Over the weekend, I decided to stay in and watch the third season of Outer Banks. I have grown an attachment to this series. I first watched it in 2020 when we were in quarantine. Like many others, I was bored and wondered if we lived in our last days. Outer Banks is a show that gives me an indescribable feeling. A show about teenagers driving boats and minivans and living in shacks while going on treasure hunts for gold, Outer Banks gives me a sense of nostalgia, which is the last thing I should feel because I have never lived in South Carolina. The thing is, when I watch Outer Banks, it makes me miss the summer.
For three seasons, Outer Banks has followed John B., Kiara, J.J. and Pope — a group of friends called the Pogues, who live in middle-class communities in North Carolina. On the north side of North Carolina live the Kooks, an upper-middle class family comprised of Sarah Cameron, Rafe Cameron, and their father, Ward Cameron. The two groups do not get along, so both sides usually keep to themselves. John B.’s dad is dead, but he believes he can find him by locating the same treasure his dad was looking for before he died. So the teens embark on a journey to find the gold John B.’s father was after, hoping it’ll give them a lead on his whereabouts.
In Season 1, we follow Pogue’s hunt for gold. We also see John B., a Pogue, and Sarah Cameron, a Kook, get romantically involved with each other despite living very different lives. The Pogues befriend Sarah and let her join them on their treasure hunt. They find what they are looking for — but John B. gets in trouble with the law. Sarah and John B. decide to run away together so that John B. does not go to jail. Meanwhile, back in the Outer Banks, Kiara, J.J. and Pope have no idea if Sarah and John B. are alive.
In Season 2, we discovered that Sarah and John B. are alive and hiding in the Caribbean. Back in the Outer Banks, J.J., Kiara, and Pope find out that John B and Sarah are alive after thinking John B is dead. Ward and his son Rafe have the gold John B and his friends are looking for. While in the Caribbean, John B. and Sarah sneak around Ward’s estate for the gold and find it. With the help of their new friend they meet, Cleo, they manage to get around the Caribbean while having police looking for the two teens. Back in Outer Banks, Pope finds out his family owned a cross worth millions. Pope, J.J., and Kiara go looking for the cross, and they find it, but it gets into the hands of Rafe Cameron. To get the cross back, Pope, J.J., and Kiara reunite with John B. and Sarah on Ward’s boat, hoping to steal the cross back.
This season was different from the first two seasons. Season 3 seems to be a family reunion as John B., one of the main characters discovers his dad is alive. This comes as a surprise to John B. and his friends, as his dad was the whole reason he had gone on this gold hunt in the first place. Another character whose dead dad returned from what they assumed to be the dead was Sarah Cameron’s (John B.’s girlfriend) dad. Their dads follow them around and cause trouble for the friend group this season. John B.’s dad cares more about money than his son, while Ward Cameron is so desperate for his daughter’s approval that he comes out of hiding to try and dictate her life…again.
On a lighter note, J.J. and Kiara, John B.’s friends, finally get together this season. When J.J. rescues Kiara from a wilderness camp that her crazy parents put her in to fix her “bad behavior,” he realizes he loves her. Another couple that got together was Pope and Cleo. After they met in Season 2, I assumed she would be paired with Pope to help him get over Kiara.
Season 3 was good; however, it could have been better. The show should not have been following John B. and his dad, Big John’s, adventure so heavily and instead replaced those scenes with the friend group together. The show’s plot is a group of friends going on treasure hunts; it should not have strayed from that. In Season 2, Ward was supposed to be dead. It did not make sense to have him return from the dead to hurt the group even more. What has not changed from Season 1 is the group’s dynamic. This season highlights the importance of Pogue’s friendship and how much they care for each other.