As I mentioned in my review a couple of weeks ago of the first episode of Hightown, I'm always up for a TV series or movie that takes place in a sea town on the East Coast of the United States. But with the lockdown keeping me and family from going up to Cape Cod, it's especially good to see those Atlantic waves splashing around a narrative.
So, I would've likely liked Outer Banks, which takes place on the string of islands off the North Carolina coast, in any case. But by the time the 10-episode first season of the series concluded on Netflix, which my wife and I binged the past two nights, I found myself riveted to the screen and loving it.
Outer Banks actually starts off just ok, not great, a mildly diverting story of teenage shenanigans, rivalries, and romance on one of those islands. But there's a dark undercurrent from the beginning - the father of one the lead players, John B, has been missing for months - which soon turns into a powerful story of parent-child relationships and edge-of-your-seat pursuit of lost treasure with all manner of plausible, sharply focused heroes and villains.
The acting was also surprisingly excellent - surprising, because I didn't know most of the actors. I did know and liked Charles Esten from Nashville, and he brings to Outer Banks an unexpected range. Chase Stokes was excellent as John B, as was Madelyn Cline as his girlfriend Sarah. The two were very impressive in portraying a relationship that progressed from dissing to flirting to running for their lives. The supporting cast was also top-notch, with especially notable performances by Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, and Madison Bailey. But everyone in this vibrant cast made an impression on me, and I'll be looking for them from now on when I coast through Netflix and Prime Video.
I won't say anything more about the plot - because I don't want to give anything away - except that you can always distinguish a well-written narrative from the others in that surprises in the well-written narrative seem thoroughly plausible when you think of them in retrospect. Outer Banks has a lot of large and small moving pieces, which are brought together perfectly in the end. Hey, it's not as good as jumping in the cool waves off Cape Cod Bay, but I'll take it.
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