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One month into 2020’s first lockdown, Netflix gave us a much-needed escape in the form of Outer Banks, a show that whisked us away into a world of treasure-hunting and endless ocean sunsets.
The series struck a chord as we watched John B. (Chase Stokes) and the other Pogues long for an escape of their own too, searching for a life where they no longer had to struggle for money or happiness.
But struggle they did. Even as season one soared to the top of the Netflix charts, the Pogues themselves fought tooth and nail for success in their own lives. This fight, a unique mix of The Goonies and The OC with a little Point Break thrown in too, continued to pull viewers in for a second equally successful season. But then the clouds began to roll in when a third outing became bogged down by this constant need to one-up what came before.
Season four picked things up in the right direction again, ramping up the stakes while also hitting fans in the feels with the surprise death of a core member. In the aftermath, our faves were left more broken than ever, pushing us into a fifth, final season where the Pogues are now ready to pick up the pieces.
And boy are there a lot of pieces to pick up. Season five of Outer Banks doesn’t just juggle the renewed hunt for revenge and the Blue Crown that JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) father stole. It also needs to wrap up every arc for each individual cast member, giving them a happy ending that will satisfy fans of what surprisingly became one of Netflix’s longest-standing shows to date.
Hurtling towards the end like this can lead to rushed storytelling or the unfortunate sidelining of key moments, but Outer Banks actually benefits a great deal from this pressure. In these final 10 episodes, the writers find a much-needed balance between big stakes and intimate character moments, ending up with a fulfilling climax to pretty much every key storyline.
Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Drew Starkey, Carlacia Grant, Austin North, Fiona Palomo, Tony Crane and Cullen Moss.
Season five of Outer Banks finds the Pogues ‘at their absolute breaking point following the tragic loss of JJ in Morocco’.
The synopsis continues: ‘Stranded far from home and mourning the heart of their crew, they’ve lost the Blue Crown and continue to face a gauntlet of familiar threats.
‘The Pogues are in a desperate race to reclaim their future and finally win the freedom they’ve always been chasing. It’s the Pogues against the world as they seek to avenge their best friend and bring it on home … one final time.’
There are 10 episodes in the final season, all of which have been released in one go.
Much of this comes down to the ramifications of what happened to JJ and how his death hit Kie (Madison Bailey) in particular. A lesser show might have been tempted to gloss over that loss in favour of wrapping things up, but grief is central to Outer Banks in this final season. As such, it reflects to some degree the sadness that longtime fans might also be feeling when the show comes to an end.
As Kie says goodbye to JJ, so too must we say goodbye to these characters. Thankfully, such melancholy becomes fuel for revenge, adding a personal twist to the usual hunt for gold.
The Lupine Corsairs still pose a threat in their own hunt for the Blue Crown, but it’s Groff’s (J. Anthony Crane) involvement that gets your heart racing. Because who would ever kill their own son just for riches? It’s easy to hate Groff because of this, making him the perfect villain to cap the show off with.
