One of my favorite summertime shows, Outer Banks, recently released the first five episodes of the fourth season, and I have to say, it had a rough start.
The fourth season starts with the Pogues, the name of the group containing the six main characters, returning to Outer Banks after finding El Dorado, the lost city of gold. The Pogues discover that their gold is worth 1.1 million dollars, and they decide to invest in a new place to live. They build their own pier and bait & tackle business, ultimately deciding to name their new sanctuary “Poguelandia 2.0”, after the island they were living on at the beginning of season three.
Eventually they lost most of the money from the gold, and not just due to the construction of their new home. This also happened because JJ Maybank decided to bet the last of their money on a motorcycle race he thinks he will win, without letting the others know. Obviously, his plan fails to work and the Pogues end up losing about 20,000 dollars, which was the rest of their savings.
When all hope seems to be lost, they get introduced to a new treasure-hunting task. Wes Genrette, a supporting character of the Pogues, believes his family is cursed. He says Elizabeth, a wife of a pirate named Blackbeard, has been the cause of death for his family members for almost 300 years. He also reveals he has been hearing her voice in his head, and knows he doesn’t have much time left. He asks the Pogues to go diving in a shipwreck, and find the amulet, as he thinks it could be part of the reason for Elizabeth cursing his family. He offers 50,000 dollars, which they take up immediately.
The Pogues go diving and find the amulet, but another crew tries to take it from them. This is a turning point for the Pogues, as they come to the realization the amulet is worth more than they are being offered. Pope Heyward decides they should go to Wes again to ask for more money, but when they arrive at his house, he is dead. The sheriff questions all of the Pogues, as they were some of the last people to see him before he passed.
While the Pogues take a surf day, the men try to steal the amulet again. They kidnap Cleo, and tell Pope that if he wants her to live, he needs to give them the amulet. He gives it to them, right after he finds out where the treasure is hidden. The Pogues go out to Charleston, North Carolina, where they believe the treasure is hidden.
In the end, Pope and Sarah Cameron get trapped in a catacomb while trying to find the treasure, because the men locked them in there while they were all on the hunt for the treasure. JJ finds out that his whole life was a lie, as his father comes back and tells him he was never really his true parent, and his real dad all along was Wes Genrette.
I rate the first part of this season a 3/10. I feel like the storyline just keeps dragging on and repeating itself. The show started out as a fun summertime treasure hunting mystery, and after they found the gold at El Dorado, I thought that could have been a good way to end the story. I also thought they could maybe make one episode explaining what they did with the gold, but instead, they go on yet another treasure hunting task, which is almost the exact same as the last one, and are now trying to break a somewhat curse.
