Season 3 of ‘Outer Banks’ Is a Romantic and Chaotic Rollercoaster Ride
Photo courtesy of Netflix.
Season 3 of Outer Banks premiered on Netflix on February 23, 2023. The series follows a group of teenagers who go on a series of treasure hunts with no limits on obstacles along the way. I binged the third season and had to let you know my thoughts on it. Let’s get into this.
I do want to preface and say that I will be discussing spoilers so please go watch season 3 before you read this review.
Season 2 ends off with the pogues stuck on a deserted island after they tried to get Pope’s (Jonathan Daviss) family heirloom cross back from Rafe (Drew Starkey) and Ward Cameron (Charles Esten).
Season 3 picks up where season 2 left off. I’m just going to talk about what I loved and didn’t love this season. Let me start with the negatives so I can end on a positive note.
We find out that Big John (Charles Halford) is alive and living in Barbados. Big John and John B (Chase Stokes) reunite at some point during the season. I got to be honest here. I was bored out of my mind with their scenes, honestly any scene that Big John was in. I didn’t like his character at all. He was so abrasive and annoying.
We all know that Rafe is a complete psychopath. I’d love to see a redemption arc for him but it would have be a major one for me to somewhat like him. Ward is a character you can never trust and I’m satisfied with how his story came to an end. Let’s just say that the Cameron men and Rose (Caroline Arapoglou) are the absolute worst.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the treasure hunt storyline as a whole. It felt really chaotic and rushed. There were a lot of parts that bored me.
Now, let’s move onto what i loved about this season. There’s a romance blossoming between JJ (Rudy Pankow) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) which is something #jiara fans wanted since season 1. I’m not a big fan of fan service but this is something I can make an exception for. The writers did a beautiful job with a slow-burn friends to lovers type of situation. Pankow and Bailey have authentic chemistry that is absolutely electric. I loved every scene between the two of them.
I wanted Pope and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) to just be friends in the beginning of the season but the more time they spent together, the more I wanted them to be together. They have an energy about them that feels so natural and adorable.
I appreciated that we got to see Sarah (Madelyn Cline) explore her identity. Cline does such an amazing job at bringing depth and humanity to her. John B and Sarah definitely go through a lot together yet again. Their journey is a rocky one and I believe they ground each other.
Netflix renewed Outer Banks for season 4 before season 3 even premiered. Guess we can look forward to more pogue shenanigans and treasure hunting!
Outer Banks is exclusively streaming on Netflix.
Creators: Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, Shannon Burke
Cast: Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant
Producers: Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, Shannon Burke