tie up all the loose ends, but did it? The truth might have been revealed about the disappearances that attracted Gilbert, Emmy, and Dove to the fictional West Cork town in the first place, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be another mystery that brings the three of them back together again.
Bodkin Needs A New Mystery
The primary obstacle preventing Netflix from immediately renewing the series will be the fact it’s titled Bodkin, which means that it not only needs a new mystery to justify a second season but needs one that somehow ties back to the same small Irish town.
Of course, almost everyone in Bodkin is eccentric, and many complex family relationships and secrets are shared among the townsfolk. But a large amount of this was covered in Season 1, and it would be difficult to come up with something fresh-feeling that still felt connected to the setting.
This is especially problematic given the three main characters all left the town at the end of Season 1, for different reasons.
Did Seamus Survive?
The only ambiguous aspect of the Season 1 finale was whether Seamus survived after detonating the explosives at the Samhain festival. His body was not discovered on the beach and his death was not confirmed.
However, it was implied that the McArdles had caught up with him, which is as good as a death sentence in many ways.
Seamus’s survival is interesting to ponder but it couldn’t justify an entire season. Most of the interesting things about Seamus — his real identity, the eel smuggling operation, his relationship with Sean, and his rivalry with the McArdles — were dealt with in Season 1. What’s left? Even if Seamus was alive, there’s little chance he could be the focal point of several new episodes.
Bodkin Season 2 Needs Gilbert, Emmy, and Dove To Return
The key strength of Bodkin, as I highlighted in my review, was the relationship between the three main characters. As mentioned above, all three left the town at the end of Season 1, so Season 2 would need to contrive a way to get them back together.
This wouldn’t be impossible. Gilbert gave up podcasting, even going so far as to throw his audio recorder in the river as a symbolic gesture for leaving the story alone rather than trying to profit from it. But this isn’t going to be an immediate solution to Gilbert’s problems, and his obsession with success won’t disappear overnight. He’d be easy to rope back into another story.
Emmy is even easier since she now has Dove’s former investigative journalist job at The Guardian. It’s now her professional responsibility to investigate matters.
And Dove, despite having returned to the convent of her childhood, is still relatively local. I think the primary motivator for her return would be her potential romantic connection with Gilbert, which became apparent when she thought he was dead during the explosion. This would make sense as a way to bring her reluctantly back into the fold, and perhaps some professional jealousy over Emmy now occupying her previous position would create an intriguing new dynamic.
Bodkin’s Future Remains Unclear
Either way, this is all speculation. Netflix has not renewed Bodkin for a second season at the time of writing, and it will probably take several weeks for the streaming giant to make a decision either way.
Despite the first season not really lending itself to a continuation, greed will always win, and Bodkin has been a hit with both critics and, most importantly, audiences. The 71% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and the fact that the show has rocketed into the number 2 position on Netflix’s most-watched charts, second only to Baby Reindeer, suggests that it will be something that Netflix is keeping a close eye on in the coming weeks.
What would you like to see in Bodkin Season 2? Do you think the show has run its course, or is there more to come? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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