Among a young adult audience, Outer Banks has been deemed as “bad TV” along with other shows that are targeted at a young audience. One of the shows Outer Banks is often compared with is “Riverdale,” though the series are incomparable to each other. Riverdale is inherently absurd; it tries to manage many different dramatic themes and the plot arks and fumbles badly. On the other hand, Outer Banks is a flawless teen guilty pleasure watch; it’s adventurous, funny, mysterious, and romantic while staying in its respective lane.
The Netflix series doesn’t try to pull off anything atrocious, and never “jumps the shark” or “the moment when an established Long Runner series changes in a significant manner, ranging from a contrived gimmick to a full Retool.” This is when the original charm of the series is lost due to trying to appease audiences for financial gain. Outer Banks is now running on three seasons and still has the established rebellious coming-of-age aesthetic that it cultivated with the release of its first season.
The Bones are Good
Outer Banks is masterful because it is faithful to its’ established treasure-hunting theme with romance and action on the side. This is what audiences are promised and this is what they get when they are introduced to the inviting world of the “Pogues” or the rebellious group of kids from the “Cut” or the less fancy part of the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Tudum by Nexflix explains that, “According to John B in the series pilot, its (the Pogue name) origin is from a type of fish: pogies, a throwaway fish, the lowest member of the food chain.”
They are the underdogs that audiences can root for as they look for hallowed gold lost to time. Each season, they are looking for something different, but “they’re all connected by one person: Denmark Tanny. Tanny survived the crash of the ship he was on, the Royal Merchant, and used the wealth of gold that was on board to buy the freedom of all the enslaved people on Kildare Island.”
They are always on the run to find what clues and trails the historical figure hid on their island, and to shores beyond. It leads them to dangerous and action-filled paths down archaeological sites.
Dramatic Romance; Sarah and John B
The romance side of the show is exciting as well; Sarah and John B are like a “West Side Story” trope. Sarah comes from the “kooks” or the rich people in the Outer Banks while John B. is a “Pogue” through and through. Their romance is forbidden this way; it is epic and the heart of the series.
The show has been laughed at in the past for Sarah and John B.’s cheesy antics as Sarah toggles between her two main love interests. For example, it was a trend to make fun of Sarah’s rejection of her other love interest, Topper; “You love the idea of me. You like being seen with me, but you don’t love me.”
As shown here, the storyline and dialogue is dramatic and very soapy, but respectably camp! You are allowed to laugh and enjoy the passionate treasure-bound antics of the Pogues as they search for something more that lies beyond the marshy Southlands that they grew up in.
So Watch It! So, I will stay true to this show, whether John B is wrangling an alligator and ends up on top, or Sarah goes back to himbo Topper, I will enjoy wherever their journey takes these characters and am excited to see what unexpected events occur next. For these reasons, I would recommend Outer Banks to anyone my age who enjoys a bit of coastal seaward young adult adventure. Outer Banks is a masterpiece that deserves more appreciation for its’ enticing premise and execution.
