There is a show. It’s on Netflix. It’s called Outer Banks. It’s one of the approximately three shows that Netflix has renewed past a season 2 so if you’re online, especially if you’re following me, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.
If you haven’t watched it, do be warned I’m about to be throwing a lot of spoilers out at you yet will simultaneously be providing very little context. If you keep reading you’ll know everything about the show but also absolutely nothing. Come to think of it, that might be the ideal way to engage with this property!
I have a very love/hate relationship with this program, to say the least. You might see my account and think I’m its biggest fan, and… sure! I famously love Madelyn Cline, this show was her breakout. I can not say that I hate it. On the other hand, if I were to say that I love it… or even like it… well, I would be lying. I love it at times, yes! But, oh so very far from consistently.
Outer Banks first premiered at the height of lockdown in 2020 amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic, which makes the fact that I did not initially tune in all the more surprising. I don’t know if this was the truth for everybody’s Twitter Timeline, or if anybody will remember this, but it very quickly got the Riverdale treatment. There were hit tweets literally calling it “Riverdale on a boat with a yellow filter.” Not only that, certain members of the cast were getting called out for a completely different issue every day. I quickly decided that it was best for me to not engage. Alas, the lockdown kept lockdown’ing, and some time later, probably around the time it got renewed for a season 2, I gave in and binged all of season 1 in less than 24 hours. By the time season 2 rolled around I had a growing love for Madelyn Cline, and I suppose I became Outer Banks stan adjacent. It’s my Boat Show!
For this issue, I went back to rewatch the show from the beginning… again. For sake of transparency, I got up to episode 7 of a season 1 rewatch, and episode 5 of a season 2 rewatch. I got the notes I needed to get, and I remember most of the seasons fairly well. I also on-and-off rewatched season 3. All that’s to say, don’t view this as a well researched professional review, because I am not… I’m not that. I just want to share all of my thoughts, positive and negative, as someone with vested interest and a platform.
FIRST THINGS FIRST : DISCUSSING THE FIRST 2 SEASONS.
I’ve always said that season 1 starts out at its worst and gradually improves. I stand by that but I often forget how unpleasant I find the first 3 episodes. I know it’s not exactly a hot take, as I mentioned earlier season 1 had a lot of haters, but fans of the show don’t seem to agree with me about season 1. I know fans who took issue with season 3, but less of them are as mixed about season 1 as I am. This is such a side tangent, but if you want to know what the long and short of my issues with season 1 are, it’d be the inconsistent pacing, the unpleasant aesthetic (from the over-prevalence of shaky cam to the infamous yellow filter), dislikable supporting and side characters. John B as a protagonist I have mixed opinions on, but I truly believe the season picks up when it starts putting focus on John B and Sarah after episode 4.
If you have seen the show you’re probably thinking that all of the criticisms I have are present in both follow-up seasons. Perhaps you have a point, but I think it all comes down to the improved plotlines and better pacing that makes the show still salvageable to me. As mentioned, there’s a shift for the better in episode 4 of season 1 where all of the stories start really working, and no… it’s not just because that’s when Sarah becomes a real character, though that also didn’t hurt!
Don’t take this as a dig against the cast in season 1, because for Netflix Teen Drama standards I find most of them quite strong from the start, but just as early as in season 2 they really grow into their characters and have only gotten better. I give them the credit over the writers or directors, because I think the writing is inconsistent in terms of character work and development. By season 3 I actually think everyone is delivering very solid to very good performances, which isn’t always a given on Netflix.
Season 2 is one of the peaks of teen drama on Netflix. Never ending mess. After revisiting episode 1, outside of John B and Sarah’s On The Run arc, I was very concerned that I had oversold how good season 2 was. I’ve been big on it since it first came out, and have gone on record praising it multiple times. The other Pogues were just truly miserable, and not in a fun way. Just brooding around, hating everyone and everything, including each other. Very unpleasant to sit through for a full episode, since the show is at its best when it has the Pogues being a found family and getting into hijinks together. Luckily, that’s resolved almost immediately and the season picks up all around for the best. Don’t get me wrong, is Outer Banks season 2 good? WELL, yes!… for Outer Banks, the treasure hunting teen Boat Show. It was pure messy fun. The twists, the turns, the drama, the violence, the famed fake-out death scene, the Sarah sobbing gif, the trauma.
It was a TERRIBLE season for Sarah, by the way, but a great season TO WATCH for Sarah. Madelyn Cline was giving the performance of a lifetime. The hunt is also much more Pope centric, and although I hate Pope and Kiara being a storyline, it’s still such a great season for him - more on that later. This season also introduced Cleo, played by the brilliant Carlacia Grant. She only appeared in four episodes, but it set up her inclusion in future seasons, and, of note, set up a great dynamic with Sarah… more on that later!
Also, though Rafe upsets me and I hate him for nearly murdering Sarah… more than once, I find his presence in season 2 time better spent than his presence in season 1 (and season 3 , but, yet again, more on that later!). Ward and Rafe were at their best in season 2 as the main big bad antagonists. They had a throughline, and although they still fail to be intimidating in any real way, they do the most in this one. I can respect messy stunt queens. I appreciate their drama the most in season 2. It’s like a heightened version of their presence in season 1. I suppose their inclusion is a great example of how I feel season 2 of Outer Banks mastered its own formula.
OKAY, BACK TO SEASON 3.
There is a lot to discuss and criticize about this season, as such finding a way to frame this proved to be a bit of a challenge. As fun as it would be to point fingers at the excess of shaky cam zoom-in shots, the yellow filter being more aggressive than ever, the mixed effect usage of call-backs, calling JJ “Jayj” as though JJ isn’t already a nickname, episodes having plot points happen just to be reversed or ignored by the end of the next episode - I’ve concluded that the easiest way for me to express all of, or at least most of, my thoughts would be by discussing my takes character by character, positive and negative.
It feels relevant to point out that I’m much more concerned with the Teen Drama aspects of the show rather than the treasure hunting. I can’t quite explain why, because I do think the heist-iness of the series is what sets it apart from its peers, and some of my favorite moments of the series are from the treasure hunt sequences! I just think the disconnect comes from a general disinterest to the outside characters that move the heist plots along. I’m here for the Pogues.
JOHN B.
I’ll be honest… I do not care about Big John. I thought I would! It was one of the earliest established plot points, from the very first narration, a set up that finally got its long awaited pay off. Almost immediately as he joined the show, he became… an overwhelming presence. I think I’ve realized the biggest consequence of this is that the John B/Big John storyline started to feel completely separated from the rest of the show, despite simultaneously being the A-plot. We’d go to the Pogues, and then we’d cut away to whatever Big John is up to. That’s just not what I signed up for, I do not know that old man! Anyways, the finale ended up being the Big John show and it connected to the Pogues, but not in a way I appreciate because sitting through his scenes was a chore by the middle of the season. This means that I have little thought about John B this season. I never had great love for John B to begin with, but I did love his relationship with Sarah which was… strained this season, to say the least.
SARAH.
You already know! She could commit vehicular manslaughter, word to Kendall Roy, and I’d stand by her. I was terrified going into this season because I kept hearing about how terrible it was going to be for her, and honestly it’s never getting lower than season 2, but she still didn’t get out scrape free. Her narration episodes were a highlight of the season for me, and it’s not just because hearing her narrate was lovely. I’d say one of the best character moments of the entire season would be her narration explaining why she reverted back to Topper. John B dad-shamed her, Kiara’s parents wouldn’t let her stay with them, JJ was nowhere to be seen. The Pogues weren’t there when she needed them most, but Topper was there and welcoming to her - it put things in perspective and that’s without even getting into her literal year of stress, trauma, and being presumed dead when she wasn’t… actually dead for a minute.
Now, don’t get me wrong… it, and everything that happened after, was a bit questionable for her character. I do support her cheating, but, especially after rewatching seasons 1 and 2, it was a bit of a clear character regression. It’s been established from the start that she hasn’t had a boyfriend she didn’t cheat on, but her development got some of the most emphasis in season 2. It does serve an off-quality to her, even if her narration explains why she did it. Again, justified, but even if it wasn’t a weird choice for her character arc, I don’t appreciate the fact that it didn’t have a lasting impact on the plot of the season. If it hadn’t happened, very little would’ve been changed no less than two episodes later. It was kind of just a little drama for a single episode. The status quo almost immediately reverted back to normal. Still, let women have hobbies.
I am happy she’s free from her father, but there is so much familial trauma for her. I can’t help but fear for what’s to come. Let her storyline in season 4 just be therapy. Maybe couple’s counseling. Keep Topper and Rafe far away from her, as well. Just bad vibes.
KIARA.
I thought this would be Kiara’s season, similar to how season 2 was Pope and Sarah’s season. It wasn’t quite that, but it was still a good season for Kiara.. Well, bad for her, but important! If you have followed me for a long enough time, you know I have never been the biggest Kiara fan. You could probably find some hate tweets right now if you looked hard enough. If it means anything now, I take it all back. I get her now. I was such a peak hater in season 2, but as I rewatched it, I can’t help but realize how unfair I was being. She probably has, more or less, the most consistent characterization. She’s passionate and acts for what is right, even if it puts her in harm’s way. Can it be frustrating seeing her act against the better interest for herself and/or the group? Of course, but she has such pure intentions and I do think that stays consistent to the end of season 3. I have to respect it!
Season 3 for Kiara is what season 2 was for Sarah in terms of struggling, though. She literally gets kidnapped within the first 30 minutes, and it didn’t get much better for her from there. It isn’t even the last time she gets kidnapped. Making me feel bad for someone is, in fact, an effective way to get me on their side, but I also think her personality really shined in this one. On top of everything else, I love that this brought back the Sarah-Kiara friendship. Everything put together, Kiara was a bit of a highlight of the season!
I know we’re supposed to hate her parents, they’re antithetical to everything the show is about and all. I just hated that they got so much of her storyline this season. They were present in the prior seasons and played similar roles, probably in size as well, but now that they got to this point of emphasis within her arc, I would have preferred them just to… not be there. Every time they were on screen was a chore to get through, and their final half-frame in the finale was so ridiculous. I have to respect their inclusion, because I do think JJ saving Kiara from the…… camp(?) was one of the best moments of the season, but at what cost? If season 4 brings them back, I hope they either get over their irrational hatred of all things Poguelandia or they have a role size more close to season 1 where they show up from time to time, but aren’t… so much of Kiara’s storyline, because this season was so cartoonish with them.
Another side tangent and much less specific to season 3, but I don’t really appreciate how Kiara has been paired off with each of the male Pogues at one point or another. Episode 1 established they all had “a thing” for her, but if I could rework one plot element of The Pogues, it’d probably just be… not doing that. I know it’s a teen drama, and every teen drama does this, and I love a messy entangled romance tree more than anybody, but… why couldn’t she just have had one male Pogue who she’s exclusively platonic friends with, and there’s nothing between them, even once? Rewatching season 1 forced me to remember that they did a fake-out where it appeared John B’s love interest was going to be Kiara instead of Sarah… it was disturbing to say the least. They could’ve still explored Kiara with Pope and JJ if they really wanted to, but I hate how so much of the dynamics between the male Pogues and Kiara was originally based on their attraction to her. Sorry for the thinkpiece.
JJ.
This was a bad season for Jayj. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion, because he is a fan favorite. He just kind of didn’t move from a character standpoint. He had his moments throughout, and I was quite concerned for him during that motorcycle scene, but I do wish he got more of a personal character arc this season. I really don’t have anything else to say about him right now.
Now’s as good a time as any to mention I have never been a Jiara shipper, but this season made the best case for them. This was the best dynamic of a canonically explored Kiara relationship yet, she works better with JJ than she did John B or Pope. As I have mentioned, JJ getting Kiara out of that camp was his best moment of the season. Actually, his best episode in general was episode 9. I’m not convinced this was the ship the writers had in mind from episode 1, but now that it is fully being explored, I am not as opposed to it as I had thought I would be. I do think it’s sad that his dynamic with Pope got sidelined, considering Rudy and Jonathan playing off of each other is always such a highlight, but they still got a few moments, it’s fine.
POPE.
Pope should be the main character. Or at least a co-lead. If the show was centered around him, it’d probably be all the better for it. Jonathan Daviss has some really great acting moments when the show lets him do anything, and so many of the treasure heists in seasons 2 and 3 have been attached to him specifically. Realistically, he should be what the show is centered around, no?
Anyways, when his big thing became his jealousy of JJ and Kiara, I hated that for him. Pope and Kiara were so terrible together to begin with, and his dynamic with JJ is one of the best on the show, so this not only being an extension of the Pope and Kiara storyline, but also getting in the way of us getting JJ-Pope scenes… it was my worst nightmare. On the bright side, it does give us some really cute moments with him and Cleo, I actually loved that for him. The “no love club” might’ve made the nightmare worth it.
CLEO.
I love Cleo. She fits into the group dynamic so seamlessly. Carlacia Grant is brilliant, her scenes with Pope are highlights of the season, her personality is so fun and gives such new life to the show whenever she gets a chance. Unfortunately, I don’t think the writers have figured out what to do with her.
Going into this season, I was so excited to see what dimensions they give her, and what her arc would look like… I aimed too high. We essentially learn nothing new about her. We only see her in context of other members of the group, and if it’s not in full group scenes, she’s almost exclusively only ever shown with Pope. I get that the other Pogues have well established characters and it’s easier to continue their arcs (though the writers were clearly struggling greatly in doing that as well) but I feel as though, if you’re introducing a new lead character into an established group dynamic, the major appeal should be put into exploring that new character? And this season let us down in doing so.
She has her moments, don’t get me wrong. As established I loved her relationship with Pope, and she had a really cute scene where she expresses excitement in finally getting her own room, but we really lost out on getting an actual arc or any substantial development whatsoever. Especially odd considering she and Sarah had a really strong and quickly established dynamic in season 2, yet they didn’t even let them… speak? I would’ve loved to see a moment with her and Kiara, too. My one major wish for season 4 would be for the writers to give Cleo something to do. Anything!
TOPPER.
Topper had a 3-4 episode arc this season… and it was a bit of a rollercoaster. In episode 5, he helped the Pogues and essentially served as a John B replacement while John B was busy with his daddy issues. This arguably served as the most fun dynamics of the Pogues we saw explored in this entire season, and it was kind of refreshing! I genuinely thought I was going to love Topper and that this would serve to be a redemption arc… oh boy!
The next episode he was there for Sarah when nobody else was, and as we already established, she hooks up with him. Conflict erupts, Topper is beat up by John B in front of everyone, drama. The next episode Sarah ultimately ends up back with John B, which Topper witnesses after Rafe gets him all paranoid, and Topper naturally decides to… light the house on fire with all of the Pogues inside of it.
Of note, this conflict is… almost immediately dropped, and we barely see Topper again after that point. I hope this description of his arc is enough information you need, and that I don’t need to offer further elaboration, because… I have no thoughts. I, for one, thought a Topper redemption arc would’ve been a perfectly lovely direction to take his character. I guess you can’t have it all.
RAFE AND WARD.
Comparatively to season 2, Rafe and Ward kind of played a relatively limited role in this season. That or I just didn’t care enough to retain whatever was going on with them in the first few episodes. Either way I have very little commentary to give about them. Rafe kind of just jolted around as a minor nuisance causing drama in subplots and Ward was… bedridden for a lot of it, then he did the whole villain sacrifice himself to save the hero thing as a form of redemptive act. In his case, it made sense because Sarah has always been a major motivator for his character… for better or for worse, but I still am not quite moved by it. I didn’t care for much of anything regarding either of these two, actually. I did appreciate some of Ward’s scenes with Sarah but it will just never be serious enough to forgive Ward. He traumatized my sister.
I’ve reached the end of my thoughts, and I admit to not really having a point here. I suppose I should answer the question of… do I recommend Netflix Boat Show, Outer Banks and its season 3? I would say the positive may outweigh the negative, especially if you like the teen drama genre. It’s worth checking out! It’s not perfect, it’s not even… great. I’ve given all of my lasting thoughts already, you should be able to come to a conclusion of whether I’d recommend it to you or not. Season 3 had plenty to take issue with, but I still can’t quite hate this series. It does just enough to keep me watching and I will be seated for season 4… for better or for worse!
To give some quantification, season 3 of Outer Banks gets a solid 3 stars (out of 5) from me. In comparison, I’d give season 1 3 stars as well, though my opinions of both vary. Low lows, but decent highs as well. It’s an inconsistently entertaining time. If you haven’t seen any of the seasons, you could just jump into season 2 without context because it’s the most consistently entertaining. A solid 4 out of 5 star worthy season of teen melodrama. You might get whiplash, but just use context clues, I believe in you.
Outer Banks Season 3... happened
Okay I couldn’t figure out the Jayj nickname thing when reading it, cause in my mind I was thinking it was Jay-J and you would still say JJ out loud. But I guess it is meant to be like Jage (rhymes with cage)? I’m still gonna read it as JJ tho.
jess I fully agree with this post even though I have issues with s3, I enjoyed it. The pogues are my family(sarah and jj are my gf and bf) even though we needed more scenes with all of them in s3, I don’t know what’s going to happen the next season, but I’ll be seated.