Season 4 Part 1 of Outer Banks is now on Netflix, leaving off on a killer cliffhanger before Part 2 debuts on November 7. Through the first half of Season 4, we watch as some of the characters are still struggling with the aftermath of Season 3. We see moments of John B (Chase Stokes) tearfully remembering his now-dead father and Rafe (Drew Starkey) struggling with the death of his father while trying to become like him despite all of his flaws. Outer Banks is no stranger to awful parents and their similarly awful relationships with their children, but in the wake of some major deaths, the show has seemingly forgotten one of its major characters. As John B and Rafe deal with their fathers’ passings, it is glaringly obvious that Sarah (Madelyn Cline) has been left out to dry, and that just doesn’t seem fair.

John B Struggles With His Father’s Legacy in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4 Part 1

The first three seasons of Outer Banks were defined by the conflict between Sarah Cameron and her father, Ward (Charles Esten). That drove the storyline forward as Ward and the Pogues race to find the treasure. However, in a disappointing development, as Season 4 begins, Sarah becomes defined more by her relationship with John B than anything else, even though Sarah lost her father in the Season 3 finale. In contrast, her brother, Rafe, has scenes openly grieving his father, hoping to carry on his legacy by buying up new property. For such a tragic relationship that served as the anchor for Outer Banks for three seasons, Sarah deserves a better story arc exploring the aftereffects of her father’s death.

In contrast, John B’s trauma from his father’s death, Big John (Charles Halford), is addressed head-on in Season 4, especially in the episode “Albatross”. John B reckons with his father’s legacy during a crucial scene in the graveyard in Charleston when the gang searches for clues regarding the Blackbeard mystery. He stands with a gun in his hand, ready to shoot the mercenary treasure hunter Lightner (Rigo Sanchez), the man who killed Terrance (Terence Rosemore). At that moment, he stands on a precipice of turning into his father. Interspersed with flashbacks of Big John murdering people in cold blood, John B puts the gun down and lets Lightner live. Even knowing Cleo wants revenge for Terrance’s death, John B can’t bring himself to pull the trigger like his father would have.

Rafe is Reckoning With His Past and Turning Into His Father

Image via Netflix

Meanwhile, Rafe is on the verge of transforming into his father as a cold-hearted businessman, and though we know Ward as an antagonist of the show, Rafe looks up to his father. It’s a crucial part of Rafe’s storyline in Season 4. In the pivotal episode, “Albatross,” one of the main themes is the trauma of dead parents. The writers highlight that trauma being passed through generations by bad parents, including the flashback of John B with his dad.

However, in another moving sequence, Rafe’s vulnerability shines through when remembering Ward. He is haunted by flashbacks of his father’s parting words to him before his death: “Family is the most important thing. Take care of each other.” Interspersed with one of his most horrific moments of trying to kill his sister, Sarah, by drowning, the series allows us to witness Rafe struggling between rejecting becoming his father and becoming the very thing that tore his family apart. Starkey is excellent in these scenes, and plays Rafe with a waning sensitivity that can turn to hardness in a moment. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Starkey said, “You’ve definitely seen Rafe very broken over the years, but I think where you find him this year is hopefully in a place of wanting to be better and to have a sense of family.”

Madelyne Cline Is Underutilized in Season 4 Part 1 of ‘Outer Banks’

Image via Netflix

No one on Outer Banks has suffered more trauma from bad dads (and brothers) than Sarah Cameron. She’s got a treasure trove of issues when it comes to her family, so why has she been pushed to the sidelines this season? During big group scenes, actress Madelyne Cline mainly has no dialogue, while the rest of the Pogues do most of the talking. In comparison to how both John B and Rafe’s grief over their fathers’ deaths have been explored so far, the silence is deafening in contrast with Sarah.

Besides Chase Stokes, Madelyne Cline was the leading actress of Outer Banks for the first three seasons, especially when it came to facing off against her father, Ward. It’s really a tragedy this season that most of Sarah’s scenes revolve around her romance with John B. There has not even been one scene of how she is handling the horrific death of her father or her brother’s betrayal. In contrast to the moving material Stokes and Starkey get in remembering their fathers, Cline’s one scene where she is the center of attention has her talking more about her future with John B and her biological clock than dealing with the events of the previous season.

The lack of depth for Sarah this season is glaring. Outer Banks is clearly struggling to figure out what to do with her character now that Ward is gone. Yes, Ward was awful, and is easily one of, if not the worst parent in the Outer Banks franchise, but he was still her dad. As the show digs deeper into each character, Sarah deserves more than just becoming the object of John B’s affections or being a part of Rafe’s guilt. She is her own person, with her own residual trauma that came at the hands of her father. Outer Banks just needs to show it.

Outer Banks is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.