Perfectly Innocent Life – Episode 3 begins with Gilbert Power’s (Will Forte) very brief reflection on the natural fear of death as a mortician readies Darragh’s (Pat Shortt) body in the background.

Still driving the burned-out vehicle, Sean O’Shea (Chris Walley) is in the process of escorting Dove Maloney (Siobhan Cullen) and her group to Darragh’s wake when their attention is drawn to a spectacle on the side of the road. A quick stop reveals that Seamus Gallagher (David Wilmot) is upset over Fintan/Sh*t Pants (Charlie Kelly) going through with his part, despite Darragh’s death. Fintan is quick to point out that Darragh not only gave the party his full blessing, but he signed a contract ensuring that it would take place.

Despite there being a line outside of the wake, Emmy Sizergh (Robyn Cara) continues to stress her concerns about them showing up uninvited. Dove is quick to assure her that it’s okay while reminding them it will provide the perfect opportunity to question Seamus. For fear that Dove will take an aggressive approach, Gilbert immediately declares himself chief interrogator while pointing out how crucial it is not to jump to conclusions. Dove doesn’t oppose as Gilbert introduces himself to Father Jim (Paraic Breathnach).

As the wake gets underway, Dove has a very brief and revealing conversation with the mortician, Mary Donovan (Clodagh Mooney Duggan). Mary claims there was no need for an autopsy thanks to the angle of the wound, the depth of the wound, and the blood/alcohol level. When Dove notices Seamus sneak off during the Father’s prayer, she uses the opportunity to question him. He not only tells her that she should be ashamed of herself for taking advantage of good people’s grief, but he reveals that he knows all about her other case.

While Gilbert and Emmy attempt to uncover more about Malachay by questioning some of the wake attendees, Mary and Dove bond over a drink. Mary not only hits on Dove, but she admits that a recently failed relationship led to her return to Bodkin. Dove isn’t offered much of a chance to respond to the flirt thanks to a call from Damien (Charlie Kemp). Their conversation reveals that authorities found Krtek’s (Fergus Mulligan) laptop in her apartment and are charging her with theft. He insists she return to the State, but much to his surprise she doesn’t want to return now. After some convincing, he agrees to cover her so she can investigate.

At the wake, Gilbert finds his opportunity to question Seamus after he sees him stealing a pair of glasses from Darragh’s body. This conversation doesn’t last long thanks to Seamus’s tangent about Dove. Elsewhere, Sean comes to the aid of Emmy, who gets heckled by a few local boys (Evan O’Connor/Tim O’Leary) while trying to learn more about the case. She soon turns her attention to Dove who comes rushing by in a stir. When Dove refuses her offer to join her, Emmy finds herself back inside where she bonds with Fintan over the myth of Jackie Lantern.

Gilbert hits pay dirt when he learns from Dot (Norma Sheahan) that Darragh spent several years in prison and when he was released, he returned to town with Malachay. He also learns that Darragh was much more open with Alice (Michele Forbes) which inspires him to question her sometime later. Upon doing so, he not only learns that Darragh and Malachy were more than friends, but it was Malachy and his brother Seamus, who convinced Darragh to rent all the land around Bodkin. Seamus immediately took over the lease after Malachy’s disappearance.

Dove’s destination is revealed to be Seamus’ house when she not only discovers a bag of money in a hidden crawlspace, but pictures and an engagement/wedding ring, indicating that he and Fiona were intimately acquainted. By the time Dove returns to the wake to share her discovery with Gilbert, everyone is good and drunk and Emmy has left with Fintan. Gilbert and Dove later share their discoveries over a drink at Fagan’s (Amy Conroy) Pub.

Fintan takes Emmy back to his sprawling mansion where he attempts to impress her with his plans to transform Bodkin into a town run entirely on renewable energy. As he excitedly rambles on while also preparing a snack, she mindlessly and intrusively searches through a nearby closet where she discovers some of Teddy’s (Ger Kelly) blacksmith works. This leads to sharing the tale of why he blames himself for Teddy’s disappearance and current behavior. As it turns out, Teddy was not only once a lively and outspoken young man, but he was only in the woods that night to meet Fintan, who never had intentions of meeting him. That night forever transformed Teddy.

By this time, Gilbert and Dove are equally drunk and upon leaving the pub they encounter Frank (David Pearse), who is quick to remind Gilbert of his debt. Before the confrontation can get out of hand Dove steps in and busts Frank’s nose all over his face with the palm of her hand. After fleeing on foot, Dove is giddy and teasingly mocks Gilbert for getting in debt after only being in town for just a few days. Gilbert, however, isn’t in a joking mood and this leads to him revealing the truth about his mortgage and failing podcast. Despite his one wildly successful series, everything since has been a total dud and he fears that he is a one-hit wonder. On top of all that, he’s having relationship problems with Amber (Ahna O’Reilly).

Much to Dove’s surprise, Gilbert wakes with a ravenous appetite and cheery spirit, whereas she appears to have had problems just getting out of bed. It’s not long before Emmy proudly shows up late and they are off to Darragh’s funeral. When Seamus steps away early during the burial, Dove encourages Gilbert to question Seamus. This eventually leads them to the middle of the ocean on Seamus’ boat. While reflecting on loss and life during their trip, Gilbert takes the honest approach with Seamus by telling him about Dove’s suspicions of his and Fiona’s involvement and Malachy being his brother. Seamus admits to loving Fiona but proceeds to tell him that there are much worse things than death. Their conversation also reveals that Seamus’ theft of Darragh’s glasses was his attempt to honor his requests to be buried at sea.

Elsewhere, Emmy and Dove learn about a crash on Casement Road that transpired the same night as the disappearances. After a satellite search of the area reveals that Casement Road dead ends in a bog, they decide to call Gilbert and visit the area in person. This eventually leads to Dove finding a car that is later pulled out by Farmer Colm (Frank Melia). By the time the car is pulled out, a good portion of the locals have joined the scene, much to the displeasure of Garda Eoin (Sean Og Cairns). Dove becomes upset after a quick visual inspection does not yield any results, leading her to kick the rear of the car, which in turn dislodged the trunk and revealed two skeletonized bodies. The episode ends with a voiceover from Gilbert, wishing that they never found them.

 

Bodkin Review

For me, this episode was kind of ironic. It was probably my favorite of the series thus far, yet at the same time, I felt that it had the most flaws by far. To start, it was not only incredibly boring/drug out at times, but it felt like it was all over the place. This could have had something to do with the longer run time, which I don’t consider a plus. There was also the reveal of Malachy and Darragh’s relationship as well as the possibility of Dove and Mary. The series had managed to stay away from the scourge of the woke era up until this point.

Despite that, the episode was extremely revealing and I enjoyed how everything revolved around the wake. For this, I’d have to give the episode a 5.6 out of 10.

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