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We're about halfway through. It's good. I'd recommend watching it, though I don't forsee it becoming a beloved classic.
THE GOOD:
The plot --- at least so far --- does keep you guessing. Just when you think you might be starting to figure out what's going on, you realize how wrong you were and the story veers in a different direction.
Siobhan Cullen and David Wilmot are BY FAR the standouts. Not only are they the best actors in the show, but they are playing the most interesting characters.
Filmed in Ireland, the scenery is unfailingly gorgeous.
And the story does have a lot of fun playing against all the usual (and often false) assumptions about Ireland and the Irish.
THE BAD:
The pacing drags at times. Not chronic. It never really gets boring. But about halfway through, I did sometimes find myself wishing they'd move things along.
THE UNEVEN:
Will Forte is basically playing Will Forte. Again. He doesn't spoil anything and at times he is genuinely endearing and his character gets some surprising depth. But he is also playing the one character that seems totally shoe-horned into the show. You could have cut this guy from the story and probably improved the overall pacing and point of the show.
My wife has developed a game while watching modern TV: Guess the Lesbian. Especially in crime shows. Because no matter how the plot or characters do not really need a romantic entanglement to craft a good story, we know that by story's end at least one character will discover the wonders of her gayness. Not because it makes any sense to the story, but that's because modern TV must virtue signal. And BODKIN doesn't fail to come through. It certainly is not a major part of the story, it doesn't really do anything to develop plot or character, which makes it all the weirder that at least two episodes keep veering back to that. I couldn't help it. I kept having visions of Cartman/Kennedy in the writer's room, "Put a chick in it and make her gay!"
The humor doesn't always fit. The show is genuinely funny in spots. But is this a dark, character-driven murder mystery with hints of the supernatural? Or is it a comedy with occasional dark elements? The show doesn't always seem to be able to decide. It works as both at times, but the two don't always go together very well.
So yeah. By no means a perfect show. But if you're in the mood for a fun, atmospheric crime show with a great setting, BODKIN is it.
A pretty accurate assessment of the show! We enjoyed it enormously for its locations and understated humor, but it really didn't seem like it knew what kind of show it wanted to be. Gilbert says some deep things about "us being our stories," and I liked that. And we do get an explanation of the wolf visions at the end.
I was curious about the actress playing Sister Bernadette/Mother Superior (I guess), because I could swear I knew her, but she wasn't even in the cast list. So I had to look her up, and sure enough, she had been a regular on Star Trek: TNG, and Deep Space 9! Just a bit older...
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