Netflix recently released season four part one of Outer Banks on October 10th, and left viewers waiting on a cliffhanger for part two, which was released on November 5th. The show has left viewers avoiding spoilers for the past 3 seasons because of how involved they were in the shows plot line, but I don’t know if I can say the same for season 4. Part 1 had so many boring and unnecessary scenes with a plot line that didn’t compare to the past few seasons. Now that part 2 has been released, viewers, including myself, have more opinions to offer on the beloved show, both good and bad.
OBX follows the lives of six characters: John B., JJ, Cleo, Pope, Sarah, and Kiara. The show follows their struggles of being Pogues, the poor class in Outer Banks, North Carolina. They hunt for treasure, travel to different countries, take part in fights with the Kooks, the upper class, and now with season 4 part 2, “family” drama has entered the picture.
In season 4 part 2 the battle for the treasure spreads from North Carolina, all the way to Morocco, and the main characters pick up some allies and foes along the way, and they must decide who they can trust, and say what they think are final goodbyes.
In the previous seasons of OBX the hunt for treasure was what kept me watching the show, but this time the treasure they were looking for just wasn’t that interesting. In part 2 the characters are looking for Blackbeard’s Crown and are racing a group of antagonists that are trying to take them down. I felt that the treasure hunt was simply added to the show without much thought. However, freshman Hayden Reade’s favorite scene was the finale of the treasure hunt. She claims it was when, “JJ climbed up to the like thing and got the crown.” His determination and happiness when he finally gets the treasure kept her hooked and helped her to enjoy season 4 which she already loved even more.
A common theme that recurs in people’s most beloved scenes are the conflicts and drama that JJ brings. As the show continues to put more focus on JJ, it allows viewers to learn more about him and connect to him. Freshman Brenna Hushion follows this common trend. She says that her favorite scene was, “When JJ went crazy and broke all the windows in the town.” JJ had an emotional breakdown and the audience could feel his energy and pain when it happened.
What kept me hooked in part 2 was all of the added drama and Hushion agreed. She loved all the added conflict between characters. Especially the new relationship between JJ and his dad, that isn’t exactly your typical father son relationship.
Hushion also found satisfaction in the minor details and thought that it was cool that the characters went all the way to Morocco to finish the treasure hunt.
One thing that almost everyone can agree on is that part 2 was a lot more fast paced than season one. Part 1 did a great job setting everything up and part 2 summed it all together. Reade claims that, “ I feel like it was more like, like I said, entertaining to watch, and like it was, quicker moving. But yeah, I think I liked it better,” however, “The ending is really sad, so I didn’t like that.” As great as it was to finally get to the action, the ending left viewers, including myself in tears.
If viewers haven’t yet watched the season 4 ending then I highly recommend it. If a viewer has watched the characters throughout their long journey the past 3 seasons, the ending will leave them with many feelings, and closer to the characters than ever before. The ending isn’t everything though, and more shockers will pop up throughout part 2 so don’t watch just with the ending in mind. Netflix still has one more season in store for Outer Banks, and I’m sure that the way the show has gone so far, there are many surprises ahead.
