The hit television show Outer Banks has released the first five episodes of its fourth season. The season doesn’t dive right into where the previous season left off, but instead begins relatively before, detailing all the moments leading to the beginning of a new hunt for treasure.
The fourth season begins 18 months prior to the end of Season 3 when the Pogues (John B. Routledge, Sarah Cameron, Kiara Carrera, J.J. Maybanks, Pope Heyward, and new addition Cleo Anderson) are rewarded with a sum of just over a million dollars from their gold brought back from the conclusion of their last treasure hunt —the lost city of El Dorado.
Rather than a split in their earnings, the Pogues recreated Poguelandia —an island the group created for themselves while stranded, buying back JJ’s land and building their business. The group finds themselves scrambling for money after some bad financial decisions until their story of El Dorado is finally validated, and they are honored by the town as seen at the conclusion of Season 3.
While the Pogues attempt to put their treasure hunting behind them, they are approached by a strange man, Wes Genrette, who offers them a chance to find an artifact to lift a curse related to Blackbeard’s wife, Elizabeth, in exchange for money. His son-in-law, Chandler Groff, is also a prominent part of the exchange, especially when Wes dies at the end of episode 2 alone in his mansion home under suspicious circumstances.
The end of Season 3 was a surprise twist, prompting concerns that perhaps the next season would seem redundant and forced. The beginning of the Season 4 seems to lack a sense of urgency –what was good about the last three seasons was the connection between the hunt for treasure and John B.’s life. While the search for the artifact does lead to Blackbeard’s lost treasure, the stakes don’t feel as high as they were before.
The character development in the new season is intriguing to see through the newfound relationships between Kiara and JJ, along with Pope and Cleo. Aside from the Pogues, viewers begin to see a new side of the Kooks, specifically Sarah’s older brother, Rafe.
After the death of their father, Sarah is healing alongside her Pogue friends, while Rafe, in a struggle with his grief, is trying to continue his father’s legacy. Throughout the first part of this new season, Rafe pursues a few financial endeavors, specifically a partnership in buying a stake in Goat Island. Hollis Robinson, a realtor introduced in this new season, is selling the land to a select group of partners and is avid about securing Rafe’s partnership in the deal. Viewers see more of Rafe’s personal life unfold, including a deeper look into his relationship with his Pogue girlfriend, Sophia.
Though the season starts out slowly, it gains momentum through the near-death experiences, sticky situations, mysterious encounters, and exciting plot twists. The new season has been very successful, but the storyline doesn’t seem to flow as well as the first three seasons. The ending of Season 3 wrapped up the questions viewers had on John B.’s family dynamic and brought an end to the show’s main antagonist, Ward Cameron. This season, however, the show seems more forced and there appears to be no connection between the Pogues and Blackbeard’s treasure.
The storyline itself also shows signs of overuse and redundancy. There is the Pogues hunting for treasure, a group of antagonist individuals getting in their way, and the Kooks doing what they can to keep the Pogues poor and working for them.
With that being said, this is only the beginning to the long anticipated season, and knowing the Pogues, there should be many more twists and turns to look forward to. The second part of this exciting new season will premiere on November 7, and just like most all of the Outer Banks’ seasons, a hope for an adventure packed ending is in sight.
