“We’re the Pogues. And our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time.”
From the moment the show starts with this iconic line, the TV show “Outer Banks” has been one of Netflix’s most popular shows since its beginning. With its intricate storylines, epic cliff-hangers, incredible stunts, lovable characters and charming aesthetic, the show undoubtedly deserves the praise it has received.
On Oct. 10, “Outer Banks” season four, part one released on Netflix. It immediately shot to the number one spot in Netflix’s top 10. On Nov. 7, the last five episodes of the season came out.
Season four begins with the Pogues starting their own business with the gold they found in season three. As John B said, they were going to live the simple life, quaint and charming and surrounded by friends. However, with the Pogues nothing stands still, and JJ loses all of their savings in a bike race.
This leads to a dangerous and complicated treasure hunt, involving painful secrets from the past and psychopathic villains. While the first part of this season seemed promising, it went off the rails, becoming far too dark and twisted to bare any resemblance to the nostalgic summertime show it started out as.
Despite its shortcomings, this season still had some wins. Here are my favorite parts of the new season:
“That’s my brother”: Rafe’s redemption arc… sort of?
One of the saddest parts of Rafe’s story has to be his damaged relationship with the rest of his family. Season four shows a personality change in Rafe when he helps Sarah and the rest of the Pogues find the Blue Crown. He is truly sorry about what he did in previous seasons, even his attempt to drown Sarah, and he is trying to redeem himself.
Sarah marked the beginning of this healed relationship between Rafe and her after saving him by shooting his killers, screaming “that’s my brother.”
Sarah’s pregnancy
Sarah and John B are the dream couple of the Outer Banks, and the fact that they are starting a family can only bring a smile to viewers’ faces. It is heartwarming to see how far the two have come, from hating each other to becoming each others’ lifeline. Season four illustrates the next phase of John B and Sarah’s relationship perfectly, showing the sheer amount of love the two have for each other and the sacrifices they would both make.
JJ’s stunts
From dangerous bike races, ATV chases, climbing statues in sandstorms and smashing store windows with a baseball bat, this is the season JJ Maybanks blows everything up. JJ’s character put the action in “Outer Banks” this season, and while some may think flying over a lake on a motorcycle is slightly excessive, it is so inherently JJ-core that it becomes acceptable and adds to the excitement.
In JJ’s immortal words, “Let’s really light it up.”
Nonetheless, all of these wins pale in comparison to the stress-inducing storylines and unforgivable, nonsensical ending that “Outer Banks” carelessly fed to its viewers. Here are my least favorite parts of season four:
Everyone is all coupled up
The Pogues are known to be a family composed of friends. They all have each other’s backs, and this heartwarming nature is what attracted so many viewers to the show. In season one, John B said “No Pogue-on-Pogue macking,” yet in season four everyone is dating each other. While it’s cute, the group has lost its appeal with everyone sectioned off into couples for every adventure.
Too many mysteries, too much darkness
The season starts with at least three dead bodies and five different mysteries for the Pogues to solve. There are simply too many separate plotlines to keep up with and too many villains to recall. I had to even jot down some notes while I watched, as I was forgetting clues and names because of the sheer level of complexity of this season’s plot.
This took the fun out of watching it, and created so much excessive stress that watching it left me with a painful headache. “Outer Banks” has always been my comfort show, but this season was too dark, twisted, and traumatic for me to be comforted.
JJ’s death
JJ was the most loved character on Outer Banks, with his charisma, smile and energy being easily contagious. He was also arguably the most well-written character in the show. His internal battles with mental health is one of the reasons I admire “Outer Banks” so much.
The pointless choice to kill him off in the season finale was not only heartbreaking, it was useless. JJ had given up the Blue Crown to Chandler Groff, his real father and a manipulative sociopath, to get his girlfriend Kie back. Yet Groff still stabs him violently in the chest with his knife, leading to him dying in Kiara’s arms.
There was no need for Groff to kill JJ. JJ was the heart of Outer Banks, and with his death, the show has died too (rest in peace, Captain Maybanks).
Outer Banks has fallen off a ledge with no return. What started out as a charming summer-time comfort show turned into a nonsensical and stressful waste of my time. If there is a season five, I will not be watching.
