After three seasons of high-stakes treasure hunts — in search of $400 million, the Cross of Santo Domingo and, most recently, El Dorado — the Pogues finally strike gold at the end of Outer Banks Season 3. Once deemed troublemakers on Kildare Island, the friend group are now celebrated as hometown heroes for putting an end to a 500-year-old mystery and finding El Dorado, the lost city of gold.

But that doesn’t mean their treasure-hunting days are over. In the season finale, 18 months after completing the biggest quest of their lives, the Pogues are approached by an elderly man Wes Genrette (David Jensen) at the commemorative ceremony. The gentleman pulls out a manuscript belonging to the infamous pirate, Blackbeard. It’s a captain’s log with records of the exact locations Blackbeard’s ship sailed to up until 1718, when it was shipwrecked. It’s thought that all of Blackbeard’s precious gold is still lost — and this log could provide clues to its whereabouts.

“I would investigate it myself, but I’m too long in the tooth,” the old man tells the teens. “I need partners, and you all were first on my list.” The friends look at each other with brewing excitement and John B (Chase Stokes) replies, “Hot damn.” 

As the Pogues head off on another treasure hunt in Outer Banks Season 4, here’s a quick Blackbeard history lesson.

Who is Blackbeard in Outer Banks?

Born in 1618, the English pirate Edward Teach was later given the name Blackbeard because of his frightening appearance and thick, black beard. Logical. While very little is known about his early life, it’s believed that Blackbeard started as a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne’s War. Later, he cruised the West Indies and former British colonies along the Atlantic coast. No sailor wanted to cross Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge — and for good reason. Waving above his vessel was a black flag depicting a skeleton piercing a bloody red heart. Blackbeard built a notorious reputation for being a ruthless and violent killer, as he commandeered other ships and robbed them of their cargo. 

Sounds thrilling, but what does Blackbeard have to do with Outer Banks?

During the 18th century, piracy became rampant along the North Carolina shores — including the Outer Banks. Much to the dismay of the area’s residents, Blackbeard and his crew terrorized the coastal towns with their violent crimes. For Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara on the show, growing up in North Carolina meant learning about this infamous pirate’s lore. “It’s cool that they’re tying the treasure hunt back into history rooted in North Carolina,” Bailey told Tudum. “It was a whole segment of our history class in eighth grade that we just were learning about pirates, and Blackbeard was a big deal.” Blackbeard’s ship went down in 1718 after hitting a sandbar, and North Carolina state authorities confirmed in 2011 that the wreckage was near Beaufort, about 200 miles south of the Outer Banks. Prime for the Pogue picking, if you ask us. 

So what’s up with Blackbeard’s treasure in Season 4?

Well, after JJ (Rudy Pankow) bets all the Pogues’ remaining El Dorado gold on the Kildare Enduro dirt bike race — and loses it all — the Pogues decide they need to hear Genrette out. They owe $13,000 in property taxes on Poguelandia 2.0 and have to pay it in seven days, so … yeah, the Pogues are ready to get back in the “G” game.

The twist is that Genrette isn’t actually after Blackbeard’s treasure. Just as Pope (Jonathan Daviss) is a direct descendant of Denmark Tanny, this Genrette guy is a direct descendant of Francis Genrette, the British officer who caught and killed Blackbeard (in the series, at least). After he beheaded Blackbeard, Francis then killed the pirate’s wife, Elizabeth. For 300 years since, generations of Genrettes have been haunted by Elizabeth’s ghost and have had violent deaths, including Wes’ daughter, Larissa (Tommi Rose). Apparently, Larissa saw Elizabeth a week before she died. And now Wes has had a visit, so he doesn’t have much time … 

You best start believing in ghost stories, Pogues, ’cause you’re in one!

That’s unfortunate. But what does Genrette want from the Pogues, then?

We had the same question as John B in Episode 2. Genrette and his son-in-law, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), tell the Pogues that they think they’ve found a way to break the curse. Right before Elizabeth was murdered, she begged Francis to retrieve her most prized possession from Blackbeard’s ship — an amulet that he’d given her. Instead, Francis denied the request and killed her. 

Genrette thinks that if the Pogues can find the amulet in Blackbeard’s last ship, here called The Adventure, it’ll right the wrong by fulfilling her last request. Understandably, the Pogues are skeptical. And Pope remembers that the coast guard excavated the ship years ago. But they didn’t have that captain’s log Genrette showed the Pogues in the Season 3 finale. And that manuscript details a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the captain’s chamber, which should contain the amulet.

So the offer stands: Will the Pogues dive 80 feet deep and get $50,000, plus $5,000 up front? It’s the Pogues, guys. What do you think?

OK, cool. So of course they go after the amulet. Do they find it on the ship?

Duh! After the Pogues snag the coordinates, Kie and JJ dive down to the ship and grab the trinket. But not without getting the bends (decompression sickness) and nearly being killed by a creepy assassin called Lightner (Rigo Sanchez), who’s also on the hunt for it. Don’t worry, they spend the night in a hyperbaric chamber, so they’re all good.

But when the Pogues go to claim their reward money back on Goat Island, they show up to find that Wes Genrette is now dead. Groff says the offer still stands, but the Pogues aren’t ready to hand the amulet over to Groff, who oddly still wants it. For some wild reason, they think there’s more to the story …

What do the Pogues do with the amulet, then?

The Pogues find an inscription inside the amulet, which they learn translates to: “From the half-moon to the north star, where the living and dead collide, the gatekeeper will guide the way.” They gather that they’re directions, possibly to Blackbeard’s treasure.

After the gang tracks down where Lightner might be, Pope overhears him telling his boss Dalia (Pollyanna McIntosh) about some Blue Crown, which rings a bell for adventurer-at-heart John B. Pulling out the perfect tome from his dad Big John’s (Charles Halford) extensive library, John B tells the Pogues that the fabled Blue Crown is the most sought after artifact in the ancient world, that it grants wishes, and gives the wearer immense favor and rare invincibility — it was worn by the likes of Darius the Great of Persia and Julius Caesar. It was lost sometime in the 1700s, but was rumored to be hunted down by none other than Blackbeard.

You thinking what the Pogues are thinking? $50,000 or priceless artifact?

Yeah, we’re going with priceless. So do the Pogues find the Blue Crown in Part 1 of Outer Banks Season 4?

Not quite. Ever the scholar, Pope pieces together that the “half-moon” in the inscription means Half-Moon Battery in Charleston, South Carolina, where Blackbeard initiated a blockade in May of 1718. He captured ships and demanded supplies such as medicine for his men, but the governor wouldn’t relent. Ultimately, Blackbeard released his hostages and fled, but not without leaving something behind. He somehow made time to come ashore to bury his cook and his navigator. 

At the same time, Lightner kidnaps Cleo (Carlacia Grant) in pursuit of the amulet. Pope runs home to save her and hand the amulet over, but not before the treasure hunt turns bloodthirsty — Lightner kills Cleo’s previous father figure Terrance (Terence Rosemore), who was running with Lightner’s crew as a paying gig, when he tries to protect her. 

Do the Pogues still go to Charleston?

Oh yeah. Bereft and without the amulet, Cleo, Pope, John B, and Sarah (Madelyn Cline) take the Twinkie up to Charleston, following their hunch. They start at the Half-Moon and head inland until Sarah sees a north star on the stained glass window of a church overlooking a cemetery, where — as the inscription put it — the living and the dead collide. 

The Pogues think back to how Blackbeard’s captain’s log said, “I’ve taken great care to ensure the caskets are secure and protected from the elements,” and deduce that he probably buried some treasure inside the coffins of his crewmates. Pope and Sarah find the entrance to an underground crypt beneath the church’s altar and descend into the catacomb. 

But they’re not the only ones down there! Lightner and Dalia take an easier route, using the amulet to unlock an entrance on a grave with an angel above it — aka the gatekeeper who will guide the way from the inscription. They find Blackbeard’s navigator’s coffin and take a scroll from it, leaving the way they came in and sealing the exit with the amulet. They don’t see Sarah and Pope, but our Pogues are stuck down there since they can’t go back up the way they came in either. And with the water in there starting to rise … what’s a Pogue to do?!

So how do Pope and Sarah escape the catacombs?

Well, a Pogue is gonna scream as loud as they possibly can ’til John B and Cleo can hear them (and also push a pillar on top of the catacomb to make a dent in the entrance). From there, John B uses a pickax to finish the job before tossing down a rope to help get them out. At least that’s one crisis averted. 

As they take the ferry back home, Sarah and John B realize something: the scroll the mercenaries took must have been a map to the Blue Crown that Blackbeard left behind for Elizabeth to find, before he got caught. Of course it is.

Do the Pogues get the scroll back, though?

Yup, but not without a bit of kidnapping first. Because the mercenaries think Groff killed one of their own (Omar), they chase him and JJ down on Goat Island. (Reminder: JJ was there to confront Groff about whether he’s his real dad. We know, bombshell reveal). He admits the truth, but only when he needs JJ’s help to escape. It doesn’t work anyway, and the mercenaries lock them up on their boat. 

Groff tells JJ that the mercenaries, aka the Lupine Corsairs, are actually from North Africa. He also admits that the whole Elizabeth Teach ghost and curse were a lie that he manufactured to throw Wes and the Pogues off the scent of the real treasure, the Blue Crown. “It was a little theater. Mannequin, white dress, rattling the chains sort of thing,” Groff says. OBX creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke want to remind everyone that although they’ve introduced elements of the supernatural through myth and legend, “there’s no actual supernatural stuff in the show,” says Josh Pate. Although, “we’ve gotten pretty close,” says Burke.

The Corsairs are ready to kill Groff, who we learn also stole Blackbeard’s captain’s log from them, and he strangled Omar to death when he tracked Groff down to retrieve it. Groff tries to blame the murder on JJ to save his own hide, but they don’t buy it or care. Just as they’re about to off both him and JJ, Kiara, Sarah, and John B show up and toss a Molotov cocktail at them. John B hops onto the boat to grab JJ, they snag the scroll, and jump into the water. They’re “back in the ‘G’ game, baby!” as John B says. But Groff got away too. He swam all the way back to Goat Island.

Where does the scroll come from?

Groff conveniently shows up at Poguelandia in the nick of time to tell the Pogues that the map is really the elusive Mogador Scroll, created by Barbary pirate Murad the Younger in 1703. He heard of the Blue Crown after a Berber shepherd gave him a gold coin as tribute, which the shepherd had found in a hidden treasure vault in the desert. 

Before Murad had a chance to follow the map, Blackbeard’s future wife, Elizabeth Teach (née Howell) stole it. Blackbeard helped her evade her captors, and they escaped to the Carolinas together. The day Blackbeard died, he left the map for Elizabeth to find.

Groff doesn’t believe in any of the mythical legends about it granting wishes or rendering enemies defenseless, but he believes in money and wants to work with the Pogues to get his cut.

What does the Mogador Scroll say?

Turns out, it’s encrypted, and the Pogues need a special lens that Elizabeth was wearing when she died at Blackstone Manor to read it. Right now, that lens is buried with JJ’s mom Larissa, which leaves JJ to wonder if his dad really came back for him or to get the lens. Again, daddy issues.

The next day, Groff and JJ team up to retrieve the lens. JJ is understandably pretty uncomfortable. And rightly so, since Groff then locks JJ in the mausoleum to ward off the police (which he called himself so there would be an excuse to leave JJ for a while). Then, he jets back to Poguelandia 2.0 so he can snag the scroll. He knocks out Kiara and locks her in a cooler when she questions why JJ isn’t with him. 

Let’s pause for a second: Locking JJ in the mausoleum seems kind of drastic, right? Well, the OBX creators can empathize if you think so too, and differ on whether Groff actually wants to bond with JJ, or if he’s merely a means to an end. “Shannon [Burke] likes the gray areas,” says Josh Pate. 

Burke explains, “These are the sort of discussions we’re having [in the writer’s room]. I think he does feel [something for his son], but [Jonas and Josh] think he’s a sociopath.” In particular, Burke thinks there was a moment at the mausoleum where Groff feels a connection with JJ. 

“I don’t think it’s fake,” says Burke. 

“At the mausoleum when he locks him in?” asks Jonas Pate. 

“No, the moment before he locks him in. It is totally possible those two things exist at the same time,” says Burke. 

So Groff’s partnership with the Pogues was short-lived?

Oh, yeah. Groff goes back and picks up his son from the mausoleum, and they make one last pit stop on the island to realtor Hollis Robinson’s (Brianna Brown) house, so Groff can take Rafe’s (Drew Starkey) duffle bag with the $400k he paid them to have a stake in developing Goat Island. What about that Goat Island development deal? Ultimately, it’s a scam that Hollis doesn’t want any part of once she realizes the truth. And when she threatens to go to Sheriff Shoupe (Cullen Moss) to tell him where Groff really was the night that Wes Genrette died, Groff kills her and leaves the gun in the Twinkie so JJ, his own son, will get framed for it.

He and JJ, who’s none the wiser about what just happened, sail away on Hollis’ yacht, and Groff starts to read the scroll, assuring JJ they’ll head back for his friends after. He tells JJ he thought he’d need the Corsairs to get the Blue Crown, but “I think the two of us could get it on our own.” Ring any John B and Big John bells from Season 3? “That’s a theme in this show, that the parents suck,” says Pankow. Adds Stokes, “They all come from an area of wanting more.” And, they don’t fare so well when their kids get that chance at a better life they so desperately covet. 

They don’t just ditch the Pogues, right?

Groff sure wants to. Once he reads that the Blue Crown is located in Essaouira, Morocco, he wants to go there with just JJ. But JJ is loyal and refuses. As soon as JJ isn’t on the bandwagon, Groff turns, and JJ figures out that Groff killed his own mother, Larissa, too. (We also see a flashback of Groff hitting her over the head with a candlestick.) And just like her, he tosses JJ out to sea and leaves him for dead. But JJ’s Pogue family thankfully tracks his location and comes to sweep him up, just as Groff is swept up by the Corsairs.

What happens with Hollis’ murder?

Shoupe’s already suspicious of Groff when Groff calls in to say he’s “worried” about his good friend Hollis. Yet the police still issue a warrant for JJ’s arrest. Shoupe’s already been in contact with his private investigator and is piecing some clues together, including one about Groff’s tattoo that’s identical to one seen on a Corsair mercenary. 

So get this: Groff isn’t just your run-of-the-mill con man. He’s wanted by INTERPOL. He’s been picked up in Portugal for counterfeiting, there’s a warrant out for him for art forgery in Lisbon, and one for laundering in Cyprus. He has five passports and was married four times under different names. He may have grown up in Kildare, but he was nabbed in Morocco and got out thanks to billionaire Anton Finch’s group of Lupine Corsair mercenaries. 

All this is to say that when Shoupe finally catches up to the Pogues, it isn’t too hard for Rafe to convince him that he and the Pogues should go find Groff and bring him back to make Shoupe look good. As Rafe puts it, “What’s it gonna be? Some bullshit charges on these low-rent Pogues who didn’t do shit? Or you solve the crime of the century and you save your job?” Rafe’s heroic moment is not all out of the goodness of his heart, though. He wants his $400k back.

So do the Pogues find Groff and the Blue Crown in Morocco?

This finale clocks in at 1 hour and 20 minutes — of course they do. Once they finally arrive, the Pogues and Rafe split up pretty quickly. Rafe finds Groff and the scroll. Because Rafe wants what he’s owed from Groff, he heads off to Agapenta (where the Blue Crown is) with Groff, who teaches him how to read the map with a special lens. But once Groff pulls a knife on Rafe (since he simply can’t help himself), Rafe pushes him into a well, poetically adding, “Checkmate, bitch!” The Pogues later find Groff at the same well, but JJ leaves him there with a water bottle because “being better than you really isn’t that hard.” It’s more than the murderer deserves.

Meanwhile, the Pogues find photos of the scroll (with helpful translations on the back) on the Corsairs’ boat at the wharf. They catch up with Rafe in Agapenta, where Sarah saves him just as the Corsairs are ready to fire on him. Instead, she shoots at their car, and it catches on fire. From there, it’s a race to the top of the mazelike city between the Pogues (plus Rafe) and the Corsairs. While most of the Pogues hold the mercenaries off, Rafe, Sarah, and John B reach the summit and see one more translation on the back of their scroll photos: “At the dawn of the day, touch the earth to reach heaven.” John B figures out he needs to raise the scroll to the sun (“heaven”), which conjures an image of the large statue that, luckily, is right behind them. Meaning, the Blue Crown is inside it.

JJ and Kiara join the upstairs crew just as a sandstorm is heading their way. And, brave as he is, JJ volunteers to climb to the top of the statue regardless. “I mean, hey, it was my fault to begin with. Guess I should be the one to fix it,” he says. Miraculously, he finds the Blue Crown inside the eye of the statue. 

What do the Pogues do once they get the Blue Crown?

They don’t hold onto it for long. As he and Kie head back down, Groff grabs her and forces JJ to trade the crown for her safety. But instead of being happy with the treasure, JJ’s father kills him out of sheer spite with his pocketknife. Yes, you read that right. Devastating the Pogues (and, to an extent, himself), Groff goes off into the night with the Blue Crown.

As the Pogues grieve, Rafe reminds them that Groff has a buyer in Lisbon. Now, what would JJ do if it had been any of them? Get even.

The Guys of ‘Outer Banks’ Reveal the Toughest Season 3 Stunt to Film“We’re tanked now, ready for anything.”

Stream Season 4 of Outer Banks now.