Episode Recap
Outer Banks Season 3 Episode 6 begins with John B reflecting on the great adventures his father told him about as a child. However, he now sees the true horrors these treasure hunts bring, including bloodshed, betrayal, and death. It’s not as glamorous an ordeal as he once thought.
John B takes his father’s cues and tells his friends that their trip to Charleston was a total failure. Why he would lie to all his friends is another matter, but Sarah tries to convince John B to tell the truth in private. He refuses, however, because the fictional passion becomes the food of the day. Sarah leaves in confusion, and the others go their separate ways.
John B and Big John are on the road again, this time to find Kelly Kepler, an old friend from grad school. Unfortunately, he was killed. He and several other professors had just returned from an expedition to South America where they had made a major discovery about a jungle ruin. There is no way this is a coincidence and it could be Singh’s handiwork.
John B isn’t the only one dealing with infidelities. Rafe betrays his father and declares that he is dead to everyone at home, so he will stay and develop the family business. He shrugs off the missing cross and replaces his father.
Per the usual teen drama tropes, Sarah goes back to see Topper, and after a few drinks, the pair agree to go to a big party. Meanwhile, JJ goes down to the dock and finds Barry and Rafe on the boat discussing the gold. He listens and understands what they are doing. He brings it back to Papa, who is in the dumps after realizing he’s been relegated to the lower grades for missing too much time at school.
As a result, the Pope makes a completely open decision. This blow is only made worse when the Pope learns that the cross has been melted down.
Meanwhile, Big John shows up to see his old partner, Dr. Tommy Sowell. She claims that Big John betrayed her in the past. Tommy’s quick nature continues when he sees the statue, now in one piece. Tommy is worried and tells the couple to stay away because it will be dangerous. He points out where the statue will be placed, but before he can finish the sentence, an assassin arrives and knocks Tommy out with an assassin’s dart. Big John tries to escape but is caught by Singh who holds him at gunpoint.
Big John gains his influence by pointing out that Singh needs an interpreter to find the treasure. He is the only creature that can translate this statue, given that he killed the other one (Tommy). As a result, Big John is taken to the boat with Singh, while John B remains at gunpoint and faces death. Thankfully, he manages to throw sand in the god’s eyes and hurry.
Meanwhile, Sara has a drink with Topper and apologizes to him by the firelight, admitting that she just wants him to be happy. He kisses her on the cheek, so Sarah decides to kiss him properly in return. When she wakes up on the beach, she finds herself in his arms and realizes that she’s been cheating on him.
When John B returns home, JJ is there to confront him. Obviously, JJ isn’t happy that John kept this from everyone.
Speaking of secrets, Ward is ready to face his son.
Episode Review
The “I have important information that I won’t tell anyone so the plot can happen” trope is one of the laziest in cinema. It’s something that’s plagued romcoms for years, and even before that, through numerous different movies where a simple conversation is enough to clear things up. Here, there is no clear reason why John B would lie to his friends, especially Sarah.
To make matters worse, there is no consequence to the earlier train robbery, nor is there any media attention to Big John’s return after all these years with his face plastered all over the TV screens! The fact that no media person even attempted to interview him defies belief.
This lack of results also affects Sarah, who has now cheated on John B after the first argument.
Hopefully this chapter is just a blip, but after a pretty good start, the poor writing is now starting to show.