Outer Banks [stylised as OBX] is an action-adventure mystery teen drama series. That follows the treasure hunting adventures of an intrepid group of teen friends collectively known as the Pogues.
The Netflix series is a hit amongst critics and audiences alike, and for the uninitiated, this writer fiercely advices you to give it a watch. As Outer Banks is set to continue with a 4th season. Though the wait might be longer than expected since production would have been halted. Due to the combined might of the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The first three seasons [of Outer Banks] follows the story of the Pogues hunting for the Royal Merchant which then leads them to an even bigger treasure known as El Dorado. With the fourth season set to center on the hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure.
The road to El Dorado, [within the first 3 seasons] was long, unpredictable, uncertain and full of surprises.
Should the 4th season [of Outer Banks] hope to continue the precedent here a number of ways it could.
Season Count
As earlier stated, the road to El Dorado was most certainly a long one, as Outer Banks took 3 whole seasons to properly bring its story to a conclusion.
Hence, with another treasure hunt now underway. It stands to reason that the quest for Blackbeard’s treasure may prove just or nearly as tenuous. Which leads this writer to believe that the series could go beyond season 4 when the Pogues take on their new quest.
Personal Ties
Subjectively, a big reason why the Royal Merchant/El Dorado quest dragged on for so long may have been the fact that for a number of the characters.
Specifically John B & Pope. The adventure felt personal.
For John B, the treasure was the reason his dad went missing for months & for Pope, he would discover that he is a descendant of Denmark Tanny — the man who had connections [directly or indirectly] to the Royal Merchant & El Dorado.
These personal ties also gave weight to the adventures, thus causing Outer Banks to be emotionally engaging most of the time.
Therefore, if the fourth season [of Outer Banks] wanted to be just as engaging as the first 3. It could do that by way of connecting the adventure to the ancestry or backstory of one or more of the Pogues.
However, it’s very unlikely those candidates will include John B or Pope [yet again].
Change Amongst the Pogues
As Outer Banks morphed into the hunt for the Royal Merchant into the hunt for El Dorado, the Pogues added to their ranks. As what essentially started out as four-person group grew to a six-person group by the end of show’s second season.
Therefore, in the spirit of speculation, this writer is tentatively implying that the Pogues could add to their ranks yet again as they embark on the new adventure.
On the downside however, this new adventure might prove to be too much for the Pogues that they could even lose members rather than gain. Moreover, it’s not that farfetched as the Pogues were shown time and again throughout the first 3 seasons, to meet with near death scenarios. All of which they’ve managed to scale through thus far.
But who’s to say their luck isn’t running out?. The new batch of adventures should quell this writer’s doubts (for better or worse).
Just like the Pogues, Netflix has struck gold with Outer Banks and if the current trend persists. Then there’s no telling just how much of the ‘Outer Banks’ we’ve yet to see.
Seasons 1 – 3 of Outer Banks are available for download or streaming on Netflix.