On Thursday, Oct. 10, the first five episodes of season four of the extremely popular series “Outer Banks” premiered on Netflix, continuing the thrilling journey of the Pogues — a tight-knit friend group consisting of John B. (played by Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), Kiara Carrera (Madison Bailey), JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow), Pope Heyward (Jonathan Daviss) and Cleo Anderson (Carlacia Grant).
For those who aren’t familiar with the show, let me catch you up on a few things.
“Outer Banks” (“OBX”) follows the treasure-hunting adventures of the Pogues, a group of friends from Outer Banks, North Carolina, each coming from different backgrounds. Some have grown up with little parental support, living paycheck to paycheck, while others come from wealthy families that tightly control their lives. Together, the group bonds over their shared struggles and a mutual love for adventure.
The first season, released in 2020, introduces us to the main characters: John B., JJ, Pope, and Kiara. John B. is a 17-year-old searching for his missing father, constantly under the watchful eye of child protective services. JJ — his reckless best friend — faces abuse at home, while Pope is the brilliant son of a local legend, and Kiara is a “Kook” from a wealthy family that owns a famous restaurant.
Later in the season, Sarah, John B.’s future love interest, joins the group, grappling with her controlled life as a member of one of the richest families in the Outer Banks. The season centers on uncovering the truth about John B.’s father’s disappearance — revealed to have been killed by Sarah’s father, Ward — while also hunting for the lost treasure of the “Royal Merchant,” a sunken ship. The season ends with John B. and Sarah being rescued by a barge heading to the Bahamas, where they plan to continue their treasure hunt and get back the treasure that was stolen from them by Ward.
By the third season, released in 2023, Kiara is kidnapped by someone they initially thought was a rescuer. She is taken to a mansion in Barbados, where she meets Carlos Singh. Singh seeks the Pogues’ help in locating the lost city of gold, El Dorado, tied to the Cross of Santo Domingo. The season concludes with the Pogues finding El Dorado, though at a cost. Returning to the Outer Banks with loss looming over their heads, they nevertheless find themselves wealthier than ever.
Now that we’re all caught up let’s head into what exactly happened in the first five episodes of season four.
The season opens with the Pogues using their newfound wealth to establish their own “Poguelandia” in the Outer Banks. They buy back JJ’s old house, build a dock and start a business. However, they soon find themselves running out of funds, particularly due to JJ’s reckless spending. His impulsive decision to bet on himself in a bike race ends disastrously.
So far in the season, I have found JJ’s character to be the most frustrating due to the lack of responsibility with what he does with the Pogues’s funds despite Pope constantly emphasizing that they need to spend less and be more careful.
The next morning when all of them start to feel hopeless and unsure about how to make enough money to pay their property taxes in time, the group gets published in the local news for their contributions to finding El Dorado. An event ends up being held in “OBX” to celebrate their achievements and at this event, as seen in the last scene of season 3, a man named Wes Genrette comes up to them and tells them about the treasure of Blackbeard and how he needs their help to find it. At the end of the day, no matter how hard they try, the Pogues can never step away from a good treasure hunt.
The next day the Pogues come by and visit Wes’ home. Wes ends up filling all of them in on why he desperately needs to find Blackbeard’s treasure. He believes his family is cursed since a direct ancestor of his beheaded Blackbeard. Since then, the ghost of Blackbeard’s wife has apparently caused numerous deaths in his family and he believes he is next. To solve this problem, he thinks the only way is to get an amulet hidden in the headboard of a bed in a shipwreck of Blackbeard’s nearby.
Personally, when I first heard the reasoning about how Wes believes a ghost is haunting his family and causing deaths, I thought it was kind of a ridiculous reason for that to be the main reason he needs the treasure. But “OBX” is a show that does need some fictional elements in order to develop the story and make it unique, so I looked past it and kept watching.
After meeting with Wes, JJ and Kiara end up diving to find the shipwreck in guarded waters; but they are in for an unpleasant surprise as someone is already there trying to prevent them from reaching the amulet. Their thrilling escape leaves viewers on the edge of their seats.
As mysterious riddles lead the group towards new adventures, Cleo is kidnapped by the same man who threatened them before. He forces her to find the amulet, resulting in yet another unexpected loss that adds a layer of seriousness to the storyline, marking a significant moment early in the season. The ensuing events completely caught me off guard and it was such a good twist I would have never seen coming.
Overall, I can confidently say that “Outer Banks” Season 4 is off to an incredibly strong start that continues to always keep viewers on the edge of their seats as they did in previous seasons. Like previous seasons, there are so many twists and turns that you never would have seen coming. This most likely contributes to why it continues to be extremely popular among youth today, consistently leaving viewers guessing about what comes next. Make sure to catch part two of season four on Nov. 7, there are bound to be more twists and turns in store!
Rating: 4.5/5