Episode Recap
So it turns out that Big John is actually after the diary of Danish Tanni. His absence at the end of the last episode sees him not finding his place… but there’s a problem. The Outer Banks season 3 episode 4 begins with Big John cursing the heavens after realizing the diary has been corrupted.
John soon returns home, abandons his previous small cliff, meets Sarah and accepts her into his family. At the same time, the remaining children are settling back into life at the OBX. The group has a touching meeting with their people, except for Sarah, of course.
John B and his father continue their search for the original diary, given that the copy has been destroyed. Their search brings them to Mr. Sun’s place. He’s not home though, so the pair go in and start sniffing around. Unfortunately, a few smugglers manage to take the diary and make off, splashing John B and his father in the process. Mr. Sunn is locked in, but thank goodness.
As John B and Big John take off, a chase ensues as they scramble to chase down the thugs. Moving from a car to a speedboat, they follow them and stop at a stop in the water. The couple are actually smugglers working on behalf of Mr. Singh. They try to make a deal, saying that the diary next to John’s statue will lead them to a bigger treasure that will make them filthy rich.
Unfortunately, the pair have other ideas and intend to shoot John B and take his father to Sing, believing they will make a good profit – and with less trouble. Big John immediately finds their double cross and kills the smugglers. John B is in a state of shock, especially when he sees his father sink the smuggling ship and tie their bodies to the anchors. He takes the diary and shows his son that he has no choice but to do it.
When Sarah goes home to get her tools, she hears Rafe talking downstairs. He is on the phone with Ward, who wants to forgive the cross and wash away his sins. Rafe refuses at first, but eventually caves and writes down the meeting points for the next night in Wilmington, Car 750X. Rafe meets up with Barry and offers him a job stealing a cross, promising a huge pile of cash in the process. Barry wants 50% and eventually leaves, Rafe leaves with a check and has something bigger in mind.
After gaining this valuable information, Sarah manages to sneak away and relay it to Kie, believing that they must be there to infiltrate this meeting. Kie heads off to see JJ first, but things are awkward between them given the awkwardness in the air between them. Kie confesses to JJ that this shows that she is also neglected and indirectly cares for him.
As Sarah and the others work on their plans, John B goes back ashore, but he is calm, still in shock over his father’s actions. Elder John anxiously sifts through the diary, oblivious to his son’s feelings. When John B stops the car and the pair talk about what happened, it seems to do the trick and they’re off again.
Episode Review
The divide between John B and the rest of the group begins to split, albeit in a rather contrived way, when our hero goes on this big treasure hunt with his father. Now that he has a diary and a statue, it remains to be seen exactly how this will connect to El Dorado.
As for Sara and the others, it’s clear that their idea of missing the meeting and finding out what Rafe is thinking could turn south in a hurry. There’s clearly an ulterior motive to Rafe’s deal with Barry, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him kill Barry after the heist.
There’s a lot to like here though, and the show continues to deliver decent drama in this third season, even starting to see a few plot twists creep in. The character dynamics are also interesting, and there’s clear romantic tension between Kie and JJ as well. Will the couple get back together by the end of the season? I think they probably will!