Spoilers forward for season three of Outer Banks.
Upon its launch in 2020, Outer Banks had the good thing about a bored viewers—the primary days of the pandemic beget undivided display time—and alluring imagery to promote: Charismatic teenagers in crop tops and denim, framed within the halo of solar and sand, isn’t a failed formulation. However to owe all of OBX’s success to timing and escapism is to disclaim the Netflix hit its due. In the perfect moments all through the action-adventure drama’s now three seasons, OBX isn’t just a romantic cleaning soap however a survey of friendship at its limits; not only a fast-paced puzzle field however a zany thriller. The real rapport between the principle ensemble members—John B., Sarah, Pope, JJ, Kiara, and finally Cleo—served as robust sufficient scaffolding to hoist up the in any other case weak, unconvincing plotting.
However as Outer Banks has extended its keep on the Netflix charts, so has it expanded its urge for food, and in doing so relegated its greatest components to a low sizzle on the again burner. The third and newest season is an overstuffed entry that, if not for the muse established by the present’s succesful forged, could be a nonsensical mess.
The finale, specifically, requires huge suspension of disbelief. Firstly of episode 10, “Secret of the Gnomon,” John B. (Chase Stokes) and his buddies descend quietly into Venezuela’s Orinoco Basin. Utilizing a map offered in a earlier episode by a translator whose identify you have already forgotten, the group plans to journey to Tres Rocas, after which the archaeological web site generally known as Solana. There, they hope to seek out each the legendary Metropolis of Gold and John B.’s father, Large John (Charles Halford), the abductee of Carlos Singh (Andy McQueen), a bounty hunter who needs El Dorado for himself. He years for these heaping piles of gold, sure, however he is additionally looking for reparations for his household; his grandfather was an indentured servant on Theodore Roosevelt’s authentic expedition to the ‘ole Dorado within the 1910s. Forgive my delusions, however would not his need for compensation appear virtually…affordable?
Anyway, JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) are on their very own airplane to Venezuela, this one a drug-toting cargo ship owned by Barracuda Mike (Justin Matthew Smith), who one way or the other actually believes these two youngsters are going to find El Dorado and pay him again with hunks of gleaming rock. As Carlos grows impatient with Large John’s incapability to translate the Solana cipher—lengthy story, nevertheless it requires a key that apparently solely Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) had the wits to uncover—the children comb by means of Tres Rocas for a tour information named “Jose.” (Sure, simply “Jose.”) Would not you understand, they discover him and Large John, who’s making such a ruckus attempting to flee Singh’s jail that John B. and Sarah (Madelyn Cline) haven’t any bother discovering him. In an equally foolish stroke of luck, JJ and Kiara descend coincidentally on Cleo and Pope—”We have not been right here for 2 minutes!” JJ exclaims, a sheepish mea culpa on behalf of the showrunners—and the group run for canopy as Singh’s goons arrive.
That is solely the start of the difficulty. Ward Cameron (Charles Esten), Sarah’s father, has reneged on his promise to stick with the personal airplane, and decides as a substitute to hitch Large John, Sarah, and John B. on Jose’s treasure-bound celebration boat. Large John hasn’t fairly forgiven Ward for attempting to homicide him a number of months again, however Singh’s buddies arrive in time to forestall the 2 from right-hooking it out. Large John’s equally distrustful of Sarah on account of her surname, however frankly BJ hasn’t proven himself to be essentially the most dependable co-conspirator both, so let’s first deal with the plank in our personal eye, Johnny.
After everybody takes a number of brief seconds for cursory self-reflection—oh, and Ward secretly drops a pin to Singh—Large John, Sarah, and John B. make their approach to Solana earlier than the moon ascends. This entire time, Kiara, JJ, Pope, and Cleo get pleasure from their very own robust time of the river journey, although none of their hijinks serve any actual plot function apart from to maintain them separate from Sarah and John B.
Netflix
On the engraved sundial generally known as Solana—miraculously intact, given its obvious years-long publicity to the weather—Sarah, John B. and Large John whip up somewhat moon magic with the gnomon figurine and decipher the instructions to El Dorado. However Large John, distrustful of each Sarah and his son, retains the final little bit of the riddle to himself, additional complicating issues when Singh and Ward present up with weapons. Sarah rescues John B. whereas Pricey Previous Dad stalls, although BJ pays for it with a bullet wound because the trio journeys by means of the bush to security. Ward backs off, terrified of his daughter and the pistol she factors at his head. The ensuing remedy prices from this journey may stretch even the Cameron household’s price range.
Some excellent news, although: Sarah is seemingly a closet enigmatologist, and the reply to the Solana puzzle dawns on her when she hears chirping from a close-by rock. Riddle: “I’m nothing however maintain all the pieces. I’ve no tongue however am all the time talking.” Reply: A…cave mouth? certain! Contained in the cavern, the trio discover a gap underneath the cave river, and John B. and Sarah dive inside to take a more in-depth look. Large John makes the one sane choice of his life and opts to remain behind.
In the meantime, Cleo and Pope have a long-enough filler scene to sneak into their first kiss. The second is a paltry, although candy, providing for an in any other case thrilling romance. However sufficient of that anyway; we merely should return to John B. and Sarah, who practically drown, then waste half of a lit flare speaking out their respective guilts. (Why did not this dialog happen on the multi-hour flight to South America, or on any of the following boat journeys and hikes?)
Irrespective of, as a result of Sarah as soon as once more cracks the code, realizing they should snuff their flares to ensure that the entry to El Dorado to disclose itself. Positive sufficient, phosphorescence lights the best way. They climb by means of one other jumble of rock, leap a chasm, and there it’s: essentially the most boring rendering of El Dorado ever put to display. There is not any actual metropolis; it is only a muddle of gold strewn amongst stalagmites, with some rickety-looking historical platforms and ladders strewn up for good measure. Nonetheless, Cline and Stokes are succesful sufficient actors to generate tears, and as they fill a bag with unfastened gold hunks, they notice they solely have 20 minutes left of flare mild to return to BJ. Perhaps we must always have held the romantic confessions for after the life-threatening spelunking?
Singh hath, after all, overwhelmed them to Large John, and one more pistol standoff ensues, although this time Biggie J hath a secret weapon: a stick of dynamite. (The place has that been this entire time?) He tosses the bomb into the El Dorado entry level, and Singh leaps for it. The ensuing explosion kills Singh and sends Sarah, John B., and Large John flying by means of a twig of particles, although they make it out with only some dust smudges strewn throughout their enticing faces. After all, they solely have lengthy sufficient to alternate giggles and endearing glances earlier than Ward exhibits up with one other pistol, after which considered one of Singh’s goons—apparently alerted of their location because of the big bomb—brings, sure, one other pistol. However wait! There’s extra! JJ, Kiara, Cleo and Pope have lastly found out their associates’ location, they usually march into the battle wielding not pistols however machetes. That is clearly going to finish properly for everybody concerned.
Ward, in a last-ditch try at redemption within the eyes of his daughter, takes out the goon, and collectively the 2 tumble off the closest cliff to their deaths. We even get a gnarly shot of their crumpled our bodies. Sarah mourns, however can be perhaps somewhat relieved? Name your therapist, sweetheart.
Netflix
Nonetheless, two deaths is not sufficient for an Outer Banks finale, and so the showrunners toss in a 3rd: Large John, who solely simply reappeared in John B.’s life this season. Because the river boat tears out of the Basin, he succumbs to his bullet wound, clutching his son’s hand, and a fistful of El Dorado gold. Becoming, is not it?
The finale is sensible sufficient to throw in a great needle drop (“Homicide within the Metropolis” by The Avett Brothers) because the characters face all they’ve misplaced. All in all, although, they get lower than a minute and a half of display time—sure, I timed it—during which to mourn and dole out coastal-flavored platitudes like: “Life would not offer you oceans with out waves.” Then, out of nowhere, the collection leaps ahead 18 months to disclose the crew at a ceremony honoring their contribution to the annals of historical past. To be sincere, if I have been an archeologist society, I would be fairly pissed on the teenagers who found El Dorado after which blew it up, however alas, I am no scholar. Everybody within the crowd cheers anyway. That features Kiara’s mother and father, who—final we noticed of them—had despatched their daughter to a wilderness-camp-meets-delinquent-asylum and Topper, who’d set hearth to John B.’s home. No exhausting emotions, apparently.
On the reception, John B., Sarah, JJ, Pope, Cleo, and Kiara are uninterested in the rich-people theatrics, till a stranger interrupts their present-day idyll with a brand new conquest. As anticipated, he has one other treasure for them to uncover, one he trusts solely this explicit group of youngsters—not a single diploma amongst them—to trace down! I promise you may guess what it’s. It is the English pirate Blackbeard’s legendary treasure. After all it is Blackbeard’s treasure! When you actually journey the street to El Dorado, it is not as should you can comply with up with a hunt for Fabergé eggs.
And so, season three concludes with the equal of a Marvel mid-credits scene, teasing extra, extra, extra to come back. (Outer Banks has already been renewed for season 4.) However except the present can pull off an excessive pivot, it is already outstayed its welcome.
Outer Banks by no means wanted to do that a lot. The primary season was the best combine of juvenile drama and journey epic, with a enjoyable however comparatively low-stakes treasure hunt and simply sufficient character oomph because the ensemble wrestled with the sociocultural stereotypes thrust upon them. (The chemistry radiating from Cline and Stokes, as a newly minted pair on the time, did not harm both.) The second season sunk a lot additional into the ludicrous however redeemed itself barely by increasing its focus to characters like Pope, Kiara, and yy However as a cursory learn of any OBX season 2 abstract will reveal, the story was already overstuffed. Between shipwrecked gold; the Cross of Santo Domingo; the Garment of the Savior; the historical past of Denmark Tanny; the seek for Eldorado; a lifeless sheriff; a number of brewing romances; lifeless dads who become alive, shock; milk toast wealthy and poor politics; a number of assassination schemes; a really mind-boggling variety of police chases; speedy surgical procedures; and an unofficial marriage, the present can not seem to determine what really issues. How can we recognize the perfect components of Outer Banks—particularly, its characters—in the event that they’re so usually side-eyed in favor of explosions? How rather more can we actually endure, with out the meaty materials to assist it?
Outer Banks can now not examine itself to The Goonies. (If, to be sincere, it ever might.) Immediately, the Netflix drama extra carefully mirrors action-adventure online game collection Uncharted, eternally upping the ante with quicker stunts and greater weapons. However Uncharted knew when it was time to finish its story, and the way to do it proper. Sony launched the ultimate sport, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s Finish, in 2016, and the ending is praised as a lot for its character improvement as its motion exhibits. If Outer Banks needs to exit with the identical applause, it must study the place, when, and the way to trim the fats.
Tradition Author
Lauren Puckett-Pope is a employees tradition author at ELLE, the place she primarily covers movie, tv and books. She was beforehand an affiliate editor at ELLE.
