Episode Recap
Outer Banks Season 3 Episode 5 begins with the news that all the teenagers are back in Kildare and that Big John is still alive. This is obviously not good news considering Singh is looking for them. For now, the focus is on Sarah’s plan to get the cross.
Papa’s parents are not happy that their son has decided to stay with him and get involved, even though he intends to bring him back to honor his legacy. Finally, Pope’s father relents and agrees on a promise not to break any laws.
Kie’s parents are not so accepting and refuse to believe that Ward is alive. Unfortunately, Mike criticizes JJ in the process, pointing out that he is “a liar and a thief like his father.” Just to spite him and prove the guy right, JJ leaves with the pile of money left on the table. Kie follows her and the pair leave, but not before Kie’s mother promises her daughter a credit card and a promise to keep her safe.
In Charleston, John B and Big John work together to search for Trinity Church. Although they can’t quite find the church, there is a sign that leads them to the Charleston Museum. While there, Big John manages to learn that the church’s archives are actually stored in a museum warehouse in the center of town, near the Battery. They need a keycard that prompts them to pinpoint a target that is the keycard they can use to gain entry.
Part of this is due to the after-hours hiatus they managed to pull off at 3 a.m. when the director wandered off drunk. John B and his father begin digging through the archives, now working restlessly, intent on finding anything to do with Trinity Church. Eventually, they come across cardboard boxes full of jewelry and equipment.
It is John B who they follow the statue, who finds the other part wrapped in cloth and called Kalinago. It blends perfectly with the rest of the sculpture and reacts with the skylight. As he brings it to the light, the eyes begin to turn white.
Another heist, the one involving Sara and the others, gets a lucky break when Topper sees the news and talks to Sara at the bar. Sara convinces him to give her his father’s truck and work with them on this. With everything in place, the group shows up at the train yard in Wilmington. The whole place is full of carriages, but they eventually find the carriage in question standing still on the speeding train it is attached to. Kie and JJ try to switch the current on the tracks, the signal turns red and stops the train.
When the police come to investigate, Papa and Cleo make up a story, pretending to be madly in love and try to escape. Miraculously, it works, and the pair are left alone as they search for the train cars. They eventually find a package inside a carriage with Cameron Ward’s name on it and manage to remove it before the train starts again. On the way, the police realize that there is a train robbery in operation and a huge chase ensues.
On the way, JJ decides to stop the police and backs off with a rock in hand, smashing their windshield. This tries to distract the police, but despite the sacrifice, Sarah refuses to let them go and they turn the car in the same direction. JJ slipped off the bridge and fell to the ground below, but walked away without a scratch. Blind, is the power of plot armor true? Anyway, the police eventually let the encounter touch them before calling for backup.
When John B and Big John cut the archives into one piece, Twinkie is stolen by Karla and disappears. He left a note confirming that he was in charge of them, but that’s another big sticking point as they show up at his place. Big John concocts a fake plan to trick Limbrey into believing a miracle, which does the trick as they manage to take off in their truck.
As the episode ends, it turns out that the train robbery was for nothing. The package they have is not a cross in the first place because it looks like a trick. But where is the true cross? It turns out that Rafe is having an affair with Barry. He intends to melt down the cross so that they can profit from the gold, but you know there will be betrayal somewhere.
Episode Review
While this episode was pretty fun, it was full of twists and turns, and it will be interesting to see how the kids navigate this minefield going forward. Not only are they big news, they’re wanted by the police. After what happened last season, this big chase and train robbery is going to make it very difficult for any of our heroes to work around OBX, as the police will no doubt be cracking down on them.
The fact that the cops don’t even bother chasing after JJ as he falls off the bridge, let alone the fact that he walks away unscathed, complicates matters further.
However, the show is still entertaining, but without Singh and his men in this chapter, there is a distinct lack of antagonistic threat to contend with.