This article contains spoilers for Bodkin episode 6, "Ends Justify Means". Bodkin is a slow-burn Netflix dark comedy that follows a team of true-crime podcasters as they investigate a number of disappearances in a small Irish town.
Bodkin's penultimate episode sees the podcasters trying to track down where Fiona (or her baby) might have disappeared to. After stumbling upon some evidence at Mrs O'Shea's guest house, the trail leads them back to the island of Inish Mac Tire, a trip that dredges up some painful memories from Dove's past. Here's a full recap of everything that happened in Bodkin episode 6.
Back to Inish Mac Tire
Episode 6 picks up in the harbor, with officer Eoin struggling to maintain order as onlookers stare at the burned-out shell of Seamus' boat. The Interpol officers flash their badges and ask for info, and if Seamus' body has been found (not yet, but a search will be conducted). Since Ruari Power is still in hospital, Eoin's got jurisdiction, and the officers tell him they need his help to apprehend Dove.
At the guest house, Dove searches for an iron and stumbles upon a bundle of papers tied with a cincture from the Sisters of Mercy (the order of nuns who live on Inish Mac Tire). When she spots them rooting through her belongings and start questioning about where she used to be a nurse, she complains of a headache to fob them off. Dove presses her, but O'Shea just tells them to get lost and walks off.
The trio gather at a cafe for breakdfast and go over what these findings could mean. The Sisters of Mercy are a nursing order, so there's every chance O'Shea belonged to them. It's clear the order are hiding something; Dove wants to get to the island ASAP to check, so Emmy moves to book tickets on the first ferry they can get. Gilbert can't come right away, though, as Amber is due to arrive soon.
Dove is taken aback he won't follow the lead right away; he says he can follow them to the island afterwards, but gets why she's worried about the timescale ahead of her impending extradition (this is the first time Emmy learns about this, and she's also concerned about the ethical implications on the podcast).
Elsewhere, we see Seamus climbing up a bank to his warehouse. Inside, he finds Sean tending to the eels, and Seamus asks whether he's seen around new in town (as the McArdles will be after him). Seamus also asks whether he called off the deal with the Yakuza, and tells him his plan to get the Spanish deal back on track before he flees Bodkin this evening. Mrs O'Shea's also seen telling someone over the phone that they just need to slow the podcasters down... and then Eoin drops by to inform her that he needs to arrest Dove, news which she seems very pleased to hear.
Emmy and Dove are greeted by Mother Superior Bernadette. Dove demands time with Sister McDonagh, who has apparently taken a turn for the worse. Instead, Bernadette invites them to her office and sends Sister Clodagh over to rouse McDonagh. Bernadette offers the two investigators some tea (Emmy turns it down, but Dove doesn't). She rakes up Dove's past, telling Emmy Dove was taken in by a convent and she then coldly burned down their chapel as thanks, though Dove insists that things didn't play out the way she claims. Bernadette is called away downstairs and leaves. Impatiently, Dove gets up to try the door, but finds they've been locked in. Never trust nuns, apparently.
Back in Bodkin, Gilbert meets Amber at a cafe. Inside, she presents him with divorce papers. He begs to try and fix things between them, but she knows he's in serious financial trouble, and has never been able to move past how he used their story for his first hit podcast. Reluctantly, he signs the papers. Seamus and Sean are also seen meeting their Spanish partners in the pub. The deal's back on, but for less money, and Seamus tells them Sean will be their point of contact going forward.
A painful past
Dove picks the lock and the duo heads up to McDonagh's room. There, she tricks the Sister into telling her about Fiona. McDonagh tells her that Fiona is still here on the island, hinting that she goes by Sister Dominica, and used to work the apiary with her. Though it's unclear how reliable this info is, as Dove seems to think McDonagh is in greater health than she appears to Emmy and sees a vision of a bee floating out of McDonagh's bed towards the nearby island.
They go in search of Sister Dominica, but Dove continues to see hallucinations/relive painful memories of her younger self as they make their way around the building. Dove tells Emmy the nuns have drugged her, and that she's having a bad trip. Emmy doesn't believe her, but manages to learn from one of the Sisters that Dominica has gone back to the apiary, so that's where they head next. Later, when Dove runs off and has another memory of waiting to see her mother, she falls to the floor, crying. When Emmy finds her and says she'll find Dominica herself, Dove begs her not to leave. The researcher walks into another nearby room and finds it stacked with chemicals... turns out the nuns might be drugging their visitors after all!
Meanwhile, Gilbert arrives on Inish Mac Tire. Emmy warns him not to drink any tea as its been spiked with mushrooms and reveals their destination (the apiary). Dove says she can't go inside, but Emmy shoves her inside. Cue another hallucination as she takes the mask of the beekeeper inside, seeing herself on the altar. In reality, she'd passed out on the floor. Emmy speaks to Sister Dominica, who confirms she's not Fiona.
Gilbert, follows Maeve and Teddy off into the woods. He overhears Teddy asking Maeve about what happened to Fiona. She tries to deny any knowledge about what happened on Inish Mac Tire, and then Gilbert steps in, calling her a liar. He knows she lied about being in Dublin on Samhain and that Fiona was pregnant.
Teddy then recalls seeing Maeve down by the pier after he chased after Fiona that night, and Maeve's forced to reveal the truth. Fiona asked Maeve to sail her to Wales that evening, but they never made it to their destination. Worse, Teddy's head injury came from Maeve smacking him with an oar when he appeared; she thought he was Seamus chasing after Fiona at the time, but after hitting him, she brought Teddy to Inish Mac Tire, where he could be attended to by one of the nurses... which Gilbert reasons must have been Mrs O'Shea. Both of them then demand to know what happened to Fiona.
The truth comes out
At the apiary, Dove finally recovers from the tea, and admits she must have been high when she was directed to the island. It looks like their trip was a waste of time, but Emmy spies a grave marker with no name or date on it, only the Irish word for mother. And that's when Maeve, Gilbert and Teddy wander over.
Maeve explains that they sent Teddy back to Bodkin, but Fiona was worried she missed her opportunity to leave. So, it becomes clear she stayed here, at Inish Mac Tire. Bernadette approaches, furious that they've come all this way, but at the sight of Maeve, she cools off. Maeve tells them they have to promise not to tell anyone what they learn (though Gilbert's recording it all), and then Bernadette explains that Fiona delivered her baby, early, but they both died on May 31, the feast of the Visitation. Following this revelation, Dove passes out once again.
We cut back to Seamus' warehouse, with Seamus complaining about Sean being late again. One of the Spaniards climbs up and finds the vats are empty, demanding to know where his eels went. Seamus finds they've all been emptied, and promises that Sean's a dead man. Has the lad really tried to double-cross Seamus?
Sister Bernadette and Dove have a heart-to-heart back in the convent's kitchen. Dove confesses she was just smoking in the chapel that night and didn't mean to burn it down, and remembers worrying that her mother never wanted to see her after getting clean. Bernadette reminds her to ask forgiveness for herself. Bernadette, in turn, confesses that she's not perfect: she doses all of her visitors who come seeking "revelations", but also states that she buried Fiona on the island and sought silence from the rest of the order.
When Emmy and Gilbert come back in to check on Dove, Bernadette leaves for a moment. The reporter reveals she's caught Bernadette in a lie: she noted that Bernadette said she buried Fiona, and only Fiona. Gilbert and Emmy had looked up the Feast of the Visitation, and the dates don't match up with Fiona's sonogram, either, so Bernadette still can't be trusted. Their conversation's interrupted when Eoin walks in to arrest Dove. Gilbert tries to restrain him to allow Dove to flee, but Interpol officer Charles pepper sprays him and he falls to the ground. Eoin takes Dove away, and say they'll be back.
Bernadette finds Emmy in the hall nearby, looking at the photos of the nuns together. She stops in front of the photo from 1999, the one Mrs O'Shea is no longer in. Bernadette calls this a tragic year; they lost O'Shea when a mother and her unborn child died. Except, Emmy interrupts her, with her own theory. The child didn't die at all: Mrs O'Shea didn't just abandon the convent, she left the order with Sean, making him Fiona and Seamus' child. Bernadette storms off in a huff, confirming the truth.
Back in Bodkin, preparations for Samhain are in full swing. Sean's seen meeting with another Interpol officer, promising the hand-over for the deal will take place tomorrow. She wants his clarification that Seamus will be present, but he just says things have changed and implying he's the man in charge. The episode then ends with Dove and gilbert being brought back to town by the officers.
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