Outer Banks is Perfectly Fun

      Sun-soaked, tanned, with salt water hair, and little more than a care, Netflix's new series Outer Banks is the perfect recipe for the quarantine. Concocted of a nostalgic aesthetic with modern day references, a heroic group of misfits, and a treasure map, it's an escapist fantasy with flavors of Stranger Things, Indiana Jones, and the Goonies. It's not revolutionary in any way. It doesn't have much to say that has not already been said, nor does it say it in any particularly new way. However, it is an engaging and entertaining drama that is easy to fill the overabundant time with.
      Set in the outer banks of North Carolina, the world in which the show takes place is starkly divided between the Haves -the Kooks, as they are called- and the Have-Nots -the Pogues. We are quickly introduced to our set of heroes: the brooding everyman John B, a sixteen year old played by absolutely massive twenty seven year old Chase Stokes; the nonchalant troublemaker JJ; the labeled conscientious genius Pope; and Kiara, who may financially belong on the kook side of the island, but not by heart she belongs with these guys.
     The show revolves around the treasure of the Royal Merchant, a 150+ year old shipwreck supposedly loaded with $400 Million worth of gold. The teenagers, who have dreamed so long of having something, anything, go off in search of the treasure, leading them into all kinds of trouble along the way. And finding of a clue is punctuated with a run-in with the squad of preppy kooks: Topper, Rafe, and Kelce.
     Throughout the show, there are a lot of seeds scattered about, and each one has to come to its own decision as to whether it will be a Chekov's gun or a red herring. Every character also has to come to this decision: whether they will earn a redemption arc or stay as one-dimensional as they've been so far. This structure is a cornerstone of this kind of television, and is fun to watch play out, as you're left guessing what will really matter: What will become of Topper? Has all the falling-from-high-heights been leading up to something bigger? And when will JJ finally use that gun?
     The escalation throughout the season lends itself perfectly to binge watching. Throughout the series, there is always a clear goal, but it is never exactly where you think that it may be, and each episode has a new clue to be uncovered, each more important than the last. You don't have to keep track of every single clue from episode one because it led you to where you are. The bigger things: the striking visuals, themes, or conversations, are what will come back.
     While some teen television shows (ahem, Riverdale) forgo the building of chemistry in order to devote more time to gratuitous make-out scenes, most of the relationships in this show feel earned when they finally come to fruition. The primary couple, pogue king John B and kook princess Sarah Cameron, are allowed a charming, albeit predictable, get together punctuated by a kiss in the rain that looks and feels like every other romantic comedy, with a bit more urgency of impending gold and too many shotguns. However, after they are officially together, they are a bit too together, with Sarah making the declaration that she would "rather die than be apart" from him a mere 48 hours after their meeting.
     In a three episode, near real-time finale that stretches over one chaotic night with tested familial relationships, running from cops, fighting dads, foolishly believing the little guy can beat The Man, Outer Banks dips from endearing treasure hunt to mindless action. Now that we've already told you that the characters are likable and the socio-economy is unfair, we can get into the real fun: running fast with red and blue lights reflecting off every surface.
     Outer Banks is entertaining, it's fun, and it's likable. And that's all it needs to be. It's not for deep intellectual consideration, it's for picking a would kill and a would die for (for me, it's Rafe and JJ, respectively).