*Major spoilers for season 1 of Outer Banks below!*
Outer Banks fans were on their edge of their seats in the first season finale as John B. and Sarah Cameron, played by Madelyn Cline, seemed to race against the police and nature itself to get away from the giant manhunt that was going down in the OBX. After John B. was accused of killing Sheriff Peterkin by Sarah's own father, the two decided to head off to Mexico to start a new life together. However, with the major storm capsizing their boat, the SBI and the rest of the Pogues were left mourning their lost friends who are thought to be dead. Meanwhile, it turns out that the couple actually survived the ordeal and are now possibly on their way to the Bahamas, where the gold that they've been looking for all this time is now located.
The Kook princess turned new Pogue stole viewers hearts, thanks in large part to the exceptional performance put on by Madelyn. Seventeen got to talk to the Outer Banks star about her hopes for season two, John B. and Sarah's future, and which new villain she would like to see come up next.
17: How has it been seeing everyone's reactions to the show?
Madelyn Cline: Everything has been so overwhelming in the most incredible way. The fan base are all so sweet. Everything has kind of just exploded, which is everything we ever really wished for. People have been so receptive to the show and to the characters. I think I can speak for the entire cast when I say we are so, so grateful.
17: What was it like reading the surprising twist at the end of the season finale?
MC: What's funny about it is that when we first got to Charleston and we had our table read, we didn't have the entire season yet. They kind of kept us in the dark. For the cast, our discovery of the show is kind of much like how our audience is seeing the show. It was just as much of a surprise to us.
We were also on the edge of our seats waiting for the next episode to be emailed to us. When I read the finale, we had a group chat and everybody was blowing it up like they were live tweeting the episode. 'Oh my God, did you see this? Have you gotten to this page?' And somebody would be like, 'No spoilers, don't spoil it.' We had ideas, but we never knew what they would pull out of their back pocket.
17: Sarah is probably the character who changed the most throughout the season. What was it like seeing her grow from Kook princess to Pogue?
MC: I loved it. I remember having conversations with our writers, Jonas [Pate], Josh [Pate], and Shannon [Burke] around mid-season about it and they kind of asked me if I had any experiences growing up or when I was a teenager where I had a full rebellion or where I put my foot down and stood up for what I wanted. There was definitely a time where I kind of did rebel a little bit, but it was not until I had graduated college.
They had asked me, 'In your mind, do you think that Sarah would go back to her family and continue life in the bubble? Or do you think she would risk everything and go with John B?' And I was like, 'I absolutely think she would go with John B.' In Sarah's circumstance, it's definitely different obviously, but I think it's an important message that you stand up for and you put your foot down for what you believe in.
17: People blame their choices on Sarah and John just being young. Do you think that’s the case?
MC: I think there is such thing as a love that just absolutely takes over and it flips your world upside down. I remember when I was a teenager, I was into young adult books and there was always a pinnacle love story of star-crossed lovers. So to be able to be a part of creating that for this next generation was really a dream come true as a storyteller.
Chase [Stokes], Jonas and I all sat down from the get go and spoke about the relationship. We wanted to make sure it was real and it had depth to it. There were things that Chase and I specifically added to the script that felt personal. You have to sell it. It's got to be compelling. Thankfully the cast all clicked and we had such great chemistry, so we all had this friendship from the very beginning. So building on that and then projecting it on the screen felt very, very real.
17: One of the hardest scenes to watch was Sarah trying to clear John B's name and Ward claiming that she's crazy. What was that like?
MC: That was pretty complicated to navigate, because those are a lot of very strong emotions. You've got betrayal, love and fear. And on top of that, you're a teenager, you're running from the law and your family is crumbling. Not to mention murder. Exploring what that does to a person was quite a hefty task. Obviously I really, really wanted to be able to portray the fear and the nerves and I wanted people to be going along with this journey not knowing what was going to happen next, just like from Sarah's standpoint.
As an actor, it is really, really fun to be able to push yourself like that. To have scenes where you're running and where you kind of have a mental breakdown. It's a dream to be able to sink your teeth into a role like that. Jonas Pate, our director, was instrumental in that. He's like a coach. We'll finish the scene and he'll be like, 'All right. Immediately into another one, keep going.' He was really great at pushing us.
17: Do you think Sarah was driven to leave by her fear of Ward, or by her love for John B?
MC: I think both. Logically, seeing that her dad is not the person that he said he was and what her brother is capable of, her life as she knew it completely crumbled around her. John B, and the Pogues are the only people she trusts. Her dad has already accused her of being mentally unsound and there's the fear of potentially being locked up. We've seen that Ward will go to any length to defend his actions. So who knows what he would do to Sarah just to clear his own name.
17: If Sarah had stayed to clear John B's name, do you think she would've been successful?
MC: It probably would have been a lost cause. At the end of the day, there are accusations of evading arrest and assault, not to mention the fact that Ward is so influential in the area and the story. John B, in episode seven, comes in with the gun, pulls Sarah outside, and he's like, 'You're all I have left.' After the whole interaction with SBI, Sarah finally realizes John B is all I have left. So the choice is completely clear like where she needs to go.
17: Were you surprised that Topper decided to let Sarah go with John B after he told her he would do anything for her?
MC: At first it was a surprise. Even though he goes along with Rafe and his antics, Topper always has pause. He's a bit of a sheep in that way. At the end of the day, Topper means well and he realized that the only way to truly show Sarah that he loved her was to let her go. That's a really important lesson in life and relationships. Sometimes when you love something, even though you love it so much, you do need to let it go.
17: Do you think that love triangle will continue in season two?
MC: I think it would be interesting to see Topper still kind of having a bit of a soft side for Sarah and what kind of tension that might bring up. You never know what might happen to John B and Sarah. If the things that they've been running from catch up to them, that puts stress on their new relationship and who knows if they will survive that. I love a good love triangle. I would also really love to see Sarah come into her own and not necessarily need a relationship if things go south with John B.
17: What do you expect will happen to Sarah and John B. in season two?
I would love to see like this picturesque Blue Lagoon type situation in The Bahamas. But who knows what sh*t is going to hit the fan. I would love to see them continue going after the gold because, at the end of the day, that's the goal. What would be really cool to see is John B. and Sarah kind of come together in this like Bonnie and Clyde-esque type relationship where they're just continuing this [game]. I would really love to see Sarah match John B's crazy and just like go a hundred percent all in with him. They're headed to the Bahamas with a melted down bar of gold. So there's going to be questions and some eyebrows raised. And who knows who's going to see that or find out and maybe want to take it?
They're going to have to return to the Outer Banks at some point. The Pogues are there and there's definitely going to be a reunion. We've all gone through this incredibly traumatic journey together and we're all bound by this amazing friendship. They'll need some sort of closure. John B and Sarah will believe that they owe it to the Pogues to return. They can't run forever. I think it'll be interesting also to see what happens with the Cameron family.
17: Fans have been hoping that Rose would be the new villain in the next season. Do you agree?
MC: I love the fact that Rose comes out of the woodwork and you realize that she is just as much involved in what's going on as Ward is. I'd love to see Rafe and Ward face justice, but who knows what tricks Ward's going to pull out of his back pocket.
Tamara Fuentes is the current Entertainment Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers TV, movies, books, celebrities, and more. She can often be found in front of a screen fangirling about something new. Before joining Cosmopolitan, she was the entertainment editor over at Seventeen. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
