The well-known Netflix Series Outer Banks has a new season. The show first came out and quickly became a quarantine favorite, as many people dreamed of a summer without a lockdown. Season two followed on July 30, 2024, and the third season on Feb. 23, 2023.
The first half of the fourth season came out on Oct. 10. There was some excitement throughout the media, but there wasn’t as much attraction to the new season as prior seasons. Regardless, there have been no signs that this will be the last season. As director Josh Pate has said, “‘We think about the first three [seasons] as a trilogy, and then we’re starting over on [another sort of] trilogy now.”
I honestly had my reservations about the new season. To start, the majority of their viewers were way younger when the first season came out and it did cater to a younger audience. The overall basis of the show that these teenagers in high school were going on treasure hunts and skipping school to go surf in the Outer Banks was very enticing as a young high schooler. Now, as a sophomore in college, I was curious to see if the show would still resonate and evoke the same amount of excitement.
In addition, the leading stars in the show had a large media presence when the show was at its “peak,” which helped the OBX brand. Lead actors Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline dated for two years. The cast was seen in Charleston together as a big group of friends. These things together seemed to blur the lines between what was in the show and what was real life, which made fans go wild. However, after Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline split, the allure to the cast seemed to fade as everyone continued to grow up and forget about OBX.
It was quite apparent when I first started watching the new season that it was different from the others. The other seasons focused a lot on the character development, and the plots mostly revolved around the characters’ lives, specifically John B’s. Throughout the first three seasons, the group of teenagers go on different adventures to find treasure and other valuable artifacts. By the end of the third season, it was abundantly clear that they had reached their end goal of settling down in JJ’s house, which they renovated and made into a home and tackle shop.
When the new season came out, many wondered what it would consist of. Almost everything about the characters’ lives had been explored, the setting of each place had been established, and the vibe of OBX was set in stone. However, the group of Pogues were quickly given another opportunity for adventure.
The Pogues were confronted by an older man who had heard of their treasure seeking adventures and wanted help finding Blackbeard’s amulet to break his family’s curse. I can see how Pate’s vision of the “second trilogy” started in this new season. The Pogues are now older and mostly on their own, allowing a new chapter to begin. There is a focus on financial concerns for the Pogues, which was touched upon in the past seasons but was very prominent in this season. The Pogues live independently now and must take on adult responsibilities, creating a different narrative throughout the show.
One final point about the new OBX season is that we’ve only seen the first half. This is a new strategy by the directors that allows the audience to stay committed to the show for more extended periods. I watched the first part of the season, and I am excited to watch the second part, which comes out on Nov. 27. Overall, the OBX season differs from the others, but the new storyline is interesting and worth watching.
Isabella Blanco is a sophomore in the School of Industrial Labor Relations. She can be reached at [email protected].