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A prevalent theme of Netflix's Outer Banks is the class war between the Pogues and the Kooks, which are the residents' nicknames for the working class and the wealthy citizens, respectively. The dynamics between the Kooks and Pogues are vital to the plot and characters of Outer Banks. Netflix's teen series follows the lives of John B and his friends in North Carolina's Outer Banks, who get into a world of trouble when searching for lost treasure. The island's class warfare, particularly between the Cameron family and John B, complicates the Pogues' hunt for the Royal Merchant's gold in season 1, which continues as the stakes get higher in Outer Banks season 2.
In the world of Outer Banks, characters belong to one of two groups: the Pogues or the Kooks. As John B describes it, residents of Outer Banks either have two jobs (Pogues) or two houses (Kooks). John B and his friends belong to the Pogue side of the Netflix show's island, and their run-ins with the already-wealthy Kooks constantly get in the way of their hunt for gold in season 1 and later the Cross of Santo Domingo in Outer Banks season 2. The conflict between Outer Banks' Pogues and the Kooks goes beyond the competition for gold — there's a long history between the two factions.
Outer Banks: Who Are The Pogues
The Pogues Make Up The Working Class In The OBX
The hatred between Outer Banks ' Kooks and Pogues has been around long before John B and Sarah...
A Pogue is a nickname for those in the working class of Outer Banks' series that stems from pogie fish, which are the lowest members of the fish food chain.Outer Banks' Pogues and the Kooks famously hate each other, which is partially rooted in their representations of America's wealth gaps and prejudices of the rich over the poor. Outer Banks demonstrates this in various ways, such as Kooks jumping Pogues and Pogues sinking Kooks' ships.
However, as Outer Banks season 2 proves with John B and the Camerons, the Pogues are always the ones who face consequences while the Kooks typically get off scot-free. The hatred between Outer Banks' Kooks and Pogues has been around long before John B and Sarah, as season 2 reveals that Kiara's mother was a queen Kook who ran with the "bad boy" Pogue in high school.
John B | Chase Stokes |
Pope | Jonathan Daviss |
JJ | Rudy Pankow |
Cleo | Carlacia Grant |
Sofia | Fiona Palomo |
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John B
John B has been raised by a single dad for most of his life. It's not entirely clear how they keep a roof over their heads, since Big John spends most of his time searching for treasure and researching lost gold. John B, however, has always idolized his dad, until his dad leaving him to search for the treasure puts him in hot water. He spends months in denial that his father has died at sea, and eventually, he's proven right. John B thinks finding the gold himself will reverse his Pogue fortune.
Pope
Of the group of teenagers who have adopted the nickname of the Pogues, Pope is the one most intent on his brain getting him a leg up at the start of the show. He keeps his head down and he studies hard, trying to help keep his closest friends out of trouble. Pope is the voice of reason for them, and that's likely because he's spent his life as part of a family who is always working for Kooks. He knows how bad the consequences can be if the line between Pogues and Kooks is crossed.
JJ
JJ is raised as a Pogue by Luke Maybank. As the fourth season reveals, however, he is actually born a Kook, and JJ Maybank isn't his birth name. That causes something of an identity crisis for him, but it doesn't change the fact that he was raised among a family of smugglers and thieves. The Maybanks might be the most Pogue family in the Outer Banks. They are known to law enforcement for frequently ending up behind bars. JJ calls on "cousins" repeatedly in the first two seasons to help his friends out of just that kind of trouble.
Cleo
Much of Cleo's past is still a mystery. Introduced in the second season when John B and Sarah end up on the run in the Bahamas, she's not an original Outer Banks resident. When the group all returns to South Carolina in season 3, however, she goes with them. She says she has no family to return to, and after helping John B and Sarah, she's burned some of her bridges in her previous work. She's welcomed by Pope's family to stay with them, and she becomes a Pogue herself.
Sofia
Sofia is a new Pogue introduced in the fourth season. She's not a member of the main friend group of the show. Instead, she's introduced as Rafe Cameron's new girlfriend that he connected with during the time skip between seasons 3 and 4. Sofia comes from a working-class Latin American family. Her family doesn't like Rafe because they can see the disparity between the two, even if they don't see how he treats her. In private, Sofia is Rafe's reason for trying to improve his life, but in front of other Kooks, he treats her as a Pogue hook-up.
For the most part, these two separate groups stay on their own sides of the island. Pogues have The Cut. The trouble happens when, especially among the teenagers, the Pogues and the Kooks attempt to use the same space. That's seen in season 4 when Sarah, John B, Kie, and JJ attempt to have a fun day at the beach, but their day is ruined by a group of Kooks wanting to occupy the same stretch of sand. It ends in threats and sea turtles being run over by a particularly bloodthirsty Kook.
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Outer Banks: Who Are The Kooks
The Kooks Represent The Wealthiest Of The OBX
Pogues typically work for Kooks...
On the other side of the island are Outer Banks' Kooks — those with beautiful clothes and beautiful houses in Figure Eight, which do not have to lift a finger. In surfer lingo, a Kook refers to someone who has zero understanding of the surfing lifestyle, and the term has been adopted for those who don't have to do any dirty work because of their wealth.
Pogues typically work for Kooks, such as Pope's dad being known for providing anything for everyone on the island or John B initially working on Ward Cameron's boat. Although she hangs out with Pogue boys, Kiara is technically a Kook due to her parents' wealth, along with Topper and Sarah's families. The Kooks look down on Outer Banks' Pogues, so when John B falls in love with the queen of the Kooks, Sarah Cameron, the relationship becomes a Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers situation.
A Kook and a Pogue dating in Outer Banks disrupts the island's entire social structure, which makes John B and Sarah's relationship extremely controversial.
Ward | Charles Esten |
Chandler | J. Anthony Crane |
Rafe | Drew Starkey |
Topper | Austin North |
Ruthie | Mia Challis |
Ward
Ward is the primary Kook antagonist in the first season of the show. He, however, grew up as a Pogue and worked his way up to Kook, as Sarah and Rafe initially like to remind people. That's why John B initially doesn't see the bad in him. Ward's greed, however, outweighs everything in his life. He uses his wealth and connections to hire people who cannot afford to say no to him and to use those people to find treasure for him. The only thing that seems to give him pause is his love for his family, though even that is put aside when he puts Sarah in danger repeatedly.
Chandler
Chandler Groff is introduced in season 4 of the series. Prior to his introduction, the Groff family didn't get many mentions among the Kooks. It's clear he's from old money though since Luke Maybank is quick to point him out as JJ's birth father when JJ confronts him about his mother. Chandler has something sinister in his past as he allowed everyone to believe his son died with his wife and paid Luke to keep an infant JJ away from his grandfather.
Rafe
Rafe is the Kook the audience spends the most time with. He's the Kook prince. Son of Ward, big sister to Sarah, Rafe wants desperately to make a name for himself and live up to the Cameron legacy. He tries to protect his father's secrets by shooting Sheriff Peterkin and blaming it on John B in the first season. He also tries to kill his own sister when he feels like he betrayed the family. Rafe just can't seem to get beyond his own sense of entitlement and his father's shadow long enough to be his own person.
Topper
In the first season, Topper is Sarah Cameron's boyfriend and a close friend of Rafe. He's also revealed to have powerful connections in local government in his family. He seems to be a decent enough Kook when he doesn't turn John B in while he's on the run and when he helps Sarah multiple times. Like many of the Kooks in the series, however, he has a strong sense of entitlement - one that stretches to Sarah. He becomes more violent as he becomes more jealous of her relationship with John B and her friendship with the Pogues.
Ruthie
Just as Rafe's new girlfriend is introduced in season 4, so is Topper's. With a new woman in his life, it might seem like he's completely moved on from Sarah, but it's more like he's found someone who is even more violent and entitled than he is. Not much is revealed about Ruthie outside of her being a Kook, but she attends all the big parties with Topper. She's also the one who goads him and decides to run over hatching sea turtles when Kiara, Sarah, JJ, and John B are trying to help them make it to the water.
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Some Characters Are Born Kooks But Choose Pogue Life
Some characters in the Outer Banks are born into the wealth and privilege of Kook life, but when they're exposed to the economic disparities on the island, they cannot close their eyes to them anymore. When that happens, the Kooks choose the Pogue life instead. While there are undoubtedly some good Kooks and bad Pogues in the OBX, the series shows that the opposite is true far more of the time for these particular characters. While Pogues might be seen as financially irresponsible and likely to end up in jail, most of them are just trying to stay afloat.
Kiara | Madison Bailey |
Sarah | Madelyn Cline |
It's mentioned that Kiara's mother ran off with a Pogue when she was a teenager, but the two characters who get the spotlight when it comes to living a life of wealth and deciding to be Pogues are Kiara and Sarah.
Kiara
Kiara's parents own a restaurant in the Outer Banks. They want their daughter to live the Kook lifestyle and stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, they impart that to her by giving her ultimatums and having her kidnapped to attend a camp for troubled teens. Kiara hates the hypocrisy of the wealthy. She wants to make a difference in the world and thinks she could actually do more as a Pogue with people who understand her than she can with those who seek to control her every move.
Sarah
Sarah is the Kook princess when the series begins. She and Kiara were even best friends for a while before Kiara turned her back on the Pogues. It's not until Sarah and John B become interested in one another that the two reconnect. Sarah tries to maintain her connection to her family at first while becoming friends with the Pogues. When she realizes that her father is responsible for most of the hardship in their lives, however, she fully embraces Pogue life. There's no going back for Sarah when, like Kiara, she realizes maintaining her Kook lifestyle means embracing hypocrisy.
No matter what adventure or treasure is presented in Outer Banks, it's clear that economic disparity will be a large part of the show right up until the very end.
Outer Banks follows a group of teenagers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina as they uncover a legendary treasure linked to the mysterious disappearance of the group's leader's father, leading to a series of dangerous and thrilling adventures.
Release Date April 15, 2020
Seasons 4
Creator(s) Josh Pate , Jonas Pate , Shannon Burke
English (US) ·