The craziest antagonist isn’t Sing, it’s not Groff, and it’s not Rafe. The scariest person and the craziest on the whole show is Ward. He has such a short fuse and as soon as you piss him off there is no telling what he’s gonna do. He attempted murder quick as fuck on John b in season 1 when he realized he wasn’t gonna comply. And when that didn’t work he injured himself and framed him. This isn’t actually the scary part about him though. The thing that makes me so uncomfortable is he has a preferred method of attacking people and it’s choking. If he has the opportunity he’s going straight for your neck and lifted you off the ground every time and I find that horrifying. He also disregards close relationships extremely quickly.

I actually loved the ending of season 5. Them finding the gold again & going back to the beginning I loved! & the wedding was beautiful. Aside from topper being there🙄 John b calling Barry uncle Barry was so cute & Barry just looked happy asf to just be there😂 (He also looked soooo good this season!) aside from JJ obviously, The only thing I hated was Rafe not being able to be there.. & Him not seeing his other sister & real mom this season also. Him saying goodbye to everyone was so sad, Him crying when he hugged Sarah & John b. & Saying he’d miss all of them. I’m glad we got more of Rafe with the pogues this last season though. He fit in better with them than the kooks. & You could tell he was greatful to just be excepted by them. I really wish he didnt had to leave.

He played Eugene McCorkle in stranger things, and Ahmad in Outer Banks s04e03 where he helped them translate an an amulet 👍

I am just wondering if the ending and everything IF John B on his efforts if he unified the island or no? Or did John B basically become a "Neo-Kook" because he technically married into a Kook family . I am just confused on what the hell happens now. I already know already that people keep saying "Rafe's ass is going to get arrested if he shows up for Xmas or Thanksgiving dinners for the next 10-15 yrs...." Uh..... I really doubt that because that county is so corrupt, John B basically has enough power there that was on par with Topper's old money ass

Okay, I know Renfield has at most 14 minutes of screen time, is morally questionable as fuck, and is hardly anybody's favorite character. I am not claiming he's secretly a good person. I just think there's more to discuss about him than people give him credit for.

Some thoughts:

- I don't need him to be a good person to find him compelling. Sure he's a villain but liking him isn't the same as approving of his actions. He's threatening, self-assured, sometimes cruel, and entertaining to watch.

- His relationship with Carla deserved more exploration. They're half-siblings, and their relationship is shaped by his postition as the Limbrey bastard, family resentment and financial dependence. He can be indifferent toward her while also resenting her. (Season 2 ep 6 where he looks genuinely wounded after she calls him pathetic and says "ever since you slitered out of that tramp and abandoned the family for years, just to come crawling back looking for a payout" vs season 2 ep 7 where he tells his army ranger buddies "half-sister, you know the story just. Just got to wait for her to kick off"). Their final confrontation is more interesting when you consider the history behind it. I mean- me personally? The actions leading to his death felt OOC to me. The laugh after Rafe's joke about the magic scarf being eaten by bugs? That didn't seem like the Renfield we see who'd only said all of 5 words per interaction with caral before then. "Yes, ma'am", "enough- alright?" "we'll find it" "I think they still have the key", "I'll get it done".

- His Army background is a huge unexplored part of his character. Carla literally tells him to "get your friends. The ones you served with". Who was he before he started working for her? What was his military experience like? How did he end up in her employ? And that line in season 2 ep 6 "Ever since you abandoned the family for years". Did they grow up together? What shaped his personality? I don't want a backstory that excuses him. I want one that explains him.

- He has a distinct personality despite his limited screen time. His dry, mocking delivery and the way he talks about power and control make him stand out. “Knowing when you don't have a choice is an underappreciated talent” is such a good example of how he sees the world.

- His death feels like wasted potential. I'm not saying he deserved to survive because he's secretly a saint. I just think he could have had interesting dynamics with Rafe or become an independent character outside of Carla. He could have remained a villain and still been worth exploring. Even then he didn't need to stay a villian. He could've had a similar character arc as shoupe, annoying and an antagonist in the pogues eyes but still semi useful when needed.

- I also think people can be weird about his looks. I'm not claiming everybody has to find him attractive, but he has a rugged, ordinary Southern-man look that I personally find appealing. Genuinely- he's like my exact time and I find him so fine but both the show (season 2 ep 4 "who was that creepy bastard?"- John B) and the fandom trest him like he's ugly.

I'm not saying Renfield is better written than Rafe or that everyone should like him. Rafe has far more screen time and development, so the comparison isn't one-to-one. I'm saying Renfield caught my attention, and I wish the show had done more with the character it introduced. It felt like they gave him all the plot points to be a good character and then gave him a quick death. His death to me almost feels like the Pates were in the writing room like "we have to get rid of this seasons villian before the coastal venture arc".

Anyway, I appear to be one of his approximately two fans, and I would like to know what other people think. Did anyone else find him interesting, or am I alone in this? I find him hot and because I am pathetic 18 year old girl who sees a hot man and thinks "I want to know everything about him", i have decided to put top much effort into a character that the show hasn't mentioned since season 2 back in 2021.

Did he just get left on that lighthouse tower when running from the cops ?

I was really worried about watching season 5 without JJ. I still miss him & am devastated. I’m only on episode 4, But Rafe, John B & Barry are hilarious this season! I was hoping to see more of Rafe with the pogues, cause to me he just doesn’t seem like a kook. He doesn’t belong there. I also love that he was all for John b robbing topper 😂 & when Barry came out with a gun saying seeing John b & Rafe together make him nervous I was dying. Rafes commentary so far is hilarious too!

I want to know what you thought of the way they ended the show.

I think kie could’ve been a great character but having her go from boy, a boy just makes her look bad. In the first couple seasons, she did not give a shit about JJ so then when all the rest of her chances failed with the other two guys, then she goes to him.

She did nothing to make his life better
In season two, she flipped off Luke just to make Luke mad. She was just kind of being a brat when it came to him and his family.
In season four he was miserable and she did nothing to help!

I like what someone said that JJ wouldn’t listen to Kiara’s rants about plastic in the ocean, and I agree!
I also really believe that Kiara should’ve been queer!

In season 5 they made it seem like she liked him the whole time. But she made her way around the group! “No pogue on pogue macking” THEN KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THEM!!
“Oh but JJ loved her since the beginning”
YA NO SHIT HE WAS A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD BOY!!! HE LIKED ANY GIRL THAT WOULD LOOK AT HIM FOR MORE THEN 10 SECONDS!!
He knew the door was closed!
I think it was all stupid!!

I like Keira as a character by herself..
I think JJ should’ve been with more forbidden love good girl.
I don’t know that’s what I think!
🦞🐓🚬🖕🤟🏻🤙🏻🧑🏻👩🏼👩🏽🧑🏼🧑🏾👩🏾👮🏼‍♂️🐊🪸🐚🌎🌊🎣🏄🏼🚤🏝️🌋🪎💵🔫🔪

I’m a first time watcher. I knew JJ was going to die. I’m inpatient & okay with things being spoiled for me, But I still wasn’t ready! Straight up ugly crying like I can’t breathe. JJ was one of the best characters in my opinion, definitely the most loyal. & for him to be killed by his dad just adds another layer of sadness to it.. Also, I loved rafe & sarah making up in this episode. The look on rafes face when she hugged him killed me. I actually loved him working with the pogues in my opinion he never fit in with the kooks, not really. & One thing rafe does is get’s shit done. When JJ was climbing the statue & rafe went & took out acouple of the people & he said that “I’m a killer too” I really just hope we see more of him teaming up with them in season 5.
Rip JJ 😭😭🙏🏻🙏🏻

genuinely i hate Kiara, she is so dumb and consistently does the dumbest things. are we supposed to think she’s bad ass?

It’s like they didn’t know what audience they were trying to write for. They wanted to keep it light hearted and violence free, but also carry weapons and deal with supposed “serious” people that could actually be threats. They spent the whole season running around just to end up essentially where they started. Since they need a happy ending they threw them some random prize from the first season to give them a feel good ending.

It was like a live action “beach life” Scooby Doo. They only thing Groff didn’t do was twist his mustache and laugh maniacally. I tried to suspend disbelief as my partner wanted to finish it out to see the ending but ended up hate watching it from episode 3 on.

When they were showing flashbacks of earlier seasons with Ward, JJ, etc it made be sad how far this show has fallen.

I’ll be real, the show reached its peak around S2. But after that, it was…just so dragged out and unnecessary.

So many of what the Pogues did, INCLUDING KIARA MOST OF ALL. Should have had them arrested/dead. The Crown ultimately meant nothing, and the little meteor glowing and showing Kie a glorified clip show of JJ’s best moments was just a giant middle finger.

Rafe going on the run with Sofia, while also just having him try to get past his psychotic behavior like it never happened, was just the writers being lazy with his character.

Groff dying was what needed to happen but…I’d have liked it for the whole gang to just surround him and take turns whooping his ass.

The only good thing about this whole season is the ending with the Pogues getting the gold and John B and Sarah getting married and raising their son (who I’m glad they named JJ)

I’m glad this show ended. It should have ended since S3.

In season 1 there’s a deleted scene with rose and Jj apparently. When he goes to deliver groceries with pope, the implication is that rose hit on him or something (ew) and that he made 100 bucks from it.

What got left in was Jj running to pope on that boat to tell him he wants to deliver the groceries every day with him because that was the easiest 100 he’s ever made.

I’m just confused, why keep that part in? Also the comment Jj made about rose in mid summers, why keep all that in if the original scene was cut? Feels a little sloppy.

Also it’s very interesting to me that they were planning on making rose a much worser character than she turned out to be. I wonder what other things didn’t make it.

The writers should’ve never gave into the Jiara ship, and let Cleo and JJ become a thing like they planned. I personally think Cleo and JJ made the most sense and never got the Jiara love train.

I say BOUNCING AROUND THE MOON. Has a tropical/stoner/psychedelic vibes....u can imagine JJ, John B, etc smoking a J or taking a tab

The woman was a dream I had
Though rather hard to keep
For when my eyes were watching hers
They closed, and I was still asleep
For when my hand was holding hers
She whispered words and I awoke
And faintly bouncing 'round the room
The echo of whomever spoke
And I awoke, and faintly bouncing 'round the room
The echo of whomever spoke
The place I sought was far beneath
The surface of the sea
My sight was poor, but I was sure
The sirens sang their song for me
They dance above me as I sink
I see them through a crystal haze
And hear the bouncing 'round the room
The never-ending coral maze
The crystal haze
And hear the bouncing 'round the room
The never-ending coral maze
Then before and now once more, I'm bouncing 'round the room

Amongst multiple questions… Anyone else curious as to where John B got an open face helmet?

So El dorado was made out the be the biggest quest, with way more gold than the royal merchant. But, the gold from the royal gold was like 400 million or something & the El dorado gold was only worth a million? Is this because they could only take so much with them? Surely they could go back.. Idk, it just feels a little disappointing.

John B forgave Sarah too fast for me, especially after everything they’d been through. But, Even if he was willing to forgive her that fast I’d NEED to know details! She told kie she just kissed topper, But when she told John B she said they “hooked up” so, did they have sex or just kiss. I really feel like that needed to be elaborated on, Especially because when she gave her first time to John B it was special. She admitted she had never been able to go that far with anyone. So, if she had sex with topper as John b I’d be wondering if what she said was even true.. & Topper absolutely didn’t fight back on purpose to play the victim. He deserved what he got & he also admitted he was going to get his lick back, But he was still going to be a p*ssy & press charges. 🙄 I hate topper more than anyone on this show. He plays the good guy, But he’s dangerous! Him burning down John b’s house with everyone in it including Sarah, he had NO IDEA if they’d get out! Men like that feel entitled to a women if they want them. He is absolutely the type of guy that would murder his girlfriend or wife. He doesn’t love Sarah, he hates that he feels like he LOST to John b. That he was with Sarah for how long & She starts hanging out with John b for acouple days & gives her virginity to him. Topper felt like that was owed to him & he hated that a pogue got it. Anyway just a big fuck you to topper! Also (I love Sarah, she is a ride or die! She was literally willing to go on the run with John b, was willing to die for him. She went through a lot. Felt alone, Because John b was dealing with his dad honestly being a pos. & dealing with the fact he was alive & he felt like he had to listen to his dad when it came to not telling her. She also lost everything, But she also knew SOMETHING was going on with John b. I’m just more disappointed in her. But, I know she truly loves John b & topper was a mistake. Topper took advantage of her while she was feeling lost & while she was under the influence.

This is just an opinion and what I’ve noticed. If you don’t agree that’s fine but I wanted to know if others felt the same.

One of my biggest pet peeves is how comfortable some people are at excluding Pope and Cleo when talking about the Pogues’ friendship dynamics and their importance to the overall story.

Starting with Pope: I understand that John B and JJ have a brother-like relationship, but I don’t understand why some people act as though Pope isn’t also one of John B’s best friends.
Pope literally abandoned his scholarship interview to help John B. That wasn’t just some random act of loyalty, either. By leaving, he helped John B figure out where the gold was, which stopped Ward from being able to also take Sarah to Nassau. If Pope hadn’t have done that, Sarah could have been stuck at least for a while, and John B wouldn’t have known where she or the gold was before it got handed over to the Swiss.
And it isn’t as though their friendship only matters when John B needs something. In season two, the entire group dropped everything to help Pope with the cross because they understood how important his family history and the treasure were to him. Pope’s connection to Denmark Tanny is also the one thing connecting the Pogues to all the treasure hunts post-S1.

I was surprised seeing discussions on TikTok questioning how he was the one who walked Sarah down the aisle. Would JJ have done it if he were alive? Sure. But why is it so difficult to believe Pope could have been the person Sarah wanted to walk her? She loved JJ but she also has a close relationship with Pope and Cleo.

Speaking of Cleo: The argument that Cleo was only introduced to be a love interest is a bit annoying.

When we met her in season two, she deliberately made Terrance wait for John B and Sarah, which contributed to them all losing the gold. When she reunited with them, she helped them escape the island. She also stepped up to help the group take control of the cargo ship despite working on it. Then in season three, she was one of the most helpful in finding Kiara.
I do wish the show had given us more scenes exploring Kiara and Cleo’s relationship. I think there was a lot of potential there, but regardless when discussing Cleo’s place in the group, I think everyone besides Pope is close to her. JJ is equally protective of Cleo, even though she is capable of taking care of herself. John B also clearly cares about her. He roots for Pope and Cleo’s relationship, looks out for her, and treats her as part of the group outside of Pope’s girlfriend.
Sarah and Cleo are pretty close, too, and seeing people on X questioning Cleo being a godmother to Sarah and John B’s baby is funny after all this and how protective she was while she was pregnant in S5.

I’m not saying Pope and Cleo need to be everyone’s favorite characters, or that people have to rank their friendships above the others. I just hate the exclusion and the frequent minimization of their contributions and relationships.

I once read someone say here (as perhaps a joke but still a theory nonetheless) that everybody died during the storm and what we saw after was heaven because everybody was too nice to each other and everything worked out too well for the pogues lol. Like it's a valid interpretation considering how Topper just apparently became a bartender. How did that happen?

Special award to the most popular one during the early seasons where Sarah and JJ were actually siblings. Would've been an interesting twist.

I understand the kooks beating the pogues when it comes to some of the “treasure hunts” They have more resources & money But, I’m tired of them being able to beat the pogues up, That makes no sense. They are rich pricks who’ve had everything handed to them. The pogues (most of them) have fought to survive. They should atleast be able to beat up the kooks, I mean fuck. 🙄

Don't get me wrong, I thought the finale was beautiful and seeing the montage of how everyone ended up was amazing. Seeing Pope and Cleo at Tannyhill was such a perfect full-circle moment for his family's history, and I loved seeing Heyward get his upgraded seafood restaurant. Sarah and John B rebuilding the Chateau (and finally getting central AC) was also great.

But because the show spent five seasons making the physical division of the island such a massive part of the story, I really wish we could have gotten an extensive, sweeping look at the new downtown Kildare County.

With all that Royal Merchant gold injected into the local economy, it would have been so cool to see a proper overview or a continuous tracking shot of the new downtown area. I wanted to actually see how the Pogues completely reshaped the community and what the new "Paradise on Earth" looks like as a whole. Anyone else feel the same way?

Not related to obx but omg I've never seen drew going public in any of his rlsp. Even with odessa it was quite ambiguous.