Outer Banks is the Series to Watch

Last year in April, Netflix released an original series called Outer Banks and the newest season has finally arrived. The sizzling teen drama quickly rose to the top spot of the U.S. Streaming Charts, and on July 30th, 2021, the second season is here.

Disclaimer: Beware of spoilers ahead!

The overall show is about a tight-knit friend group called the Pogues made up of John B, Kie, Pope, and JJ and their summer fun which slowly turned into a dangerous, action-packed adventure of a lifetime. It involves some mysterious town history, power-hungry parents, and a race to find billions of dollars worth of gold.

The second season starts off a week after the first season’s conclusion. John B and Sarah, who were presumed dead in the Outer Banks, are indeed alive and fugitives on the run in the Bahamas. Ward and Rafe Cameron got away with murder. Meanwhile, Pope, Kie, and JJ are trying to mourn their friends and clear John B’s name.

The show picks up in episode four, though, when the Pogues are finally reunited and everyone returns to the Outer Banks. From then on, the show is a whirlwind of action and drama. There isn’t a second to look away from your screen because it seems like everything is necessary.

This new fast-paced season deals with a new treasure hunt while still dealing with the aftermath of the first one. Characters like Pope take the forefront and step up this season. Personally, he’s my favorite character this season, along with newcomer Cleo, one of Sarah and John B’s allies from the Bahamas.

The new treasure hunt of the season is a race to find the Cross of Santo Domingo before Limbrey, another new character and antagonist introduced this season. I didn’t really like the plotline of finding this cross, mainly because it didn’t seem to benefit anyone, but I did like the actual process of finding the cross because we were able to get a deeper look into Pope and his family. 

JJ and Kie were real MVPs this season. In an effort to help clear John B’s name, Kie went as far as to climb into the sewers for them and almost drowned in the process. JJ was also a great character; he was vital to finding the cross before Limbrey, as he was able to solve some of the hints and riddles that led to them finding the cross not once but twice. Not to mention JJ’s crazy but successful plan to break John B out of jail as well as him and his cousin saving Pope from dying by wasps. 

Like many Netflix shows, this season of Outer Banks was not without crazy plot twists. In episode six, something that shocked me, and I’m sure surprised many watchers, was when Ward killed himself via boat explosion. The moment was bittersweet because there was satisfaction for John B since the man who essentially ruined his life was now dead, but Sarah just lost her dad, who, while she knew was crazy, still loved him.

That being said, it didn’t last long because Ward’s death was actually fake and just a last-ditch attempt at not getting caught for Peterkin’s murder. Towards the end of the season, it felt kind of hopeless. Ward was alive, had the gold and the cross, and after essentially kidnapping Sarah, was on his way to happily ever after. 

The ending of the show was crazy, to say the least. In an action-filled final episode, the Pogues managed to get on the boat with the gold, cross, and Cameron’s, but they were also stuck on the boat with the gold, the cross, and Cameron’s, which was not good. The Pogues ended up stuck in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to go. The episode was overflowing with suspense and had me on the edge of my seat. 

During all the fighting of the last episode, there was a very symbolic moment where John B was beating up Ward, it was all very reminiscent of when Ward killed his father. The ending of the show was both very satisfactory and also not at all. While Ward and Rafe were still in possession of the gold and the cross, the Pogues were able to escape with Cleo, who was now an honorary Pogue. They’re also stranded but at least they have each other. It was actually quite a hopeful note when you ignore the fact that everyone back at the Outer Banks thinks the teens are missing or worse. 

Again like any Netflix Original, the season left off on a cliffhanger where we found out John B’s dad was alive and recovering in Barbados this whole time. To say I did not see that coming is an understatement. While the cliffhanger was a surprise, I was not the happiest about it. I found it unnecessary, and I feel like it cheapened John B’s story arc slightly. His whole character was trying to finish what his dad started and avenge his death, but never mind he’s actually alive… whoops.

Overall, I thought the season was amazing! It fulfilled that very summer feel of the first seasons and came back with that CW-style teenage drama. While I don’t think that anything will beat Outer Banks’ first season, this season did fulfill all my expectations for the show and more.