As I was going into Outer Banks season three, I had high expectations because of how season two ended. Season two leaves us all on a huge cliffhanger, the pogues try to get back their gold cross but fail to. It leaves Rafe in possession of the gold cross, and Ward fakes his death by blowing up his boat. The Pogues escape the ship before it explodes and wind up all together on a deserted island. 

Here’s the season in review. 

Episode 1: Poguelandia, the Pogues have lived on the deserted island for a month before a man on a plane saves them. The guy works for Singh, better known as “KingFish,” and he takes them to Barbados before crashing the plane in the ocean. Kiara is abducted along with Rafe by his guards and they are held hostage until they are able to get him the diary that helps transcript the Gnomon. 

As I was watching the first episode, I was a little upset because of how little time they spent in Poguelandia for the episode to be named that. It felt very rushed because we didn’t get to see how they adapted to living on an island by themselves. Also, we never really got to see the parents’ reactions to their kids being absent for a month. It was a good start to the season though. It was calm before the upcoming storm. 

Episode 2: The Bells, Rafe and Kiara are still trapped together in the room. Kiara and Rafe manage to escape and make it out to Rafe’s boat, but then she steals it. She goes and finds Cleo, Pope, JJ, John B, and Sarah (the Pogues). As they were about to head back to Outer Banks, John B hears bells that his dad used to ring to bring him home. John B was confused because he thought his dad was dead. So he goes to the tower to find out. The guards of Singh find the Pogues still on the ship and the Pogues have to leave behind John B in a hurry. 

The second episode wasn’t very eventful. However, it does showcase how much the Pogues really care about each other. They aren’t willing to leave anyone behind unless they absolutely have to. Also, it demonstrates how they’re always on the run. They never really have a moment to rest. 

Episode 3: Fathers and Sons, John B finds his dad that he always thought was dead. As soon as they meet, Big John is already ready to find El Dorado. The Pogues head back to Outer Banks on Rafe’s boat, and Cleo and Pope form the “No Love Club.” Rafe meets with his father in Guadeloupe and Ward wants Rafe to sell all of their family’s properties in Outer Banks. 

The third episode was the upbringing of big John’s downfall. It really shows how he really only used his son to find the treasure rather than spending meaningful time with him. Also, it reveals how much we really don’t know about Cleo. All of the Pogues have a backstory but her. All we know is that she’s been on her own since fourteen and she lived in Barbados. 

Episode 4: The Diary, all of the Pogues meet back with their families in Outer Banks after a month of not seeing them. Cleo now lives with Pope and his family and helps run their business. Big John shoots two people as they were on a jet ski and were asked to give the diary back. Barry and Rafe work out a split deal for the money from the gold cross, even though Ward wants him to donate the cross for them to have a better image. 

In this episode, John B realizes the terrible things that Big John is capable of. It makes him fear his dad who he’s always looked up to. Also, Sarah is basically homeless and nobody really seems to care. All of her family is in Guadeloupe and she has no money or no house. She gave up her entire life just to be a Pogue, and doesn’t really have a whole lot to show for it.

Episode 5: Heists, Pope needs his dad’s permission to go to Wilmington because they have to retrieve the gold cross that’s inhabited in his family’s heritage. Kiara has more arguments with her parents about the truth of how they got the gold. Big John and John B find the Gnomon. Sarah convinces Topper, her ex boyfriend, to let them use his dad’s truck, but they were tricked by fake bins by Rafe that they thought was the gold cross. Rafe and Barry melt the gold cross for them to sell multiple of in smaller pieces. 

This episode really demonstrates how Rafe is becoming his own. In past seasons, he’s always looked for his father’s approval in everything he does. Now, he just wants all the money to himself, and he doesn’t really care about Ward’s opinion anymore.

Episode 6: The Dark Forest, all of the Pogues meet Big John. Ward gets frustrated with Rafe because he doesn’t want to give away any of the gold. Ward can’t do anything about it because he’s supposed to be dead. Sarah is homeless, and doesn’t have anywhere to go. She meets with Topper and the Kooks at the Mace, and she kisses Topper. Pope realizes how behind he is in school because of how much he has missed. Big John is kidnapped by Singh, and Ward returns back to Outer Banks. 

This episode showcases the fall in Sarah’s character development. She once again cheats on John B with Topper at any inconvenience of a fight they have. It also shows how vulnerable Topper is to Sarah, because he still loves her. 

Episode 7: Happy Anniversary, John B and JJ work together to find Singh. Sarah meets with her dad for the first time in months, and Ward apologizes for the terrible things he’s done as a father. Singh threatens Big John, saying that he needs to know how to transcribe the meanings of the Gnomon, or else, he will kill him. Sarah tells John B that she kissed Topper, he was not happy about this so he punches him several times at Kiara’s parents party. Cleo and Pope figure out the picture meanings of the diary that are connected to the Gnomon. 

John B takes his frustrations out on the wrong people. This isn’t the first time that Sarah has cheated on him, so I’m not sure why he fought Topper. Also, they’re supposed to be married, and Sarah doesn’t even have all her loyalties aligned to John B. 

Episode 8: Tapping the Rudder, John B was supposed to go to jail before Sarah convinced Topper, once again, to drop charges. She promises to stay with him on the island if he drops charges, but she’s lying. Sarah convinces her dad to let the Pogues use his plane to get to South America to find John B’s dad. Rafe asks Barry to kill his dad so that he doesn’t stop their business deals. Topper finds John B and Sarah intimately together, and he decides to set John B’s house on fire.

Topper is now in his Rafe era. He’s tired of Sarah constantly lying and manipulating him to get him to do things for her. He loves Sarah, and he wishes she was with him rather than John B, which is what frustrates him. 

Episode 9: Welcome To Kitty Hawk, Rafe has second thoughts and doesn’t want his dad to be killed anymore. He finds the hitmen Barry hired, and kills him instead. Kiara’s parents send her to Kitty Hawk without even letting her know beforehand. Before all of the Pogues leave for South America, JJ doesn’t want to leave without Kiara so he goes and finds her. Ward gets on the plane with the Pogues because people may find out he’s alive because of the killing scene. JJ finally finds Kiara in the camp after several obstacles, and they share a long awaited kiss. JJ and Kiara make their way to South America as well.

This was honestly my favorite episode of this entire season. It really showcases the love that JJ and Kiara have had for each other. JJ went through all of that trouble just to tell her how he truly feels. 

Episode 10: Secret of the Gnomon, all of the Pogues, separately, make it to South America. John B and Sarah finally find Big John, and they make their way on a boat to the mountain in El Dorado, Ward also surprisingly makes this trip on the boat. Sarah, John B and Big John all hike their way up the mountain while the other Pogues try to find and save them. The moon hits its zenith, they successfully translate the meaning of the gnomon. Singh finds them afterwards and holds them all at gunpoint until they give him the translation; they manage to escape. Cleo and Pope quit the “No Love Club” and end up with each other. Sarah and John B make their way through the difficult cave of El Dorado, and they manage to find the gold. Singh and his guards hold them at gunpoint once again, Ward sacrifices his life for Sarah and kills the guard by falling off a cave. Big John later dies because of an earlier gunshot wound. It skips eighteen months ahead, and all the Pogues are honored for discovering the mystery of the gold. 

Overall, the season was decent. It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t too good. It honestly just felt like Big John’s story was dragged, and he had too much screen time. We barely got to see the relationships between the Pogues, because they were always somehow split. They were maybe all together for one episode, besides that, one was always either kidnapped or running away. Also, in the last episode, they skipped the ahead eighteen months. I really don’t understand why they did this because we missed Rafe’s reaction to Ward’s death, and everything that the Pogues went through. However, I am happy that Ward got to redeem himself before he died by sacrificing himself for Sarah. Outer Banks has already been renewed for a fourth season, so hopefully they will do flashbacks of the eighteen months throughout. I do also hope in the next season that they focus less on the actual treasure hunting, and the show is centered around the insides of the Pogues’ lives.