“Outer Banks” Season Four ended with many plot twists, one being the release of two parts, which is unlike the other seasons. The purpose of this is to keep viewers engaged and on the edge of their seats to want to watch the second part. While this goal makes sense, it is a trick to build up suspense and increase engagement with those who have watched, and try to encourage others to do so too. Olivia Tarling of  The Michigan Daily claims the reason for the obsessiveness towards the show is because “Outer Banks” is centered around adolescents who live off the edge and don’t engage in social media. We, teenagers, yearn for a life like this even though we make social media a huge part of our lives. It’s almost as if we wish to be one of the characters. After part one’s release, many, including myself, quickly became addicted and finished it in a couple days. This then starts the month-long waiting period for part two to be released. At first, it’s what everyone is talking about, then it’s old news. So by the time part two was released, I almost forgot what part one was all about. 

Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke, the creators of the hit series “Outer Banks,” created other shows but not nearly as well-known. The story takes place following the Pogues: John B, JJ, Kiara, and Pope, who manage high school life, relationships, and adventures. John B (Chase Stokes) struggles with hard family relationships when his mom left when he was child, and dad was presumed dead on an adventure. JJ (Rudy Pankow) similarly has a rocky family life as his mom is out of the picture and dad is an absent alcoholic who doesn’t serve as a father-figure for JJ. Kiara (Madison Bailey) is seen as a disappointment to her parents as they don’t approve of her involvement with the Pogues and risky behavior. Pope (Jonathan Daviss) is a protective and kind character who is the most responsible in the group. Season four reprises the same main characters playing similar roles, yet a couple have different experiences. Sarah (Madelyn Cline), John B’s girlfriend, is faced with guilt by her family in response to her father’s death, JJ struggles with the possibility of losing his friends and his home. Now, in search of a crown worth millions of dollars, the Pogues are determined to crack the code and won’t let anything stop them. 

Unpopular opinion: “Outer Banks” is taking it too far. The adventures the Pogues go on are so risky and unsafe that experience near-death experiences multiple times throughout the seasons. While shows and movies aren’t always supposed to correlate to real life, it is too much. Four high school students who travel with little to no money to a different state without their parents knowing. Yeah, so realistic. They go to South America in search of gold, again without parental approval. Sure, what any teenager would do.And now, season four, they go to Moscow for a crown worth millions of dollars. Of course, what any person would do when they are broke. 

Now comes the real spoiler alert:

Each character comes across a significant change that permanently changes their life. Sarah and John B are expecting, Pope commits a crime that causes him to choose between jail and the Marines, and Kiara has a knife held to her head when searching for the crown, forcing JJ to decide if the crown or Kiara matters more. But the biggest shock of all happened to JJ, who finds out his real father is Groff, not Luke, who was paid by Groff to raise JJ and be his father. The writers make us see a side to JJ we’ve never seen before. We know how much he cares for Kiara, but this action proved that nothing, not even money, is more important than Kiara. 

When the Pogues are about to lose their home, JJ goes psycho and starts to tear apart the city in retaliation. This is the catalyst for the others to make stupid and careless decisions, like JJ already did. Pope throws himself on a police officer in hopes of saving JJ, yet not realizing that is a federal crime. When he is under arrest, his friends are yelling at the officers saying Pope did nothing wrong and this is ridiculous. No! He committed a crime and will be punished for it. It’s that simple. Multiple characters are shot and severely injured, yet are able to get up as if nothing happened. 

Don’t get me wrong, this show is action-packed which keeps you on the edge of your seat, but at some point you have to say enough is enough. “Outer Banks” is being renewed for a season five, which is in response to the major plot twist at the end of the fourth season. Are they going to wrap it up once and for all and leave viewers with a piece of mind? Or are they going to end uneasily, making us wonder if there will be another season? It seems like the writers are running out of ideas to write about because they’ve ended up in Russia. Will I watch no matter how drastic it gets? Of course. I just hope season five is able to wrap the show quickly and end it for good.