The Pogues finally found their treasure at the end of ‘Outer Banks’ season 3, but a new hunt awaits them in season 4

Chase Stokes as John B, Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Jonathan Daviss as Pope and Rudy Pankow as JJ in episode 301 of ‘Outer Banks.’. Photo: JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX

Warning: Outer Banks season 3 spoilers ahead!

Outer Banks‘ Pogues may have found their long-awaited treasure, but it wouldn’t be the adventurous, thrill-seeking show it is if the teenage treasure hunters didn’t have another mission to embark on.

The Netflix show’s fourth season will debut in two parts on the platform, with the first five episodes releasing on Oct. 10, followed by the latter five on Nov. 7. Season 3 saw the Pogues — John B (Chase Stokes), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), Sarah (Madelyn Cline) and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) — finally discover the long lost treasure that John B’s father, Big John, sought to find.

However, the payout didn’t come without its own painful losses — including the deaths of Big John (again) and Sarah’s dad Ward Cameron — and an even bigger gold-full trail to chase: Blackbeard’s lost gold.

Now that the Pogues have the wealth they so desperately fought for, fans are in for a season of what will come of their payoff — and how they end up on a seemingly even more perilous adventure.

Before you dive in, here’s everything to know about how season 3 of Outer Banks ended.

How did Outer Banks season 3 end?

Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Chase Stokes as John B in episode 310 of ‘Outer Banks’. Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

In the season 3 finale, the Pogues discover the lost city of El Dorado is real and the treasure lies there. Sarah, John B and Big John follow the instructions the gnomon revealed and realize the treasure is hidden in a cave.

However, once they get to the cave, they realize Big John is too big to fit down a wormhole to get the treasure, so just John B and Sarah proceed. Down under, they find the cave full of gold and get to work packing bags full of the nuggets.

Above ground, Big John is keeping watch when the season’s main villain, Singh, meets him, having followed the path of Big John’s blood, coming from the bullet he got hit with earlier in the episode. When Sarah and John B emerge, they are in the middle of a face-off with Singh and John B, with the latter ultimately throwing a stick of dynamite in front of Singh and killing him as he, his son and Sarah escape.

What happened to Big John and Ward Cameron?

Charles Esten as Ward Cameron in episode 310 of ‘Outer Banks.’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

The Pogues have finally won their treasure, but they’ve also endured terrible loss. After getting the treasure, John B, Sarah and Big John take a breather so the injured father can rest. However, they’re quickly met with Ward, who is hot on their tails.

In a fit of jealousy and rage, it looks like Ward is ready to finish the job he started and kill Big John. When Ward points his gun at Big John, John B stands in front of his father and Sarah steps in front of him, facing her father down.

Suddenly, one of Singh’s henchmen appears and is prepared to kill Big John, and in a dramatic moment, Ward jumps in front of the flying bullet to save Sarah’s life, taking the henchman down with him as they fall off the hill to their death.

The Pogues reunite with the group at this point and attempt to get Big John help, but he’s lost too much blood. In his dying moments, he tells John B to hang on to Sarah and apologizes to him for being a difficult father.

What is the status of all the relationships among the Pogues?

Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Chase Stokes as John B in episode 309 of ‘Outer Banks.’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

After a tough start to the season that sees John B and Sarah broken up, the couple are finally reunited at the end. They aren’t the only Pogues to find love — Kiara and JJ as well as Pope and Cleo also make their relationships official.

Kiara and JJ’s romance has been brewing since the beginning, but due to JJ’s fear of commitment, they haven’t taken it anywhere until the reckless teenager breaks Kiara out of the wilderness camp her parents sent her to. When he rides away with her, the two kiss and admit their feelings for one another.

Meanwhile, Pope and Cleo’s relationship has been slower to burn but the two kissed for the first time while they’re hiking to El Dorado.

Where are the Pogues now?

Chase Stokes as John B, Madison Bailey as Kiara, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Rudy Pankow as JJ, Jonathan Daviss as Pope, Nate Bynum as Demp in episode 401 of ‘Outer Banks’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

When the Pogues return to Kildare, they are seen as heroes for solving the mystery of El Dorado and finding the treasure. The show flashes to 18 months later, as the group is honored for their work and John B’s voiceover tells the audience what each Pogue was up to after they returned home.

He explains that Kie’s saving turtles, while Pope went back to school and JJ bought a charter boat. Meanwhile, he and Sarah are running a surf shop. Rafe, Sarah’s deranged brother, is nowhere to be seen.

At the very end of the episode, a man approaches the group and tells them he needs their help investigating a mysterious manuscript that appears to belong to the one and only Blackbeard, setting up the story of season 4.

What will happen in Outer Banks season 4?

Chase Stokes as John B, Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Madison Bailey as Kiara, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Jonathan Daviss as Pope, Rudy Pankow as JJ in episode 401 of ‘Outer Banks.’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Per the trailer, the Pogues enjoyed the spoils of their gold, building a “Poguelandia 2.0” in Kildare. However, it seems their money quickly runs out, and the six teens are thrust into yet another adventure that is more dangerous than they anticipate.

“We were gonna live the good life, the simple life, treasure-hunting was in the past,” John B narrates in the trailer. “But what we didn’t know at the time is that nothing ever stands still.”

In April 2024, Stokes told PEOPLE that season 4 is “one of [his] favorite seasons yet” and that there was a real focus on the characters’ authenticity this time around.

“Anytime you experience loss, it hits in spaces and in places that you don’t anticipate,” he said. “Being in the situation that John B and Sarah are in, it really will force them to evaluate everything.”

He continued, “Where they are, what their purpose is, what their intentions are, and what was the actual value of it? Was it worth it, in hindsight? If they could go back and change things, would they? Or do they feel okay with it?”