October 10 was an exciting day for Netflix! Its hit show Outer Banks released its first five episodes of season four, picking up where season three left off. Exclusively on Netflix, the show is a popular watch among teens, and the first half of its newest season garnered many viewers. Since part two won’t be released until November 7, I’m here to break down the episodes and my review of part one.
Episode 1: “The Enduro”
The first episode of season four covers the 18 months leading up to the time jump in season three’s finale. If you don’t remember, the group returns to their home on Kildare Island after discovering gold in El Dorado. When they cash in the gold, they come into possession of $1.1 million and plan to buy land to create Poguelandia 2.0. They spend much more money than anticipated on the purchase because JJ rashly overbids in the auction. After spending most of their funds, they start a bait and boat charter shop, Kildare County Surf Shop. Unfortunately, a storm strikes, destroying their business setup and leaving them broke again. Then JJ gambles the last of their money on himself for a dirt bike race, which he loses. At the race, we see familiar characters like Topper and Rafe. Finally, we reach the scene from the season three finale where they are approached by a mysterious man named Wes Genrette; he offers them a chance to go on a treasure hunt tied to Blackbeard.
Episode 2: “Blackbeard”
Episode two begins with the Pogues being invited into Wes Genrette’s house alongside Chandler Groff, his son-in-law, where he talks to them more specifically about the treasure and his offer. To sum it up, Wes says they need to retrieve an amulet to rid his family of a 300-year-long curse and that they will find it in Blackbeard’s sunken ship, The Adventure, located nearby. They are offered 50k with 5k upfront, which the group accepts and then returns to the mainland. Meanwhile, a shady man named Lightner discovers the ship’s exact location at a pirate museum, setting him up as the antagonist. On to the Kooks–Rafe is approached by Hollis Robinson, a realtor, who wants him to partner/invest in a development project with her.
Back with the Pogues, they get a notice that the planning wants to change the zoning, which could potentially take away their newly acquired land if they can’t pay up. This becomes an even bigger motivator in finding the treasure, so after getting a boat from Boogie (JJ’s friend), they go out at night to go diving. Before this though, there is a cut to a body found at the beach with a strange symbol tattooed on the man’s wrist, which seems important for later. At night, Kie and JJ dive down to retrieve the amulet. Unexpectedly, another boat shows up and the two get into a scuffle with Lightner who is in the ship at the same time. They escape with the amulet but are taken to the hospital where they have to stay in a hyperbaric oxygen tank for twelve hours. The others go to give Wes the amulet, but they are met with Sheriff Shoupe who tells them Mr. Genrette has died.
Episode 3: “The Lupine Corsairs”
In this episode, the Pogues are being interrogated by Shoupe, and they are truthful about everything except about finding the amulet. The son-in-law, Chandler, suspiciously tells them he wants the amulet to honor Wes. The Pogues also lie to him because they realize something bigger is happening; perhaps the amulet leads to an actual treasure. The group returns to their house and attempts to decode the writing they find on the amulet. Sarah and John B go to an old friend of John B’s dad to help with this; he only confirms that it is a message from Blackbeard to his wife Elizabeth (remember she is the one who supposedly put the curse on the Genrette family) before saying it is cursed and demanding they leave. At the hospital, Lightner shows up because of his stab wound and finds Kiara and JJ, which causes them to break out of their tank and run out of the hospital with Lightner’s patient file. The file has an address for somewhere in Downtown Pelican, so they decide to stake it out undercover. Lightner arrives and talks to a lady called Captain in the captions. Pope eavesdrops and hears that they are going after something called the Blue Crown and that Lighner knows they have the amulet.
Additionally, we see Shoupe talking to the medical examiner, who reveals that Wes and the mysterious body were strangled to death, most likely from the same person. Rafe’s girlfriend, Sofia, overhears Rafe talking bad about her, so she accepts Hollis’ offer behind his back. Hollis gives Sofia $25,000 to convince Rafe to go through with the partnership and invest in her project. The Pogues look into the Blue Crown and discover that the amulet can help lead them to it. Lastly, when Cleo heads out to the dock at night, she is abducted by Lightner and is met with her old friend Terrance.
Episode 4: “The Swell”
This episode starts with Cleo being held hostage by the antagonist, Lightner, alongside her old friend, Terrance. They bring her to the Pogue’s house, hoping she will tell them where the amulet is. During this, the other Pogues are at the beach because it’s a swell day–perfect for surfing! But when the Kooks show up, tensions rise, and JJ ends up making a death threat, which is recorded. Back with Cleo, she calls Pope urgently, telling him he must bring the amulet or she will be killed. He had been at a museum trying to learn more about the Blue Crown. Upon receiving the phone call, he rushes over but makes it a little past the time frame they gave him, eventually leading to Terrance being killed and Lightner leaving with the amulet. Then, the sheriff comes to their house to further investigate Wes Genrette’s death, and the kids must scramble to hide Terrance’s body.
Episode 5: “Albatross”
Sheriff Shoupe talks to JJ to further investigate their whereabouts when Wes died. He also shows JJ the video of himself threatening the Kooks and pictures of the mysterious body to see if he knows anything. When JJ doesn’t give him any answers, he gets another cop to monitor their movements closely throughout the day. The show then cuts to Rafe talking to Sofia saying he went through with the deal with Hollis and wants a life with Sofia. The Pogues dump Terrance’s body, disguised as an oyster bag, into the ocean. They decide to do right by him and continue the treasure hunt; Cleo is eager to get revenge.
JJ gets a mysterious letter, so he goes to find his dad. However, since the police followed JJ and Luke is a wanted man, JJ reluctantly helps him escape with the promise that he will explain everything. Kiara is back at the shop when Rafe suspiciously comes saying he wants to make amends. The rest of the group is in a church in Charleston searching for the treasure, but they aren’t the only ones. Pope and Sarah go down to a crypt but get locked inside with the water level rising. To make matters worse, Lightner and his boss got there at the same time and left with the clue they were searching for. Back on the mainland, Luke tells JJ that he isn’t his biological dad and that his parents are Larissa and Chandler Groff, making him the inheritor of Wes Genrette’s property. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with Groff and Hollis conspiring together.
Overall, part one was a great start to the fourth season. There is a good balance between action-packed scenes and emotional moments. We get to see the different relationships between the Pogues and the conflict between them and the Kooks. Some complaints, however, are that JJ’s character is becoming unlikable because he is reckless and impulsive, showing no character arc. Also, the show has taken on a more serious tone, and as Elise Doty (11) explains, “Before Ward and John B’s dad died, everything was easy going, and the main friend group joked around a lot, but since their deaths, it’s not exactly the same.” While there are some things to critique, I enjoyed the first half of season four and am excited to watch part two!
