Nothing has made me more excited than crawling into bed to hear that iconic opening of “Left Hand Free” by alt-J, knowing that the season would draw me in and “Outer Banks” would soon become my entire personality. After being starstruck by the first season of the constantly raved TV show, “Outer Banks,” I was convinced each season would continue to give me that rush of the “Pogue life.” However, as the seasons progress, the plot seems to stretch on more, to the point where it’s completely lost.
Going into the first part of the fresh season, I had high hopes for this new chapter, especially since they finally got rid of Ward Cameron (Charles Esten) and Big John (Charles Halford), and two of my favorite couples connected. Coming out of the first part, I’m not sure I’d bother watching the second one once it’s released. I struggled to even get through the first episode. The plotline had no sense of cohesiveness — it jumped around, and the whole “search for gold” plotline is getting old at this point. Since there’s such a repetitive plotline in previous seasons, it feels overdone. There is no need to keep the show running just for it to become increasingly repetitive.
Despite the show gaining a lot of attraction and bringing a boatload of money to Netflix, the transitions, filters and scriptwriting seem dull. The visual filters this season are honestly cheap-looking, and my friends and I laughed over some of the transitions they made. Considering their budget for the show, you would think Netflix could hire someone with more talent to handle the scene changes, but instead they look like something I could do on my phone. On top of it not being the most visually appealing, the script was not for me. I’ve always thought the writing has been cringe, and the show has had its fair share of moments when I’ve needed to turn it off because it’s so bad. They’ve kept this filter throughout all seasons, and the orangy undertones weren’t attractive seeing it on my TV.
During season one, JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) were my favorite “couple” because their chemistry was unmatched. On and off the screen, Pankow and Bailey had insane chemistry, and you could tell they cared about and loved each other, even if it was only platonic. But now that they’re finally together after three long seasons of pining, it feels different. Through my eyes, their chemistry is lost and rather forced. Their on-screen relationship could be tainted by the fact that Bailey and Pankow aren’t in contact off-screen, but the chemistry isn’t there. Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline’s relationship off and on-screen slightly mirrors the ones of Pankow and Bailey, with them not being as close as the first couple of seasons, but their on-screen chemistry isn’t lost. Cline and Stokes still are able to make the viewers feel like they mean something to each other and they are still in love, even though it may be tough acting that out with a past relationship. They’re very professional and are able to set aside their own personal issues for the show.
Even though he is toxic and mentally ill, Rafe Cameron (Drew Starkey) has had some character development, and surprisingly, I like his plotline. Sofia (Fiona Palomo), his girlfriend from seasons three and four, makes him a better person. Sofia calms him down when things are stressful and positively influences him. The writers calmed down his psychotic character immensely this season compared to the previous ones. The character shift of Rafe could be due to just simple character development or potentially to the romanticization of the character in the media, with girls falling head over heels for this killer.
Despite my hatred for the plotline and the writing of the fourth season, you might find me guiltily watching the second part to see what other troubles the Pogues get themselves into. I found the incorporation of Terrance (Terance Rosemore) back into Cleo’s (Carlacia Grant) life interesting. Bringing back their dynamic was an interesting choice, and I thought it gave this season more depth. Terrance was a father figure in Cleo’s life but also conniving and manipulative. His character development shined through this season because it was a complete flip from what I saw in season three. I thought the dynamic between the two compelled me and drew me more into the show. In the end, Cleo meant a lot to Terrance, and he would do anything to save her.
This season, the biggest surprise to me was the unveiling of JJ’s ancestry. I’m curious to see how JJ will deal with this in the upcoming part and how this will affect him. He has always been very sure about himself, so new groundbreaking information like that must have taken a toll on his mental health and made him question his entire life. This could ultimately lead to problems with Blackbeard’s treasure and the Pogue’s new quest.
Ultimately, do I want to watch the second part? No, not necessarily. Will I watch it to see how everything plays out? Most definitely. Despite not loving this season of “Outer Banks,” you’ll still catch me tuning in Nov. 7 for the second part. I can’t resist, especially with the new first look at part two, seeing that Rafe could work alongside the Pogues. This show has become my new guilty pleasure.
“Outer Banks Season 4: Part 1:” ★★★☆☆
