Outer Banks Season 2: Does It Live Up to the Hype?
#96 TRENDING IN Pop Culture 🔥

Outer Banks Season 2: Does It Live Up to the Hype?

Pop Culture

September 30, 2021

Overheard your friends gushing about how cute Sarah Cameron and John B are together in OBX’s new release of Season 2?

Yup, me too. But I do have to agree, they are REALLY cute.

Outer Banks, a trending Netflix show that has earned popularity for its unforeseeable plot and cast, featuring a group of teenagers, John B, JJ, Kiara, Pope, and Sarah, among the “Pogues” who are determined to find the gold that Sarah’s family, mainly her father, Ward Cameron, and brother, Rafe Cameron, stole from them.

Countless shows that introduce a second season often result in a “flop”. However, many teens, including my own personal friends, have come to indisputably agree that Outer Banks is one of the best sequels ever to exist, and here’s why:

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Ever since being left on a cliff-hanger in Season 1, in full honesty, I have been quite nervous as to what I should expect for Season 2. But as soon as you watch the first episode, none of those thoughts matter anymore. You feel the exact same feeling you experienced when watching the ending of Season 1.

Your heart starts to pound a lot due to the excitement you’re holding in. The scene opens with Pope alongside Kiara and JJ carving a side of a tree in the shape of a heart, engraving “2003 - 2020” on the upper sides of the heart, with “John B Routledge P4L (Pogues For Life)” in honor of the protagonist’s life, whom they assumed was dead in Season 1 to serve as a reminder that they still do not know that John B and Sarah are indeed alive.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Outer Banks (@obx)

VISUALS

From the very first impression, the visuals look phenomenal. The different sceneries featured in this series, such as the view of the waters as the “Pogues” ride off in the distance, or when the sun was setting and everyone's favorite couple, Sarah and John B, were slow dancing in the Bahamas, are so mesmerizing to look at that it's hard to look away. Even the simplest of views, such as the field where Sarah and John B were attempting to escape from the Ward and the police, were quite diverting.

CONSISTENCY

Throughout the show, there were no parts that made you want to snooze. Similar to Season 1, it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I literally had to take breaks from watching, just because it was THAT GOOD.

There were unexpected plot-twists being dropped from time to time, usually when you least expect them, making you crave to watch just “one” more episode. Surprisingly, not that many ideas were reused, but when they needed to be somehow recycled, they were used in an unnoticeable way. Most shows would make you feel like the same thing is happening ALL over again, but the masterminds of the hit-show: Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, Shannon Burke, definitely knew what they were doing.

ACTING

The cast is outstanding in all of their performances. They all made me feel different emotions, and as an actor/actress, that is your goal for your audience. The scenes performed by Charles Esten, Madelyn Cline, and especially Drew Starkey were so intense, that it made you want to shout at them, and when you know it has come to that point, it proves that their acting is beyond astonishing.

All of the cast: Chase Stokes, Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Madelyn Cline, Drew Starkey, and Charles Esten did splendidly in their roles, but I would like to commend Drew and Madelyn the most for their performances. I still hold a grudge against his character because of his personality and the way he acts towards others, especially Sarah, in the series.

Madelyn gave a wonderful performance; she made me feel bad for her the entire time, except for when she was with Topper at the bonfire. Her character, Sarah, has been through a lot in this series and I wish people would stop trying to kill her.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Outer Banks (@obx)

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

I admire how the story doesn’t only have the spotlight on the main character, instead it is shared among his friends, focusing on each of their stories. We can feel different emotions from each of the characters, whether it is joy, pain, or absolute panic. As subtle as it is, we actually watch each of their character developments, such as Kiara’s independence from her parents by choosing to save her friends and leaving home forever, or JJ sticking by his friends while his dad runs away from all of his problems, including JJ himself. These teenagers have been through [censored] and sure as [censored] will go through more next season (can’t wait!)

SOUNDTRACK

They had one of THE BEST soundtracks. Featuring chill beat songs, such as Crashed my Bike by Sun Room and Left with a Gun by Skinshape, songs that give off vintage tunes like Down the River by Lord Cobra and John B. Sail by Blind Blake, or songs that just want to make you dance like Wiya Waist by The Garifuna Collective.

Speaking of dancing, one of my favorite songs in the series is Never In My Wildest Dreams by Dan Auerbach, which began to play as the sun was setting when John B asked Sarah, “Wanna dance?” and she replied in a fake Russian accent, “Yes.” This scene is so cute. To the readers who are single, hopeless romantics, please watch with caution.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Outer Banks (@obx)

If you want to vibe to the whole soundtrack, I suggest this playlist:

So was it worth the all-nighter to finish this season in one go?

Yes. I loved every second of it.

The thrill of watching another adventure shared between the Pogues and the Cameron family to the chemistry shared between our favorite couple was SO WORTH the 8 hours of sleep lost.

Denise Ang
20k+ pageviews

Writer since Sep, 2021 · 3 published articles

Denise, a 16 year old Chinese-Filipino junior in the Philippines, fantasizes of starting a million-dollar business in the near future. Her poems and memoirs are often inspired by her personal life, including celebrations, failures, and miseries. In her spare time, usually at 3 in the morning, she would curiously analyze albums by her favorite artists, as if they were a compilation of poetry.

Comment