So when Kiara said “oh my god” in episode 2, she had just seen a parcel with John B’s name on it. Outer Banks Season 1 Episode 3 reveals that inside the parcel is a tape recorder and there’s a message for John B from his father. He says if something has happened to him, go for gold. He discusses the coordinates for the Royal Merchant.
John B is understandably upset and Kiara comforts him. The group discuss splitting the amount of treasure they find — rumoured to be around $400 million.No wonder people are trying to kill them.
Outer Banks Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
With the map from John B’s father, they look at the coordinates in an internet cafe — apparently, none of them has technology. The Royal Merchant will be 900 feet below the sea, but conveniently Pope knows where they can get an underwater drone.
So the group heads to a salvage yard, where the boys predictably use Kiara as a distraction for the security while they grab the underwater drone. Kiara loses her cover but they still manage to get away.
There are other strands to the story in “The Forbidden Zone” — the jealous Topper. At the party, he goes wild to impress his girlfriend Sarah. The two share an intimate moment and she tells him he has nothing to be jealous about and she promises not to betray him.
Sarah gives Topper her consent for sex and as they are about to have sex, Topper says he loves her and she suddenly backs out, claiming she is a little buzzed. Topper is a predictable character and gets angry. He starts taking drugs at the party. Imagine being this weak-minded.
Outer Banks Season 1 (Credit – Netflix)
And Rafe, Mr Cameron’s son, who has replaced John B, is struggling to work for his father and used the money for the generators on other things — so he is selling drugs at the party to get his money back. Episode 3 kind of confirms that the Kooks are not a brilliant group.
John B and co test out the underwater drone — Pope highlights bad weather will not be good for the drone so they’ll need to delay efforts.
Afterward, Sarah approaches John B about his scathing words in the last episode. She states she is not a liar and that she did not grass. Sarah then walks off and throws his favorite crisps over to him. There’s a clear love square surfacing.
And the Pogues vs Kooks rivalry intensifies in Episode 3. Rafe and Topper approach Pope who has beers; they want his beers and Rafe ends up whacking Pope with a golf club. Pope tells JJ what happened and he instantly seeks revenge, removing the plug from one of their boats so it sinks. Pope tells JJ that John B and Kiara cannot know about this.
Considering the fact they are embarking on $400m worth of treasure, I’m not sure why Pope felt that needed to remain a secret in the grand scheme of things.
As we approach the end, Kiara discusses with John B that kiss they had and wonder if their friends know. John B wonders why she asked and then they are interrupted by JJ and Pope — they surf some waves.
Episode 3 ends with the group using the underwater drone on the coordinates given. The weather starts turning into a storm, bringing more pressure to the mission. In the last scene, they find the Royal Merchant.
Outer Banks Season 1 Episode 4 Recap
Outer Banks Season 1 Episode 4 (Credit – Netflix)
Episode 4, “Spy Games” kind of takes a slight step back from all the cat and mouse and separates the characters a little. It opens up with John B and co realizing there is nothing on the Royal Merchant, which is a little deflating due to their efforts.
When John B returns home, the social workers turn up with a cop and tells him it is time to be processed for a foster carer. As they drive away, John B distracts them and rides off on a bike and recruits Sarah’s help — she drives them both away; he’s hurt himself on the bike.
So this is a chance for these two finally get close despite the Pogues vs Kooks dynamic. She rubs alcohol on his wound. It’s any excuse for him to be topless at this point. Anyway, he finds a portrait in her bedroom of the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant and he asks her for help to get to the archives — she offers to help him but states it will be her last mission, starting this strange role-play situation.
In order to get to the archives, John B and Sarah need to get off the island. As they have no tickets for the tug boat, they sneak on with sailor jackets and hide in the engine basement, where temperatures are high and it is claustrophobic. Another opportunity for John B to take his shirt off.
In terms of the other characters, Rafe and Topper are on to Pope, suspecting he sank Topper’s boat. Pope tells Kiara that “s*** “might go down tonight” at the outdoor cinema.
Predictably, Sarah and John B play truth or dare on the tug boat, but they just make it a game of truth. The game ends up with them both discussing their upbringings and their fathers, bringing them closer. When they reach land, they go shopping so that they can continue roleplaying for their mission to get the archives.
They dress each other up at a clothes store, flirting and giving each other aliases — the sexual tension between them is abundantly obvious. John B asks Sarah why she offered to help “for real” — Sarah confesses that she’s young and she already knows what the rest of her life looks like. She wants to get out of the bubblewrap temporarily.
At the midway point of episode 4, Rafe and Topper confront Pope and JJ and they have a brawl at the side of the outside cinema. As Topper starts choking Pope, Kiara sets fire to the movie screen to distract them. Topper almost choked Pope to death. Topper is 100% going to kill someone by the end of this season; he loves choking people.
The police find out it is Pope that sunk the boat — Topper’s mother tells the police to press charges. It’s clear this is harsh but she let her upper-class arrogance get the better of her.
Sarah and John B continue roleplaying and they enter a town hall to check out the archives. Sarah asks John B the reasons why he is doing this. John B tells Sarah that he is on a treasure hunt. She can tell that he is being serious.
John B believes the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant knew the location of the gold so they need to look at the archives. Sarah and John B look through the archives and John B finds a letter to translate.
On the way back on the tug boat, Sarah and John B talk about their day. They have clearly enjoyed each other’s company. John B asks what it is going to be like when they get back and Sarah suggests that nothing changes, but the elephant in the room is the “bubble” she referenced and her boyfriend Topper. Sarah admits she had a great day.
Meanwhile, the police arrest Pope, but JJ takes the blame and claims he sunk the boat — JJ is arrested instead.
Outer Banks Season 1 Episode 4 closes with Sarah and John B returning to the island; it’s predictable raining buckets on them so it’s obvious how it is going to end. They both agree to return to normal and stop the roleplaying; Sarah walks off in the rain and John B tells her to come back — “I’ve just had the best day of my life”; he continues to say that he does not care anymore and that he cannot pretend that this isn’t real. Sarah walks up to John B and kisses him. Sarah then tells him it is a small island so they have to be careful.
What did you think of Outer Banks Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4? Comment below.
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