Chase Stokes Buys Into This Wild Outer Banks Theory... To An Extent
“What a plot twist that would be!”
The Pogues are coming back for Season 4 of Outer Banks. While Netflix has yet to confirm a premiere date, Chase Stokes tells Elite Daily this season will “get back to what the fans loved about the show,” which he says is “diving into the characters” more than the series has in recent arcs. While treasure hunts and pirate adventures keep the action going, the heart of OBX really is John B and his friends... Oh, and all those juicy mysteries viewers can’t help but try to crack.
The fandom on TikTok has taken on a life of its own, with edits of beloved ships garnering millions of views and wild theories constantly blowing up. One ongoing fan theory is that John B’s real mother might actually be Carla Limbrey (played by Elizabeth Mitchell), and Stokes actually thinks fans could be on to something. “What a plot twist that would be,” the actor says.
For anyone who needs a refresher: Carla gave the Pogues some trouble in Season 2 when she wrangled them into helping her find a magical healing shroud to cure her unknown illness. She returned in Season 3 when she teamed up with John B’s father, who ended up giving her a fake shroud. Then, Carla was never seen on the show again. However, there’s still room for her to return if TikTok’s theory is true and she’s actually John B’s mom.
TikToker @zbennettt was one of the first fans to notice that Carla Limbrey could be related to John B back in 2021. Their video, which has more than 1.6 million likes, points out that a photo of John B’s great-grandfather from Season 1 says his name is Herman Limbrey.
It could be a coincidence that Carla and John B’s great grandfather both have the last name Limbrey, but in a show all about treasure maps and finding clues, it’s hard to not make a connection between the two. Other fans have tried to discredit this theory saying that in Season 1, John B shows a photo of his mom and dad together, and the woman in the picture looks nothing like Carla.
But something to remember is that John B also says that his mother “split” when he was a toddler, and his dad is known to be a liar. (He faked his own death.) So, it’s possible that the woman in the photo isn’t John B’s mom but just a story his dad told him.
“Maybe it runs in the family.”
Until it’s officially disproven, the theory continues to make its way around the OBX fandom. And while Stokes can see it being a thrilling twist, he doesn’t fully buy into it. “It's probably not Carla,” Stokes says, but the actor believes the two characters do have similar qualities. “She believed something as simple as a rag was going to heal her and let her walk again, and I think John B. sometimes easily buys into things that he probably shouldn't,” Stokes says. “So maybe it runs in the family, but I’m probably going to lean on the other side, that she’s not John B’s mom.”
Even if she doesn’t end up being his onscreen mother, Stokes did love working with Mitchell on the set of Outer Banks. “One of my favorite scenes to shoot last year was with Elizabeth Mitchell, who is an incredible, incredible actress and a lovely, lovely human being as well,” he says. The scene Stokes is talking about is when Big John and John B bring her the fake rag, which she believes is the real healing shroud. “She was so game and made it so believable.”
And there’s still a chance Carla could be linked to John B. as an aunt or distant relative. In the past, the Outer Banks creators have been inspired by fan edits on TikTok. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was JJ and Kiara ship videos that influenced their relationship in Season 3, so the writers of the show have likely seen the John B and Carla theories.
They may have had some influence on the season.
While Stokes stays away from OBX videos on TikTok, he says that it’s possible Season 4 could bring some fan-fave ships and theories to life. “Our writers have teenagers and kids in college and have found their way onto the wide world of OBX-Tok, so they may have had some influence on the season,” he says.
However, the actor says he tries to “not get lost in the world of social media,” and instead, spends his free time with his girlfriend Kelsea Ballerini and dog Milo. Fans will just have to wait and see when Season 4 drops on Netflix which theories have found their way into Outer Banks.
