**SPOILERS**

When someone hears the words “the Outer Banks,” the image of oceans and cute towns along the coast of North Carolina often pop into mind. But if you utter these words to anyone who has had Netflix and wi-fi these past two months, the words Pogues and Kooks will surely come up.

The Netflix original series Outer Banks has taken the internet by storm; specifically, the characters of John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah Cameron (Madeline Cline).

It has a pretty interesting storyline with some generic additions.

The underlying issue in the show is the conflict between social classes: Pogues being the lower class and Kooks being the upper. However, the conflict is magnified by the strong identification that the characters have with their name, as the two groups are pitted against each other.

At first I thought that the idea of tension between social classes was overused. But in this case, the rift between the Pogues and Kooks is gaping. I mean… It’s a whole ravine.

This is where the generic additions come in. It is the classic love story where a boy and a girl from different groups, in this case John B and Sarah Cameron, start to fall for each other. But in this case, John B is a Pogue and Sarah Cameron is a Kook, with an extra Kooky boyfriend named Topper.

And get this, John B works for Sarah Cameron’s family… I mean, could this get any more awkward?

But throughout this, John B has recruited a group of his Pogue friends to help him search for lost treasure and discover the story behind his father’s disappearance. But before you say anything about the whole lost treasure thing, let me just say something. When I first found out about that, I thought it was a little stupid. I mean, lost treasure? What is this, Indiana Jones?

But again, the writers made this work amazingly well. By introducing the conflict between social classes, the storyline was intertwined where puzzle pieces would slowly fall into place. For example, it makes you root for the Pogues because you understand why they need the money so much. But when Kooks are introduced, the mysteries of how John B’s father disappeared begins to unravel.

And let me just say, it gets a little crazy. There is definitely some MAJOR action. And by major I mean fights, running away from cops, jumping over fences, and hiding in people’s houses. I found myself watching the whole series in one night because I was on the edge of my seat over what might happen.

Outer Banks is definitely a show worth watching; however I do have some things I would like to say about it and the attention it has received.

While the show is entertaining and makes you root for the underdogs, I’ve personally seen a lot of posts about the character Sarah Cameron. While I agree that towards the end I began to like her, I couldn’t help but notice some hypocrisy.

Topper, Sarah’s boyfriend, is the classic controlling boyfriend who is in love with the idea of being with Sarah. So when John B comes along, an amazingly perfect specimen (LOL), of course things are gonna start to heat up, all while she STILL has a boyfriend.

But here’s the catch. So many boys are posting, claiming they want a girl like Sarah Cameron. They claim that her actions are justified because she was “in love” with John B and is perfect in every other way, yet they bring down any girl in the real world if they do what Sarah Cameron did. It seems to me like Sarah Cameron is proof that if you’re pretty enough, you can get away with things like that.

They ALL are Toppers, yet say they want a Sarah Cameron. I mean, it gets a little annoying. Someone needs to tell them that if they want someone like Sarah, they need to be a John B. And before people start to bash John B because he knew about Topper, I would just like to say that John B was NOT actively pursuing Sarah. Sarah was the one out of line. But that’s just MY two cents.

Despite this, Outer Banks has some riveting scenes that make you almost want to scream at the characters. But then there are also scenes that make you inwardly cringe, like when Sarah Cameron uses the word “yeet” unironically. It’s a perfect blend of action and sweet moments. So if you have any spare time (and I’m sure you do because of quarantine), I would recommend just sucking it up and watching the whole show in one go.