Netflix's 'Outer Banks' embarks on one last adventure: Between Found Family and Belonging

On August 20th, one of Netflix’s most successful shows, Outer Banks, released its fifth and final season. The show grew famous during the pandemic for its adventures, friendships, found-family dynamic, and promise that you were about to have a good time all the time, at a moment when everything felt uneasy and unknown. It gave people something to look forward to, something to take their minds off the heavy things going on in the world, like a safe haven, a home away from home, a softness amid the harsh reality of the world at the time.

Soon enough, the Pogues became family, and the island became an exciting place to return to for the fans. Each year for the past six years, an exhilarating adventure awaited the friend group, and they would embark on it with John B’s motto: “Our mission this summer is to have a good time all the time.”

The Outer Banks, the island with its two tribes, became a fictional home for fans. The show itself became a found family for its audience. I even found friends through this show that I might not have met otherwise, since they don’t live anywhere near where I grew up or where I live. That aspect is perhaps one of the most special things about the show to me. It wasn’t simply something I watched; it became something I shared with others, something that connected me to people all around the world whom I otherwise might never have met.

So, with its fifth and final season airing, it is a bittersweet feeling. Sweet because you can reunite with the characters and return to the island that had become your home over the last six years. But it is also bitter, because it means you eventually have to say goodbye. Goodbye to the characters, the adventures, the island, and the actors you had spent the past six years watching and growing alongside.

After the death at the end of the fourth season, the questions grew. How would the fifth season be? How would the characters cope with JJ’s death? What emotions would this final season carry, and would it end on a good note for everyone?

Beware that this review will contain spoilers for the new and final season. If you haven’t watched it yet, come back to read it afterwards. If you have watched it or don’t care for spoilers, go ahead and read. 

The final adventure

Season 5 still gives us what Outer Banks has always promised: adventure, drama, explosions, secrets, treasure hunts, and the Pogues, who are still not able to catch a breath.

The story takes us from Croatia to the Outer Banks, New Orleans, back to the Outer Banks, Azerbaijan, and eventually back to the island. There is the search for the crown, revenge for JJ’s death, mischief, the Pogues and the Kooks working together, and, of course, the final discovery of the gold. A lot happens in 10 episodes.

The emotions are not only exhilarating, happy, or suspenseful but also marked by grief. This final season carries heavy emotions as the characters grapple with JJ’s death at the end of season 4.  Kiara takes the lead in the final season’s revenge quest. Through her, the audience is given some of the most emotional reminders of what JJ meant to the group and, in particular, to her as a girlfriend.

The flashbacks provide insight into their relationship, including the opening scene of their first meeting as kids at the beach, where JJ helped Kie save a dolphin; their first kiss; and the moments that defined their relationship. It made it all more bittersweet. She moves through the five stages of grief. Anger takes hold immediately as she seeks revenge against Groff, JJ’s biological father, who killed him for the crown. She enters a bargaining stage through “what ifs” when the Pogues discover that the crown may be able to bring someone back from the dead at the right time and place. Her depression is shown through the objects from JJ that she keeps in her room. She experiences denial when she believes she sees JJ coming to her rescue as Groff tries to drown her. Finally, she reaches acceptance when she attempts to bring JJ back using the crown and the words of the scytale, finding closure in their relationship. I think Kiara’s actions were powerful and portrayed in a way that made you feel with her. You were able to feel her pain and understand her actions. As a viewer, you wanted her to find closure, and ultimately she did.

Another positive point in the season is the birthday celebration—the first birthday celebration in the entire show. I loved that touch of normalcy in their highly adventurous and turbulent lives. A sweet moment for themselves before they had to be on the run again.

One significant and much-needed element in this season was the connection between Sarah and her older brother, Rafe Cameron. Their closeness, which had been developed during season 4, carried over into this final chapter. It was highly anticipated by the audience. Despite earlier seasons, Rafe is an integral part of the Pogues for the final adventure, not as a Pogue, as he is still a Kook, but as a supporter of his younger sister, her unborn baby, and her friends. The audience gets to see a side of Rafe that has been mostly hidden in previous seasons, as he has been more of an outcast and antagonist before. Still, those who had been watching closely and analyzing the Kook’s behavior understood that he secretly wanted to be a part of a family as well, with no expectations, and to be loved for who he was. This final season gave him the chance to belong. It offers him the prospect of a biological family with Wheezie, Sarah, and their biological mother, as well as a chosen family with his girlfriend/fiancée Sofia, giving him a support system and a place where he could finally belong. It is something that he so visibly longed for in the five seasons.

The dynamic between Rafe, Sarah, and the Pogues was captured nicely. The audience was able to witness the change in behavior in Rafe, and that he took the second chance he had been given seriously. It felt wholesome to see them work alongside each other. But it made the final goodbye hurt even more.

While almost everyone else received their happy ending, Rafe had to leave the island.

I was happy that the Pogues found the gold after five adventures and that they rebuilt Poguelandia. I was happy that they were able to give their parents houses or boats. They even made it possible for Cleo to return to the US. I was happy for Sarah’s and John B’s wedding with everyone there, no Kook or Pogue rivalry visible, and everyone having a good time. But Rafe Cameron and Sofia couldn’t be a part of it. I understand that his prior actions had consequences, but it felt bittersweet.

He finally begins to find a place where he belongs, only for circumstances to take away his ability to physically remain there. The moment is emotionally heartbreaking: Sarah and Rafe are sniffling and clinging to each other, knowing Rafe wouldn’t be able to come back because he would get arrested for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin, whom he killed at the end of Season 1 to protect his father.

And that was a hard pill to swallow.

I then looked at the show as a whole and asked myself: Did they find a sense of belonging? And did Rafe Cameron?

Found-family trope and belonging

Something particularly special about Outer Banks, besides its adventures and endless summer atmosphere, is the friendship the Pogues build. They welcome Kook princess Sarah Cameron in Season 1, add Cleo at the end of Season 2, and hold on to one another through every hardship and challenge the world throws at them. The “found family” trope is what makes their bond so special and distinct from the other characters in the show. They are all relatable in one way or another, having dysfunctional relationships with their families or lacking excitement and adventure; together, they form a bond that feels like the family they’ve never had. They support each other despite their differences, whether they are Pogues or Kooks, rich or poor, and have each other’s backs without having to ask for it; they simply show up, love each other, and give each other what their biological families could not. They can just be themselves and be accepted without constantly having to prove themselves or do something in return. They choose to stick together and be each other’s family. They choose each other over and over again.

Each of them finds a family and a home within this friendship. John B, who grew up mostly without his father and lives alone, finds family in his friends. JJ, who has to deal with an alcoholic and abusive father who later turns out not to be his biological father, finds people who truly care about him and accept him for who he is. Kiara, who is both a Kook and a Pogue, feels most like herself among the Pogues. Pope has to deal with the expectations surrounding his future and only feels that he can finally breathe as they give him a space where he’s not defined by achievement. And Cleo joins an already established group that she ultimately becomes part of, something she didn’t have before. Sarah can be adventurous with the Pogues. She can be reckless: she is allowed to make mistakes, and, most importantly, she can be herself without having to prove her worth or place. The Pogues don’t accept Sarah because she is a Cameron or a Kook. In fact, her being a Kook is initially one of the biggest differences between them. They accept her because she becomes one of them.

Sarah leaves behind the expectations of the family she was born into and finds people with whom she feels at home. A found family that she chooses over and over again, and they choose her back.

The contrast: Rafe Cameron

While Sarah finds belonging outside her biological family, Rafe represents someone who spends most of the series desperately trying to find belonging, love, and acceptance within his own. This distinction makes it so interesting to look at found family in the series.

Rafe arguably had one of the most challenging journeys, if not the most challenging, across the five seasons. Most of the time, he tried to gain his father’s affection, approval, support, and, mostly, his love. He does not shy away from extreme measures to gain his father’s love, even if it means killing a sheriff to protect his father. Rafe is constantly competing for a love that his father willingly and openly gave to Sarah, even after she turned her back on her family and found a new one. Even then, Rafe Cameron was the second choice or no choice at all.

And while Sarah found a place and people where she belongs, it isn’t that easy for Rafe. He wants what Sarah has. He wants to be chosen. He wants to be enough.

Whereas Sarah finds the Pogues and discovers that she doesn’t have to be the perfect Kook princess to belong, Rafe becomes increasingly trapped by the identity other people have created for him. He becomes the violent one. The Kook king who doesn’t care for anything or anyone. The difficult son and disappointment.

This becomes especially crucial as he begins to accept those labels himself. Despite his efforts, such as his attempt to tell his father he needs help and is not okay, his struggles receive little attention or care until Season 4. Before that, he might have had a biological family, but he doesn’t feel like he belongs within it. He has money, the status of a Kook, and the Cameron name, but none of these things can give him what he actually wants.

And when people show loyalty to him, it is often tied to what he can provide through his family’s wealth or Kook status, rather than to who he is.

A crucial turn in Rafe’s story comes in Season 4 with Sofia. She begins to give Rafe exactly what he has been missing for most of his life: a relationship that isn’t built entirely around what he can provide or what people expect him to be. Sofia sees another side of him and makes sure he feels it too. Despite fallout from miscommunication and feelings of betrayal and mistrust, they ultimately came back together during Season 5 when Rafe realizes that Sofia never meant to hurt him, wasn’t out to betray him, and actually has feelings for him. With the confusion out of the way and communication on the rise, the relationship blossoms. Sofia shows up for him and makes sure he knows she chooses him and their relationship because she loves him. And he proves countless times that he’s all in as well. He takes responsibility for his mistakes and wants to make the most of the second chance his sister and her friends have given him. And ultimately, a second chance at having a family, a place where he finally feels like he can belong and be enough. This relationship becomes increasingly important to him, as does his connection to Sarah and the Pogues in this season. Both Sarah and Rafe crave having each other back in their lives, despite everything that happened and after the loss of their father. This final season made it clear that the boundaries between the distinct worlds of the Kooks and the Pogues became less important when it comes to the people he cares about.

He shows up for Sarah, and he also shows up for John B multiple times. And then there is the possibility of having his biological family back, with Wheezie being able to live with him, or Sarah and the Camerons’ biological mother now back in the picture.

For someone who spent years fighting for his father’s love and simply feeling at home, the possibility of finally having what he has so desperately longed for and searched for is deeply meaningful.

So, did Rafe finally find his family? His place where he belongs?

To a certain extent, yes. He has Sofia. He has Sarah. He has Wheezie. He has people who genuinely care about him, who choose him and would choose him again.

And, for a short time, he has the possibility of being part of the family Sarah has built with John B, but he is unable to be part of it physically. He has to leave the island because he is wanted for murder, meaning he cannot return to the island. He won’t get to see Sarah’s and John B’s baby grow up, something he had clearly looked forward to. In his words, “[…] I’m not gonna be able to see your baby,” making the moment even more heartbreaking. He knows that he is leaving behind something he wants to be a part of.

Sarah and Rafe are both close to tears, hugging, when he tells her, “Thank you. I’m sorry for everything that happened, you know.” He tells her that he has been given a second chance and that he’s going to make it count. Then he hugs John B and tells him that he is happy for him. Finally, he steps onto the boat with Sofia, gives Sarah one last smile, and says, “Miss you all.”

And that goodbye is both utterly heart-wrenching and meaningful. Despite the sadness of losing everything he had craved so long for in one moment, he perhaps, for the first time in his life, has people he genuinely does not want to leave behind. He has people he will miss. He has a family he wants to return to, even if he won’t be able to. He has people with whom it is hard to say goodbye and who are hard to leave. And that is very special. Even if it is unfair that it was not for longer.

Final words

And maybe that is exactly what excites people about the show Outer Banks. That all the characters come from different places and backgrounds, but they somehow create a home together. It shows you that belonging isn’t necessarily something you are born into, neither a family nor a fixed place, but can be chosen and built. It can be the people with whom you don’t have to perform. The people who choose you and show up for you. They stay when things get difficult. What matters most is whether you are accepted, loved, and chosen. And that is something the characters, and especially the found family of the Pogues, show you.

The show ultimately lets you be a part of the characters’ lives and gives you a place where you belong. And Outer Banks might have come to an end, but the characters stay, the found family stays, and we, the audience, can return to it whenever we want to. The show, story, and characters can still hold a special place in your life that doesn’t have to change. Because being a Pogue is forever.

Picture Credits: Outer Banks and Netflix