Breaking Down the Series Finale of Outer Banks

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Outer Banks Season 5.After years of treasure hunts, betrayals, shipwrecks, family feuds and increasingly improbable escapes, the Pogues finally make it home. The fifth and final season of Netflix’s Outer Banks sends John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), Cleo (Carlacia Grant), and Rafe (Drew Starkey) through one last race for treasure—this time involving the Royal Merchant gold, the Blue Crown, a deadly hurricane, and the ghosts of everything they have lost along the way.The finale takes the Pogues far beyond the Outer Banks before bringing them back. First, they learn that the arms dealer Anton Finch is planning to use the Blue Crown during a meteor shower. The group travels to Azerbaijan to stop him, while Cleo is arrested as they are leaving for the private plane. She tries to board as the plane is taking off, but a police officer shoots at the plane's stairs, causing her to fall. Pope is already in Azerbaijan with the others when he discovers that Cleo has been deported to Nassau, Bahamas.Kiara eventually gets the Blue Crown from Finch and takes it to the lake during the meteor shower, hoping it can bring JJ (Rudy Pankow) back. The crown doesn't resurrect him, but it gives Kiara a powerful final connection to her memories of JJ and everything they shared. Finch later takes the crown back, meaning the Pogues return to the Outer Banks without it. They arrive just hours before Hurricane Cassandra hits.Meanwhile, back in Kildare, Rose has the Royal Merchant gold after stealing it from the Pogues. Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) attacks and tries to kill Rose, but Wheezie shoots him in the arm and saves her stepmother. Groff escapes in Rose's car with the gold. During the hurricane, Kiara finds him aboard the stolen boat and confronts him about killing JJ. Their fight ends with Groff going overboard and presumed dead, while Kiara discovers that the boat is sinking.Trying to keep the boat afloat, Kiara begins throwing heavy cargo into the ocean. Among the crates is the Royal Merchant gold Groff stole from Rose. She reluctantly pushes the gold overboard and soon falls into the water herself, but the Pogues find and rescue her.The gold, however, isn't lost for good. After the hurricane passes, Pope calculates where the treasure should have drifted by triangulating the fort, the lighthouse and the location where they rescued Kiara, while accounting for the currents and wind. John B dives into the ocean and discovers the gold beneath the debris and sand. The Pogues are able to recover part of it in the moment and retrieve the rest over the following days.With the Royal Merchant fortune finally in their hands, the Pogues use the money to rebuild Kildare, buy back properties and restore their homes. They help create the community they always wanted, where Kooks and Pogues can live together.So, where does everyone end up as the Outer Banks adventure finally comes to a close? Here's what happens to the Pogues, their families and the people who shaped their story.