Episode Recap
The Outer Banks Season 3 Episode 8 begins with Sarah lamenting her experiences justifying why she cheated on John B and betrayed him. He felt alone and has since struggled with his identity as to whether he was really a Pogue or a Kook.
Meanwhile, the police want to come and talk to John B. He and JJ hide and the sheriff finally leaves, but not before leaving a tracker in their car. Meanwhile, Ward is still kicking, this time lying on the edge of the river. He takes drastic measures and finally decides not to give the company to Rafe. In fact, there is a document confirming that it was given to Rose instead.
Rafe raises his father at gunpoint, who is sure not to shoot. Even though Rafe fires, he doesn’t aim at his father, pointing before walking away. Of course, Rafe decides to approach Barry and ask him to help him do what he can’t do on his own.
Sarah leaves to see Topper working out at the gym. He is ready to get even. He also presses charges but wants Sarah to testify against John B on his behalf. He agrees to do it mainly because of duress, but whether he follows through is another matter. Sarah is in trouble and she goes to see Ward and asks him for help.
John B follows JJ’s lead as he manages to take them on a trip to South America. Unfortunately, this includes transporting drugs, forcing the couple to drive a U-Haul truck all the way to Elizabeth City to drop off the drugs at a house in Prospect. If they can do that and make it back before sunset, they’ll be on their way to South America.
The couple, who were on the road immediately, ran away from the police officers after driving off the road and acting suspiciously. The pair begin to wrestle when they are alone, as the sheriff looks on. It is not about the train robbery or the broken windshield of the police car. Instead, he is there to arrest John B because the attack on Topper is more important. If that wasn’t enough, a U-Haul truck full of drugs was also found.
Down the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela, Singh is nearing his destination. Big John is still under his control and he tries to find a way to escape. It doesn’t seem likely though.
Papa and Cleo also see Ki with a letter from Tannie and his potential connections to El Dorado. All these painted glyphs are the same from the statue and seem to be all connected. As they try to decipher it, Sara talks to Topper and encourages him to drop the charges and wait. With his father in big trouble in South America, Topper is urged to let John B go because his hair will soon fall out. Sara also promises to stay with him and not leave.
John B is released and Sarah talks to the group and says she plans to fly to South America. This comes in the form of a plane that Ward has given permission to use. Sara is surprised at how the group hugs her again and despite promising Topper that she will be with him, Sara decides to be with John B instead and starts kissing him. Of course, Topper appears from behind Rafe, messing things up, and sees everything. Angry and betrayed, Topper takes gasoline and sets the house on fire. Topper walks away as the ground begins to burn.
Episode Review
It seems like the treasure hunt and rescuing Big John are mostly afterthoughts at this point, given that the last 3 episodes have largely turned into formal teen drama. The whole Topper situation does Sara no favors, she comes off as manipulative and completely at fault for both boys acting the way they do.
The fact that the sheriff shows up to arrest John B and says nothing about the train robbery is another great example of the writers screwing up the world building. It’s bad writing, and I bring it up because, ironically, it was a great set piece that stood out in the entire show.
There are a few episodes left, so hopefully we’ll be back to the treasure hunt soon, but right now it feels like the story has been unnecessarily stretched out in these 10 episodes.