Outer Banks Has A New Villain And She's Scary AF

Things just keep getting wilder for the Outer Banks crew. In Season 1, the Pogues had to deal with a ton of enemies: Ward, a bunch of entitled Kooks, and the intense drug dealer, Barry, among others. The teens couldn’t even trust their local police department to not be in the pockets of Ward. But Season 2 of the Netflix drama introduces maybe the scariest villain of them all, and she’s not one to be messed with. So, who exactly is Carla Limbrey on Outer Banks, and why is she so fixated on Pope?

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from Outer Banks Seasons 1 and 2. In the Season 1 finale, viewers watched as Pope (Jonathan Daviss) lost his scholarship because he chose to walk out of his interview, telling the scholarship committee he had to help his fellow Pogues get the Royal Merchant gold. At the time, no one seemed to take him seriously, but fast-forward to Season 2, Episode 3, and Pope was contacted by a mysterious donor who claimed she is somehow connected to the Royal Merchant. The woman was Carla Limbrey, who is played by none other than Elizabeth Mitchell. Viewers will recognize her from a ton of popular shows including Lost and Once Upon A Time, but Outer Banks just may be her most fascinating project yet.

When, Pope stole his father’s truck and drove to Charleston with JJ and Kie to meet Limbrey, he had no idea what he was in for. At Limbrey’s mansion, Pope met Limbrey (and her sleazy half-brother, Renfield). Limbrey told Pope she too had been wronged by Ward and has evidence that will exonerate John B. — who was still on the run with Sarah at the time, But there’s a catch: Before she would help the Pogues, Limbrey demanded that Pope give her Denmark Tanney’s key.

Tanney is a familiar name from last season. John B. figured out he was a former slave and the only person who managed to escape the Royal Merchant shipwreck alive. Tanney bought his freedom with the gold from the ship and hid it somewhere before he was tragically lynched. But even with all this knowledge, Pope had no clue what Limbrey is talking about; he especially didn’t understand why Limbrey would expect Pope to have anything that belonged to Tanney, let alone some random key. Sensing bad vibes, Pope managed to escape the mansion, despite Ren’s attempt to kidnap him. But before he left, Limbrey said something interesting: “The key leads to the Cross of San Domingo. The real treasure lies at the foot of the angel.”

After further research, Pope realized Limbrey may have been onto something and that there’s possibly even a more valuable treasure than the gold. It was eventually revealed that inside of the cross Limbrey desperately covets is a mythical garment that is supposed to cure diseases and illnesses. And because Limbrey is sick and will soon die from her disease (although the show never specifies what the disease actually is), she will do literally anything to get her hands on the garment — even murder.

As for the connection to Pope’s family? Well, after talking to his Meemaw, Pope learned Denmark Tanney is his ancestor. Not only does the discovery shock Pope, but it also puts him on a mission to protect Denmark’s key and the cross rather than hand it over to Limbrey. What ensues is an intense battle between the Pogues and Limbrey, who eventually teams up with Rafe, over the Cross of Santo Domingo. By the end of Season 2, all parties involved (minus Ren, IYKYK) are still very interested in the Cross, meaning fans should expect Carla to return should Outer Banks get picked up for a third season.