Each season of Outer Banks is a full adventure in and of itself, and it’s easy to get lost in all the complex details. Season 3 was the most wide-reaching journey yet, as the Pogues stumbled into an ancient puzzle that took them all the way to South America. As usual, though, the season ended with a ton of loose ends, leaving fans to ponder so many unanswered questions as they await Season 4.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the Outer Banks Season 3 finale. A new journey is on the horizon for the Pogues, and while the final moments of Season 3 revealed what that will be, a lot of other important details were kind of skipped over. After grabbing a few chunks of gold from El Dorado before destroying the golden city forever, John B, Sarah, and the rest of the gang finally seemed to get a win, although it was soon tarnished by the sacrificial deaths of both Big John and Ward Cameron.
The finale felt especially confusing thanks to an 18-month time jump in the last scene, which showed the Pogues being honored for their discovery of El Dorado, before a mysterious man offered them their next adventure: the search for Blackbeard’s missing ship. Wait, so what happened in the full year and a half that the show skipped over, and what does this Blackbeard mystery really entail? Let’s go over the biggest unanswered questions.
1. Who has the gold now?
Ward was in possession of the Royal Merchant’s gold when he died, but its future is unclear. Presumably, the gold is still in Guadalupe with Rose and Wheezie, but that’s not really a safe location anymore since the Pogues know about it and Ward is gone. Also, the police were on Ward’s tail right before his death, and 18 months is a long time — that gold could be somewhere else and with someone else at this point.
2. What happened to Rafe?
Strangely, the time jump didn’t give any update on Rafe. He was last seen driving his dad to safety, before the police caught up with him and brought him in. He’s most likely in jail for all his crimes, but he’s managed to slip out of getting arrested many times before. Plus, with Ward and Singh gone, he’s the only real major villain left for the Pogues, which is good enough reason to believe he might be free to cause more mayhem in Season 4.
3. Where is everyone living?
Living situations have always been dicey on Outer Banks, but never more so than at the end of Season 3. John B’s house burned down, JJ got evicted, and Sarah was cast out of her family home. Luckily, that all happened right as the group was setting off for South America anyway, but now that they’re back, it’s not clear where the Pogues are living. The only clue viewers got is John B mentioning that he and Sarah have “a killer surf shop” in the time jump, presumably thanks to the El Dorado gold, so maybe they’re staying there.
4. Who is the man who had Blackbeard’s logbook?
The Pogues were given Blackbeard’s logbook by a mysterious old man who never introduced himself. He just said he’d heard of their adventures and wanted to give them the clue because he had gotten too old to track down the ship himself. The end credits revealed this character is named Wes Genrette, played by David Jensen, but his motives are still ambiguous. Is he really just a trusting former explorer, or could he be up to something more devious?
5. Will Pope actually go to college?
John B dropped a hint that the gang may be splitting up in Season 4, noting that “Pope’s going off to school.” Pope’s college scholarship has been a huge goal for him throughout the show, but after his eyes lit up when he saw Blackbeard’s logbook, it seems like he’s going to choose adventure over academia yet again.
6. How is Blackbeard connected to Denmark Tanny?
So far, every treasure in the Outer Banks universe has been connected, with Denmark Tanny as the common link. Maybe the Blackbeard ship is its own new thing, but the show seems to love its interconnected fictional history, so it would make sense for this new mystery to somehow get folded in.
7. How was Carla Limbrey able to walk?
Perhaps Outer Banks wanted to keep the magic a mystery, but it’s pretty notable that the show never explained how Carla Limbrey, who previously relied on crutches for movement, was suddenly able to walk when Big John gave her a random piece of cloth. Big John admitted to John B that the cloth was not, in fact, the mystical shroud from the Cross of Santo Domingo said to cure all maladies. But nevertheless, when he convinced Carla it was that shroud, she held it close to her, dropped her crutches, and walked. Maybe it was supposed to be a message about the magical power of belief, but it was still a head-scratching moment that was never fully resolved.
Outer Banks Seasons 1 thorugh 3 are streaming on Netflix.
