John B & Sarah Are Officially The Least Interesting Outer Banks Couple

The Outer Banks crew sure has come a long way since John B first uttered their sacred vow: “No Pogue-on-Pogue macking.” Suffice it to say, the Pogues are rule-breakers to their core. There has not been a short supply of Pogue-on-Pogue macking throughout the first couple seasons of the show, but Season 3 officially put that rule to bed. The new season shook up the show’s central romances, and TBH, knocked the golden couple off their throne. Here’s which couples are sailing strong on Outer Banks Season 3, and which are struggling to stay afloat.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from throughout Outer Banks Season 3. The Pogues went all in on romance after their time stranded on Poguelandia, and some of the new couples were more engaging than others. Naturally, the show’s central Romeo-and-Juliet relationship between John B and Sarah Cameron kept on going, despite a lot of time apart and a major hiccup. But the new adventure also brought the other Pogues together in a totally different way. Kiara, having fully moved on from her tenuous situationship with Pope, started to explore her feelings for JJ. And Pope, who took the breakup with Kiara much harder, found a shoulder to lean on in the newly minted Pogue, Cleo. (Oh, there was also that thing with Topper and Sarah, but it doesn’t really count — Topper may have thought he was back together with Sarah, but she definitely never saw their fling as anything serious.)

The new romances were just the spark the show needed to keep its third outing just as spicy as the first two. But which couple did it best? Here’s a ranking from least to most exciting.

3. John B & Sarah

Their chemistry carried the first two season of OBX, but in Season 3, John B and Sarah fell off. They were barely around each other the entire season, with John B ghosting her to go off with his dad. When they were together, it was a mess, full of lies, fights, and misunderstandings that led Sarah to cheat on John B with her ex, Topper. It’s hard to view their arc this season without thinking about how Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline filmed these scenes shortly after breaking up in real life. The actors certainly did a good job showing the love that’s still between John B and Sarah, and the duo did end up closer than ever after discovering El Dorado in the finale. But as far as exciting romances, it’s time for these lovebirds to pass the OBX OTP crown — at least for now.

2. JJ & Kiara

The most popular fan ship finally came to fruition in Season 3, when Kiara and JJ confessed their feelings for one another. While this couple has the benefit of being an OBX fan-fave for years now, it was still kind of frustrating to watch JJ constantly push Kiara away. Whether he felt bad for Pope, didn’t want to ruin a friendship, or simply let his self-hate poison his mind, JJ spurned Kie’s advances several times before finally professing his love when rescuing her from Kitty Hawk. It was a nice will-they-won’t-they, even if everyone knew in the end, they would.

1. Pope & Cleo

Easily the most heartwarming pairing on Outer Banks Season 3 is Pope and Cleo. Even though their chemistry was evident from their first meeting in Season 2, they stayed at each other’s sides simply as super-supportive friends for quite some time. Cleo could tell Pope was devastated by his breakup with Kiara, and suggested they start a “No Love Club” so that they’d never have to deal with heartbreak again. But as soon as the club was formed, their fate was sealed. Cleo not only became an incredible friend to Pope, but also part of his family, forming surprisingly strong bonds with his parents after a few days of living together. When Pope and Cleo finally admitted to their romantic feelings for one another in the finale, it was a beautiful cherry on top of what had already been the perfect relationship. Sorry, but John B and Sarah could never.