Netflix 'Outer Banks' Season 2 Review: Stakes are higher in outrageously entertaining treasure hunt
‘Outer Banks’ was undoubtedly a sleeper hit for Netflix last year. No one thought in their wildest dreams that a teen drama would be so exciting to watch, but the show exceeded all the expectations. The biggest reason for its success was the way it was shot. 2020 was a dark year for mankind as Coronavirus took over the world and forced everyone to stay inside their homes. People were not able to go outside and meet their loved ones. So thinking about a holiday looked like a distant dream.
However, ‘Outer Banks’ gave them a reason to smile and took them on an adventure to such gorgeous places that made them lose all their worries. On the other hand, the element of surprise and twists and turns during the treasure hunt enthralled everyone.
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Season 1 ended on a massive cliffhanger and saw John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) survived the humongous wave and sailed away from their hometown. Meanwhile, their friends and family think they are dead and most of their problems have disappeared. In the end, they were on their way to the Bahamas to find Gold.
So, there were a lot of expectations from the second edition and fans wanted answers to some of the most burning questions arising from Season 1. Is the second edition worth the hype? Yes, it is, but only if you are a young adult.
The second edition starts with JJ, Kie, and Pope getting emotional after believing that their friends are dead. However, they don’t know that they survived and are on their way to the Bahamas. He asks Sarah to marry him, but she says no because John has no prospects. That was clever, actually. Meanwhile, the captain of the ship sees a leaflet that says the boy has a reward of $50,000 on him and they will hand him to the police once they arrive at Nassau, Bahamas.
But when the ship reaches Nassau, they run for their life and edge past the police. They make their way to a hotel and stay there. A lot of action takes place when they reach there. John B gets badly beaten up by the Island security and Terrance has gotten away with the keys that were important for John and Sarah.
Episode 1 sets the tone perfectly for the things to come. It is not the best episode of the series, but it’s really interesting and entertaining. The ending is strong and will have more audience members jumping straight into episode 2 and it happened with me as well.
The second episode is undoubtedly the best of the lot. It has everything that a good show needs. Good writing, engaging sequences, and a strong ending. Also, it was exciting to see Sarah getting shot because it was getting too repetitive to see John and Sarah getting away with everything.
After a strong Episode 2, it starts to go downhill with ridiculous episodes 3 and 4 where logic has been thrown out of the window and the show moves forward just because of its entertainment value. However, the second edition gets really interesting and exciting after the sixth episode. This is why the first season worked so well. Even though there was less logic, the entertainment level was so high that viewers were glued to their screens.
And Season 2 offers the same thing: less logic, more entertainment.
As far as acting is concerned, Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline are really good. Their chemistry keeps you hooked to the screens and whenever one of them is in danger, the tension on the other one’s face tells you how much they care for each other. As always, Charles Esten is wonderful as Ward and takes his performance to a whole new level in some of the sequences. For a change, John B’s character is more likable this time around.
On the other hand, Jonathan Daviss, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, and Drew Starkey have done justice to their characters as well.
Season 1 of the Netflix show had a lot of potential and people expected the same from the latest edition as well. And for a while, it does. But, sometimes it gets too silly to see something that has no consequence and there are many scenes in which you’ll feel that writers should have given it some closure.
Despite this, the teens and young adults will love the show. It is entertaining, exciting, and enjoyable as well. Viewers don’t need to apply their minds while watching this, they just need to go with the flow and see how beautiful the show looks visually.
There’s a lot of drama in this season and sometimes it goes too far. As the season concludes, you’ll realize that it might not be the greatest show that you have ever seen, but it will keep you hooked due to its entertainment value and impeccable performances.
All in all, Season 2 might not be better than the first edition, but it still manages to take you on an adventure that will make you root for the protagonists. Additionally, the show is one of those guilty pleasures that you like to have despite its shortcomings.
‘Outer Banks’ Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.