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What To Remember Before Watching Season 3 Of ‘Outer Banks’

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hofstra chapter.

The Pogues are back! 

Our favorite group of adventurous teens have returned back to our screens. The third season of Netflix’s drama series “Outer Banks” dropped on Thursday, February 23.

Before we jump back into the ‘G-game,’ here’s a quick recap of what happened last season:

Season 2 of Outer Banks picks up with John B and Sarah Cameron heading to the Bahamas aboard a cargo ship, while the other Pogues – JJ, Pope and Kiara – still believe that they died at sea. During John B and Sarah’s voyage, the ship’s crew finds a wanted poster for John B and learns that there’s a reward for his capture. Despite being locked up by the ship’s captain, Terrance, John B and Sarah stealthily manage to escape before the police can arrest them. After stealing a phone at a hotel, John B sends a text to the Pogues back in OBX letting his crew know they’re alive.

The gold treasure of the Royal Merchant is also now locked up in the Cameron’s Nassau, Bahamas property – thanks to Ward and Rafe, Sarah’s father and brother. When John B sneaks into the house, he finds the safe holding the gold, yet he’s unable to open it. While standing lookout, Sarah is kidnapped by Terrance. However, one of his workers, Cleo, takes a liking to John B and takes him to where she’s being held. John B convinces the crew not to turn them in, in exchange for a cut of the gold. The group goes back to the Cameron’s property and are able to open the safe. However, the police are alerted to the heist, forcing the group to flee before they can reclaim the gold.

After the Pogues learn that John B and Sarah are in fact alive, they set out to clear John B’s name for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin. Pope begins listening in on Ward’s pilot’s phone calls to find ways to prove his friend’s innocence – and overhears the pilot demanding more hush money from Ward. The pilot has the gun Rafe used to shoot the sheriff and demands an in-person meeting. The Pogues secretly show up at the meeting where they witness Ward murder the pilot. After watching the gun fall down a storm drain, Kiara dives into the sewer to retrieve the weapon. Successful in her task, she brings it to the police.

Back in the Bahamas, Sarah learns that Ward and Rafe are coming to Nassau to transport the gold. John B and Sarah, with the help of Terrance, Cleo and others make a plan to intercept the duo and steal back the gold. In a plot twist, Rafe shoots Sarah in the process, ruining their plan. John B then takes Sarah to a sketchy doctor who he begs to operate on her wound. The operation is successful, Sarah recovers, and the couple escapes by boat – but without the gold.

Back at OBX, the Pogues take a trip to Charleston after Pope receives a mysterious letter from an ill woman named Carla Limbrey who asked to meet him in person. At their meetup, Carla reveals that she has evidence that Rafe killed Sheriff Peterkin and that she’ll trade the evidence in exchange for Pope helping find a mysterious key that’s tied to his family. 

While researching the history of this key, Pope learns that he is a descendant of Denmark Tanney, a survivor of the Royal Merchant shipwreck. Before Denmark died, he left a message that a key would lead to “The Cross of Santo Domingo.” The cross is rumored to contain a holy relic, the magic Garment of the Savior, that is rumored to perform miracles and heal the sick. When Pope explains to Carla that he doesn’t recognize the key, she arranges Pope’s kidnapping.

Pope escapes and the Pogues run into Sarah and John B on the streets of Charleston. When the group heads back to OBX, John B is arrested for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin.

While John B is in jail, Pope continues to search for the key – finally tracking it down in his great-grandmother’s house. As Pope and Kiara try to make sense of the message that the key projects, the Pogues give Carla a fake key in exchange for the incriminating evidence. 

The police determine the recovered gun is licensed to Ward and the fingerprints match Rafe’s – evidence that releases John B from prison. Meanwhile, Rafe finds Sarah and tries to drown her. She is saved by her ex-boyfriend Topper. To continue protecting Rafe, Ward takes the blame for both the murder of John B’s dad and Sheriff Peterkin before faking his death in a giant boat explosion. 

Further using their treasure-hunting skills, the Pogues find the Cross of Santo Domingo in an old church. Unfortunately, Pope gets stung by a bunch of wasps and the Pogues have to leave the cross behind to get help for Pope. This leaves the cross exposed for Rafe and one of Carla’s partners to steal it. After discovering the cross no longer contains the healing Garment of the Savior, Rafe abandons Carla, and drives off with the cross. 

After faking his death, Ward arranges for the entire Cameron family to escape OBX by ship. His wife Rose and Rafe drug and kidnap Sarah and take her and the cross to the Caribbean. 

The Pogues hide inside a shipping container and go on a rescue mission to save Sarah and steal back the cross, but things don’t go exactly as planned. The Pogues again run into Cleo, who now works on Ward’s boat. She helps them outsmart the crew, rescue Sarah, and attempt to steal back the cross. Unfortunately the Pogues, Sarah and Cleo are only able to get away on a small boat – losing the cross in the process. The teens land on a deserted island. While most would be distressed by their isolation, the Pogues welcome the seclusion, naming the island Poguelandia. 

The ending scene revealed a big cliffhanger. In Barbados, Big John, John B’s father, is still alive, and is working with Carla! 

We already know that Outer Banks Season 3 is going to be action-packed! The good news is the wait is over – stream the brand new season on Netflix now!

Daniella is a sophomore at Hofstra University with a major in early childhood education. She is from Long Island, New York. In her free time she’s either reading, writing, scrolling on Instagram, watching Tik Toks, listening to Taylor Swift, catching up on pop culture, or spending time with her friends and sorority sisters.