Outer Banks is an action-packed adventure/mystery set in a coastal town along the Outer Banks of North Carolina where there’s a clear line in the sand that divides the wealthy residents (called “Kooks”) and the working-class locals (dubbed “Pogues”). The series focuses on a group of friends who are determined to find out what happened to John B’s (Chase Stokes) missing father. Along the way, they discover treasure and get hunted by the law and some of the wealthy Kooks in town while also dealing with general life themes like love, friendship and money.
It was recently announced that the third season of Outer Banks is premiering on Netflix on February 23. With two seasons to re-watch in the meantime, these are some of the best episodes from the series so far.
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9 The Bell Tower (Season 1, Episode 9)
Netflix
This is the second-to-last episode of season one and is naturally full of suspense and tension. After Sarah’s (Madelyn Cline) brother Rafe (Drew Starkey) shoots the sheriff in cold blood, Ward (Charles Esten) blames the murder on John B to protect Rafe from going to jail. So now John B is on the run again, trying to flee the island with the help of the other Pogues. This betrayal alone is extremely high-stress and puts Sarah in a position where she’s forced to choose between her corrupt family and her new friendship with the Pogues.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
John B ends up fleeing to his and Sarah’s special spot — the bell tower — and when she goes to meet him there, her ex-boyfriend Topper (Austin North) is also there. Previously, he’s always been against John B and the Pogues, but in this moment he has some major character development and helps the two escape and the cops start closing in. There is so much drama and tension in this episode as the season comes to an end and it makes for a great watch.
8 Dead Calm (Season 1, Episode 7)
This episode is a good balance between tension and suspense and heartwarming moments. On one hand, JJ (Rudy Pankow) confronts his abusive father, which doesn’t end well and reveals the painful aspects of his relationship with his father to his friends Kiara (Madison Bailey) and Pope (Jonathan Daviss). Pope and Kiara respond by pulling JJ in for a hug and consoling him. It’s an emotional moment that helps to show just how close the Pogues are — they’re more like family than just friends.
Meanwhile, the tension comes from John B’s fishing trip with Ward. When he agreed to the trip, John B didn’t know that Ward knows about the gold that the Pogues found. At the start, the trip seems fine, but then the conversation takes a turn and John B realizes that Ward knows more than he’s led on, specifically about his father’s disappearance. The tension really comes to a head when Ward tries to kill John B, but is unsuccessful.
7 The Gold (Season 2, Episode 1)
At the start of season two, the Pogues are in mourning because they’re under the impression that John B and Sarah died at sea, but in reality they made it to Nassau and are laying low at a hotel while keeping an eye on the Cameron estate where the gold is stashed. John B, Sarah and some locals they got mixed up with go to break into the safe and take the gold, but back in the Outer Banks, Ward gets a security alert that someone opened the door to the estate in the Bahamas. John B ends up getting caught, and when the security guards FaceTime Ward to let him know what’s happening, he demands to see the face of the intruder. It’s a stressful cliffhanger that isn’t relieved until the next, equally tense episode.
6 Parcel 9 (Season 1, Episode 6)
In this episode, the Pogues are working together to decode a mysterious island legend and find some hidden gold. This is also the episode where John B tries to merge his blossoming relationship with Sarah with his friendship with the rest of the Pogues. He’s convinced it’ll be fine, even though Pogues and Kooks don’t typically get along, but when Kiara and Sarah get into a fight and storm off, he realizes it won’t be that easy.
He leaves the two girls on a boat at sea by themselves for a night to get to know each other and sort out their differences, and they actually emerge as friends, ready to get back to work finding the gold. It’s a good episode with a lot of plot-driving moments, like Sheriff Peterkin gaining more clues about John B’s missing father and the Pogues finally finding the gold, but it’s also a great show of friendship and acceptance.
5 The Darkest Hour (Season 2, Episode 5)
This episode comes right before “My Druthers” and includes all the build-up that led to Ward blowing himself up in his boat in front of the cops and his family. John B is in jail for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin and JJ is working to get him out and clear his name. It’s a risky plan that involves John B faking a ruptured appendix and JJ posing as a paramedic, but it ends up working, and eventually they convince Sheriff Shoupe that Rafe and Ward are the guilty ones.
Also during this episode, Sarah and the rest of the Pogues are dealing with familial issues. Pope uncovers some family history and secrets. Kiara fights with her mother about “living like a Pogue.” And Rafe tricks Sarah into meeting with him and tries to drown her, only to be stopped by Topper. There’s a lot going on in this episode, but it has great pacing and really sets the stage for the following “My Druthers.”
4 Trapped (Season 2, Episode 9)
“Trapped” is the second-to-last episode of the second season, and it’s another example of a well-paced episode that builds immense suspense for the episode that will follow it. Here, the Pogues are on a mission to save Pope’s family legacy by obtaining the gold cross that all the bad guys in town are also after. A slew of setbacks makes this really difficult, from Pope’s allergic reaction to bee stings to major family drama.
Rafe ends up getting ahold of the cross, and it gets loaded onto The Coastal Venture, the ship the Cameron family is set to board — including Sarah, who was drugged by her mother and unknowingly brought on board. The Pogues cause a distraction on the ship and manage to sneak on board and hide in a shipping container. Meanwhile, Sarah wakes up on the ship and learns that her father, Ward, is actually alive. It’s an intense episode and what raises the stakes even higher is that the following episode is the last of the season and “Trapped” sets the stage for a lot of plot lines to either get cleared up, or wait until season three.
3 My Druthers (Season 2, Episode 6)
In this episode things are finally starting to take a turn as the web of lives Ward has woven to protect himself and his family starts to unravel. Rafe is wanted for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin and Ward is guilty of many a crime himself, and the two are each trying to flee the Outer Banks as the cops start closing in. Rafe ends up getting arrested, and with a warrant out, Ward manages to escape to his boat in his wife’s trunk, only to get caught before he sails off.
Atop his boat and surrounded by police, Ward confesses to his crimes. When he realizes there’s no way for him to escape and the only place he can really go from here is prison, he blows up the boat with himself inside. It’s a shocking moment and the episode just ends after that. However, when the boat exploded Sarah was obviously distraught, but John B looked relieved and almost glad that it happened, which went on to cause problems in their relationship in the following episodes.
2 The Runway (Season 1, Episode 8)
Netflix
“The Runway” is a very highly-rated season of Outer Banks, and if you watch it, it’s pretty clear why. The big plot line in this episode is that Ward is planning to escape to the Bahamas on a plane with both Sarah and all the gold. That is, until John B decides to save her by driving his van — dubbed the Twinkie — through a fence, onto the runway and in front of Ward’s plane, preventing him from leaving.
Sarah and John B are set to escape and to make matters even better, Sheriff Peterkin (Adina Porter) shows up to arrest Ward. But — of course — things take a nasty turn when Rafe shows up and in his twisted attempt to protect his father, he shoots and kills the Sheriff and then turns the gun on Sarah and John B. This is a big moment in the show, because even though Ward and Rafe were already very anti-Pogue and anti-John B, now they have a secret to protect.
1 The Coastal Venture (Season 2, Episode 10)
“The Coastal Venture” is the season two finale and was the last episode everyone watched as they wait for season three to premiere. Aboard the ship, Ward is attempting to convince Sarah that he’s only trying to protect the family; that John B and the Pogues have the gold cross, and that she should just move on and head to the private island with the rest of the Camerons. Obviously, this is all a lie, and eventually she figures that out, which leads to Ward claiming that she’s “…not one of us and never will be,” and attempts to strangle her. John B fights him off and the two flee to a lifeboat with the other Pogues.
The Pogues — and their newfound friend Cleo (Carlacia Grant) sail off on the lifeboat and hit land. They have no idea where they are and dub it “Poguelandia,” deciding to essentially set up camp and make the best of their narrow escape. Back home, though, Sheriff Shoupe is making statements about the missing teens and Kiara’s parents are hanging missing persons fliers around town. But the real kicker is the big reveal at the very end of the episode, and that’s that John B’s father is still alive, which will likely be a major focal point in season three.
