Should you watch Netlfix's 'Outer Banks'? (Season One Review) *Spoiler Free*

Set on the outer banks of North Carolina, unusual activities occur on the island. A group of teens called The Pogues, led by group ringleader John B (Chase Stokes), embark on a mission to discover his missing father. Along the way, they stumble across a treasure map, leading to a long buried secret. The Pogues overcome many obstacles; drugs, love, fighting, friendship, and the law and the rich working against them in order to complete John B's father's goal that he had been working on for twenty years. 

The pilot episode had a great start. John B's narration throughout Outer Banks sets the tone for the type of show this is meant to be; mystery and adventure with teen melodrama. We are introduced to two distinct cliques on the island; the Kooks (the middle class) and the Pogues (the working class), as well as John B's best friends JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey) and Pope (Jonathan Daviss). John B’s father disappeared nine months ago at sea looking for a shipwreck but he believes his father is still alive. With naturally delivered banter between the group, the show establishes its world and builds the characters' back stories that are explored in more detail further in.

Surprisingly during lockdown I haven't felt inclined to binge-watch many shows, though Outer Banks definitely forced me out of my slump. Yes; It was that good (despite some fair criticisms).

The show is unpredictable and stressful at the same time. If you thought one episode couldn’t get any better, you need to keep watching. 

My initial thoughts on the show (specifically, the Pogues) was it would result in a cliche love triangle involving any two of the boys and Kiara. Also,  the first few episodes portray Kiara as a typical ‘I’m not like other girls' girl, so the idea was promising. Thankfully, Outer Banks steered clear of this (debatable) and I can only hope it stays that way.

The show has a significant number of antagonists; Rafe (Drew Starkey), Topper (Austin North) and the like. Take whatever from that as you wish, but in hindsight it forces you to be more engaged with the story. The fact that the Pogues have less supporters makes you wonder how and if they are able to find the treasure and find out what happens to John B’s father. As hateable as these characters are they honestly make the story exciting. 

There was clearly much thought and planning into the actual treasure hunt itself. As someone who loves learning about history I definitely appreciated the historical influence into the story, especially since it was part of slave history and isn’t white washed (from the way it was presented in the episodes). At first thought it was easy to assume that this was fabricated for plot purposes until you do a quick Google search. Though minor details of this story was told, it was nonetheless informative and the context helps to bring further understanding of the treasure hunt. (This only happens in episode four out of ten! That is definitely the episode that moves the plot of the season forward).

With all this being said, the show does fall short in other areas like rushed storylines.

Obviously the first season should have one main focus and set everything else up for further seasons, but at the same time if characters are going to have complex backgrounds more screen-time needs to credit this in order to give it justice. Screentime-wise, John B unfortunately does outshine the rest of the group. (As much as he is my favourite character…). It’s arguably that because he is A) the focus of the story and the main character and B) the narrator, the show is from his point of view, though that doesn’t mean that his friends aren’t just as important or as interesting to his story. It would have been great if there was more insight into the other Pogue's home life and perhaps even more insight on characters who become important later like the main Kooks. 

Towards the end of season one character backgrounds that were beginning to develop were brushed under the carpet. Personally I’m conflicted on this because while I thought the show was entertaining and had no filler, so many events can take place within even half the episode time yet there’s still so many questions unanswered about other characters besides John B. Ten 40-50 minute episodes is not sufficient enough to neatly wrap up every subplot and detail (and with how Netlfix shows are structured perhaps this shouldn’t be expected). Not to spoil for anyone who watches, but other ‘deaths’ within the first four episodes that were supposed to add to John B’s father’s mystery didn’t add anything to the final point of the season.

Surely it will be explored in season two but I can’t help but feel other character storylines ended so abruptly without making sense.

(Also, did anyone notice how randomly shaky some of the scenes were?).

There’s no clue or indication of the pace each episode has between the previous and the next. Although some of the hinted relationships are likeable the execution of how they came to be just came out forced. As stated earlier, the show gave an impression that Kiara would date (or show strong interest) in atleast one other Pogue member though there’s honestly no romantic tension with Kiara and any of the boys that actually seems like it would be a successful relationship. As friends Kiara and the guys have personalities that mesh perfectly, but nothing more than that. 

Unfortunately Outer Banks also lacks in representation, to put it simply. The cast are literally only white and black, and even so, black characters are either vilified by other characters for no reason, irrelevant or have reduced screentime in comparison to their lighter peers. This can also be said about the lack of LGBT+ characters, and I’m sure there's even more to be said in terms of representation. This doesn’t mean the show is bad for the lack of diversity but (positive!) representation matters and means more to minorities than people assume,

All in all, I would definitely recommend Outer Banks for the complex characters, and also for the plot. For a short series it is worth your time and emotional investment. 

If you’ve read this review and still aren’t sure, watch the trailer here.