Netflix’s hit show, Outer Banks, is now in production for the third season. Directed by Jonas Pate, the show follows a group of teenagers in the Outer Banks and their adventures to find centuries-old treasure. Here’s a quick review to sum it all up before the highly anticipated season three.
Season 1 opens by introducing the Pogues: John B (Chase Stokes), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey), and Pope (Johnathan Daviss). The fun-loving, carefree group live on the poorer side of the island, and they normally butt heads with the wealthier group known as the Kooks.
The introductory episodes take on a lighthearted approach by incorporating themes of friendship, love, and summertime bliss. As the story progresses and the season continues, the plotline does take a more serious approach, including themes of scandal, corruption and abuse of power.
The first season mainly consists of the Pogues looking for lost treasure that came from a sunken shipwreck. John B wants to finish the discovery his missing (and presumed dead) father spent his entire life working on, before the DCS comes to take him to foster care. Along the way to discovering the treasure, John B enlists the help of Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), the considered “Kook Princess,” and eventually, the group of five find the gold. However, the gold somehow falls into the hands of Ward Cameron, (Charles Esten), Sarah’s corrupt father. The season comes to a close with intensity, as John B is framed for killing the county sheriff by Ward, even though his son, Rafe Cameron (Drew Starkey) actually did. As he is tracked down the island by the police and time is running thin, John B and Sarah eventually leave the Outer Banks on JJ’s father’s boat in order to escape. Although the Pogues believe that all hope is lost when John B and Sarah head right into a tropical storm, they somehow survive and track the attention of a cargo ship who takes them to the Bahamas, the same place where Ward sent the gold.
While most of the season focuses on the Pogue’s hunt for gold, there are a few subplots. For starters, the Pogues face conflicts with the Kooks, especially when Pope sinks Topper’s (Austin North) boat after being jumped by him and Rafe. Sarah and Kiara also face troubles of their own, and have to find a way to patch up their once perfect friendship, which they eventually do. The Pogues also face trouble with the law while looking for the gold, and we can see JJ’s abusive relationship with his father after one of JJ’s run-ins. Another important element of the plot that is not forthcoming in the beginning of the season is Big John (John B’s father) and Ward’s partnership to find the gold together. After Big John tries to negotiate a deal that includes Ward getting less gold, Ward takes his aggression out on Big John and pushes him, causing him to hit the back of his neck on the side of their boat. Ward, thinking Big John is dead, dumps his body into the sea. However Big John is able to survive to a remote island and inscribes “Redfield” into his compass, which helps John B find the gold later on.
Overall, season 1 is more upbeat when compared to the second season. Season 2 starts off with a heavy tone, which can be seen right off the bat in the opening scene of episode 1. Pope, Kiara, and JJ are seen mourning John B and Sarah, as they believe they are dead. After John B exposes Ward killing his father to the police before he drives into the storm (from season 1), Ward must deal with finding a way to talk himself out of the situation. Immediately arriving in the Bahamas, John B and Sarah meet trouble and find it difficult to get their hands on the gold. Eventually, after multiple trials and tribulations, the two find a way back to the Outer Banks and begin their journey to find the gold all over again, but this time, the Pogues also look to clear John B’s name and lock up Ward.
While this season does continue the main plot from season 1, more character development takes place. We see more of Pope, and we learn that he is related to Denmark Tanny, the sole survivor of the shipwreck that carried the treasure. Tanny brought the gold to the Outer Banks. The plot does shift to the Pogues trying to find a gold cross that belongs to Pope and his family. However, as usual, their attempts are matched with interactions with the Kooks, especially Rafe. As a character, Rafe also develops into a stronger person and is seen maturing to be like his father.
The viewers are introduced to Carla Limbery, who reached out to Pope about Tanny and the cross and also offered to help clear John B’s name. However, towards the end of the season, she makes ties with Rafe to get a shroud that she thinks will heal her.
After all is said and done, the Pogues and Cleo (Carlacia Grant), a ship worker who helped Sarah and John B in the Bahamas, all wind up on a cargo ship with Ward, Rafe, and the cross and somehow have to escape their clutches by sailing a lifeboat to a deserted island. At the closing scene of episode 10, Limbery is seen talking to an alive Big John about giving her the shroud as long as she helps John B.
The story line may seem complicated, but overall, if you were to watch Outer Banks, you would find the show gripping and simply entertaining.