This review contains spoilers from Outer Banks season four part two.
The second part of the fourth season of the Netflix series Outer Banks came out Nov. 7, 2024 and with it came huge plot twists and new emotions that caused many viewers, including me, pain, grief, and anger, due to the murder of one of the main characters, as well as the betrayal this character endures.
In season four part one, Luke Maybank (Gary Weeks) comes back, telling JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow) he was not his real father. The pogues owning and running their business also set up a whole new plot for part two.
The story starts with Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), Pope Hayward (Jonathan Daviss), John B. Routledge (Chase Stokes), and Cleo Anderson (Carlacia Grant) in Charleston searching for clues to lead them to the Blue Crown.
Meanwhile, JJ and Kiara Carrera (Madison Bailey) are at the house unpacking how JJ just found out that JJ’s dad, Luke is not his biological dad. He discovered his real dad is Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) and his mom was a descendant of Captain Blackbeard who died when JJ was just a baby.
The flashback to how Luke ended up with JJ was really interesting to watch and fairly believable since they edited Luke to look younger and they did a pretty good job with all the details like his hair and face.
Flashing back to the present, the decision for the change in zoning on the pogues’ property was finalized by Luke in order to get charges dropped, adding on to his mistreatment of JJ. This sparks the start of JJ’s massive crashout resulting in widespread destruction. The way this was filmed and the cinematic piece of this scene was beautiful and really showed the anger that has been building up for years within JJ.
We then find out Sarah is pregnant. The way Cline portrays her character Sarah finding out she is pregnant at only twenty years old is something that stunned me, especially with the way she broke the news to John B.
Groff double-crosses JJ and the pogues without them knowing, leaving them clueless as to his true intentions. He has been working with Hollis Robinson (Brianna Brown), who was referenced back in season one when JJ talks about how he used to be babysat by someone named Hollis.
Right before Rafe goes to Morocco to help the pogues, one of the biggest surprises from this season happens as he proposes to his girlfriend Sofia (Fiona Palomo). Seeing Rafe helping the pogues was something I never thought I would ever see but I was really excited to see how the dynamic between all of them started to change.
After getting separated from the pogues, Rafe found Groff and took care of the business he had to sort out with him. The pogues catch up to him and work together to find the Blue Crown. Sarah and Rafe reunite which makes me happy for them to finally be family again.
After a lot of fighting and chaos amidst a sandstorm, JJ finds the Blue Crown, and Pope becomes the first pogue of the group to actually kill someone.
In my opinion the show had been really good and there have been many cliffhangers and plot twists, but I was not ready for the season finale in any way. This was the hardest part to watch and it brought me so much sadness.
Unexpectedly, Groff shows up and holds Kiara hostage demanding the Blue Crown in exchange for her life. JJ made the trade without hesitation, resulting in Groff having the Crown and Kiara. However, Groff ends up stabbing JJ ensuring that his own son dies because of his greed.
This scene, watching JJ die, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. Since season one he was my comfort character and the one who I grew to favor. He had such a hard life and everything he had was always taken from him and he never got a happy ending. He was buried in Morocco far away from everyone, even though his biggest fear was being alone. This is the worst decision the writers and director could have made, as he was a fan favorite among a lot of people and viewers were just getting to see more into his background before his life was stolen from him.
Overall I do believe that this was a good season, but I feel the writers should have shown JJ’s background earlier as to not get viewers more attached to him just to kill him off soon after. This part of the season did bring me back to the same vibe and feeling as season one with how fun and exciting the show was before they headed off to Morocco.
I would definitely recommend this to high school and college students for a thrilling and adventurous show to watch because it’s a show focusing on teenagers. Although the plot is not exactly relatable, the family dynamics as well as self-struggles the characters face are. Other shows with teenagers and adventure for people who enjoyed Outer Banks consist of Riverdale (2017) and Teen Wolf (2011).
6/10
