This article contains a few spoilers for Outer Banks Season 1 .

Netflix’s hit show, Outer Banks, premiered in April 2020 and the first season is an absolute hit in my eye, it has a well-written storyline and perfect balance of unrealistic and realistic plot points that keep me engaged throughout all ten episodes. A misfit group of kids, police chases, and a treasure hunt culminate to make a compelling story with an ending that catches viewers by surprise. 

Outer Banks, shortened to OBX by fans, follows teenagers John B (Chase Stokes), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Sarah (Madelyn Cline), as they embark on a journey to find the shipwreck, The Royal Merchant, and the treasure lost with it. 

The plot throws in crazy twists like drugs and corrupt police and shows the cracks in the much sought-after ‘Kook lifestyle, A ‘Kook’ is someone who is extremely rich in contrast to John B who calls himself a ‘Pouge’ because of his lack of money. In the first episode, it is brought up that John B’s father went missing at sea nine months prior, and after a bad hurricane, the group of kids stumbles upon a shipwrecked boat. Upon further inspection, and a nearly deadly boat chase by strangers, the teens realize that one of the items sunken on the boat was a compass that was previously owned by John B’s father. Little did they know that the compass would play a key role in locating the treasure, and when John B gave it to a police officer it ended up in the wrong hands. However, the audience was unable to see whose custody the compass fell into.

 In a twisted turn of events, the main antagonist turns out to be someone close to John B, which was completely unexpected, and they ended up affecting other major aspects of his life like his father’s death. Plot twists like this are what keeps viewers engaged. 

While the whole show is ridiculously unrealistic, it still doesn’t go overboard on theatrics until the end. When John B and Sarah Cameron survive being in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane with no boat, the show loses some of its spark. I understand the writers’ intentions of dragging the story out into a season two, but it runs the risk of turning into another ‘Riverdale’ with over-the-top storylines and plot points that don’t make sense. 

Not only is the storyline full of twists and turns, but it also seems for once that the main cast isn’t entirely white. While there may only be two people of color who are consistently in every episode, these two characters (Ki and Pope) play a key role in holding the group together and moving the story along. Both of them have depth and are more than just the ‘people of color supporting cast.’ 

Outer Banks has a fun storyline that keeps the watcher on the edge of their seat, along with a decently diverse cast. While I am a little wary about what’s to come, I am excited for the second season to be released.