Outer Banks – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Midsummers

Episode 5 of Outer Banks begins with JJ finding himself face to face with Sheriff Peterkin, who asks him about the two dead men and the Royal Merchant. She tells him to get John B into the station before giving orders to the deputy to keep eyes on his house. JJ’s decision to take the fall for Pope brings consequences as he’s beaten by his father.

John B brings Denmark’s letter to an expert who translates the words and mentions specific text referring to harvesting wheat. Sensing this is a big clue, JJ catches John B before the police can see him and they take off together, while Sheriff Peterkin tells a shadowy figure that “they’re even now”, clearly showing something going on behind the scenes.

Midsummer celebrations get underway with the Kooks and as they all dress smartly and get into the party spirit, JJ and John B pose as waiters to break in and find Sarah for their next mission. JJ hands her a note from John B, asking to meet on the balcony, while JJ is spotted by Rafe and the others who start beating him down.

John B gathers the troops and tells them all that the gold never actually went down with the Royal Merchant; it’s been at Tannyhill this whole time. The message about the wheat is code for gold and they just need a survey map to figure out exactly where it’s hidden.

Only, that involves bringing Sarah into the fold and as he mentions this to them, the entire group take offence – especially Kie who talks to him about Pogue Lyfe and how Sarah’s going to betray them all sooner or later.

Sarah’s Father reveals his own compass later that evening after talking to his daughter, while a drunk Topper decides to go and profess his love to Sarah. Only, Sarah isn’t there and in her place is her sister who reveals she sneaked out the house.

Sarah, as it turns out, has the map and heads off to meet John B at their scheduled destination in Kildare. After handing over the map, Topper finds them high up on the Hawk’s Nest and confronts John B, pushing him hard and causing him to fall straight down onto the hard floor below. Sarah begs for help and the group come rushing over, where Kie watches as Sarah kisses John B.

As the episode closes out, John B awakens to find Sarah sitting on the end of his bed. He managed to get away with a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises, which is incredibly lucky, and it’s here Sarah’s Dad Ward arrives and admits that Sarah has told him everything. He offers to be John B’s legal guardian and let him stay with them, which he agrees to do.

Episode 5 does a great job deepening the relationships between all the characters and Sarah is the perfect player to round out this quintet. The characters are ultimately what make this show so endearing, with Pope and JJ’s bromance such a great tool for comedy. Using a mix of wit and sarcasm, the humour exudes naturally and never feels forced either which only adds to the enjoyment.

On the whole though, all the characters do a great job with their scripts and this bleeds into the main narrative too, which is really starting to take shape as the friends have now seemingly found the treasure. Quite what happens next remains to be seen but for now, Outer Banks delivers another really strong episode.