The Ending Of Outer Banks Season 2 Explained

Warning: Contains spoilers for "Outer Banks" Season 2

Netflix finally released the highly-anticipated sophomore season of "Outer Banks," the action-packed adventure series set on the picturesque coast of North Carolina. The show follows the Pogues — John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey), and Pope (Jonathan Daviss) — searching for the Royal Merchant ship, which legend says has hidden treasure on board. The Pogues face-off with their wealthy rivals, the Kooks, in a mission to find the buried treasure and maintain their ragtag lifestyle. 

Season 1 of "Outer Banks" was full of cliffhangers. John B and Sarah were presumed dead after narrowly escaping the OBX to hide out in the Bahamas. Outside from searching for the treasure, the Pogues are also attempting to clear John B's name. The de facto ringleader was framed by Sarah's dad and series antagonist Ward Cameron (Charles Esten) for the murder of the local sheriff. However, his son Rafe (Drew Starkey) is responsible for the death, and he's more than happy to have a Pogue take the fall.

Season 2 of "Outer Banks" gave fans a lot of answers to their lingering questions — most notably that Sarah and John B survived their stormy journey. The couple reunites with the Pogues to not only continue their treasure hunt, but also clear John B's name and find the Cross of Santo Domingo. The cross was newly introduced in the second season — a seven-foot gold and jewel-encrusted cross that legend says holds a supernatural healing garment. The cross is rumored to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars but the real treasure is hidden within a lock that Pope's family, direct descendants of Denmark Tanney, hold the only key to. 

The show also introduced plenty of new faces. The Pogues added a sixth member to their tribe with Cleo (Carlacia Grant) after she helped Sarah and John B escape from the Bahamas. Additionally, Ward has another nemesis — Carla Limbrey (Elizabeth Mitchell). Limbrey is desperate to get her hands on the cross in order to obtain the healing garment, as she's dying from an unknown disease. 

Netflix knows how to keep viewers interested, and left "Outer Banks" viewers with a whole new set of unanswered questions and cliffhangers. Viewers find out that Ward, who staged a fake suicide to protect his family and himself from repercussions from their murderous ways, is alive. Ward and his family manage to escape to a private island with the gold (and the cross) to run from their financial and legal issues back in North Carolina. As for the Pogues, they are left on a deserted beach in the Caribbean to live their own version of an adult island fantasy. While John B and Sarah are unofficially married, Netflix also seemingly sets up the story that JJ and Kiara could have a budding romance going on. And as for Pope and Cleo, there's now room for a third couple to team up and live their best beach bum lives. 

Arguably the biggest shock from the second season of "Outer Banks" is that Big John isn't actually dead. Limbrey is desperate to find the healing shroud and ends up discovering John B Senior is alive and not-so-well. He reveals to Limbrey that he knows exactly where the mystical garment is and will only help her find it if she promises to keep John B safe. Netflix is clearly setting up for a highly emotional reunion of the Johns if the show gets greenlit for a third season, one that will likely show the Pogues teaming up with Limbrey and Big John to take down Ward and the Camerons once and for all.