After barely escaping with a very important map from very bad people, the Pogues do something very Pogue-like in the first scene of Outer Banks season 4 episode 8, “Family Plot.” They – well, not Sarah – get high and try to decode the map to the Blue Crown at Poguelandia.
They probably should not have gone straight home, because Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) shows up a few hours later. He begs for help, and JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow), the kind man that he is, tries to help him.
Groff reveals that they are now in possession of the Mogador scroll, a map, but he warns them that the Lupine Corsairs are very bad mercenaries. They will not let this go. Now, the Pogues are in grave danger.
Groff also tells them a story about the Blue Crown and how it came into the possession of Murad, a pirate. He also tells them a story about the Blue Crown, what it is, and what it can be used for. He reveals that he’s also looking for the Blue Crown, and he shares how Elizabeth Teach found the scroll, took the map, and wondered about the vault in the desert with the Blue Crown in Morocco. She and Blackbeard never got the chance to find if it was real.
Groff also shares that the lens to view the map is in Larissa’s grave! What the hell, man.
Captain Dalia kills the crew member who lost the scroll
Back with the Captain (Pollyanna McIntosh) and Lightner (Rigo Sanchez), the crew kills someone named Samir for losing the scroll. The Captain has a plan, but first, they get the boat ready to sail away. This is not so great for the Pogues!
I don’t trust Groff at all, but I definitely believe Groff when he says that the Lupine Corsairs are coming for the Pogues.
Pope’s dad tries to convince Pope to enlist in the military
Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) wake up to his father knocking on the door. Heyward (E. Roger Mitchell) tries to convince Pope that he needs to enlist immediately to convince the judge he’s on the right path. Heyward also points out that Cleo can’t stay with them, but that isn’t what Pope wants to do.
Pope looks stressed, man, and I don’t envy him. What is a Pogue to do?
Sarah tells John B that she is pregnant
Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) finally breaks the news to John B that she’s pregnant while he’s in the middle of looking over the map and planning their little trip to Morocco. She tells him that she’s very scared, but John B tells her that it’s going to be okay and that they’ll figure it out like always.
I don’t know if I love this pregnancy storyline, but we’ll keep it moving.
Meanwhile, JJ tells Kiara (Madison Bailey) about how everything went down. She asks if Groff really is his dad, and JJ admits that he thinks Chandler is really his dad, which is pretty disturbing given everything that’s happening.
It appears Groff is going to double-cross the Pogues and steal the scroll, and they do not see it coming at all.
Pope runs away before he enlists in the military
Pope has a big decision to make, but he’s not sure it’s right. In the morning, Cleo sneaks out of his room, and they say a goodbye of sorts. It’s quite the exit, honestly.
We know these two aren’t going to be separated for too long!
Later, Pope goes with his uncle and father to enlist in the military, but he has a panic attack right before he signs the papers to enlist. And, he runs away as fast as he can, but the ankle monitor sends his location to the cops. Who knows how he’s going to get away from this one? But, we know he will!
JJ and Chandler go to Larissa’s grave together
Meanwhile, JJ and Chandler go on a little son-father mission to find this lens for viewing the map. During the trip, Groff uses his past as a Pogue to get a little closer to JJ, and it’s devastating knowing what’s coming. Groff is going to break his heart, of course.
They break into Larissa’s tomb, but it’s a setup, of course. Groff calls the Sheriff on JJ while they wait. Inside the tomb, JJ and Groff open Larissa’s casket, but Groff claims he can’t do it. When JJ opens the casket, he takes the necklace. JJ asks how Larissa died, and Groff says that she drowned. There’s something wrong here. I wonder if that’s actually Larissa’s body and if she’s even dead.
Groff tries to take the necklace from JJ, but then, he gives it back to him. The sheriff's deputy is there, but Groff takes the necklace and locks him in the tomb.
Groff kills Hollis
Groff leaves JJ locked in the tomb while he steals the Twinkie. Groff, then, returns to Poguelandia where he steals the scroll. Now, he has the lens to read the map.
Kiara sees him and confronts him. Groff knocks her out and locks her in the refrigerator at Poguelandia. What is going on?
Groff, then, goes to pick up JJ from the tomb before making one more stop at Hollis’s. Groff tries to get Rafe’s money from Hollis (Brianna Brown). He lied to her about Goat Island. He tries to steal Rafe’s money from Hollis, but she pulls a gun on him. She knows that he is lying about where he was the night Wes was murdered, too. He’s been lying the whole time, and she’s going to turn him in.
Groff distracts her, steals the gun, and kills Hollis before leaving with the money. He also steals the keys to her yacht, and plants the gun in the Twinkie, framing JJ and the Pogues before he leaves with JJ in the yacht. This is not good, not good at all. JJ never went inside, so he has no idea who his father is or what he’s capable of doing right now.
Sarah and John B try to get legally married
While this is going on, Sarah and John B try to get married, but the office is closed because of the damage the rioters did to the town. Kelce (Deion Smith) and Ruthie (Mia Challis), Topper’s girlfriend, show up and try to fight Sarah and John B while they’re out looking for JJ. It’s so weird! Cleo pops the tires on Kelce’s truck, and they run through town until they find Pope, who is on the run.
An officer finds what he thinks is Pope and the Pogues in a boat house, but somehow, they take the ankle bracelet off with some tree clippers before stealing a boat. They’re on the run again!
Luckily, they return to Poguelandia and find Kie in the fridge! She tells them what happened, and they try to find JJ to warn him.
Rafe reports Chandler Groff for stealing $400K
In town, Rafe Cameron (Drew Starkey) shows up at the Sherriff’s Office and presses charges against Chandler Groff and Hollis Robinson for stealing nearly half a million dollars.
Sheriff Shoupe (Callum Moss) hears the report and realizes that Groff is actually responsible for killing Wes Genrette (David Jensen). Hollis was Groff’s alibi. Finally, Shoupe has figured this thing out after years of practice.
Unfortunately, it’s just a little bit too late.
The Pogues rescue JJ after Groff tries to kill him
Groff takes JJ out in the ocean to talk about the map and lens. They now know where the Blue Crown is. He tries to convince JJ to come with him to Morocco, but JJ knows what’s up. He knows that Groff is lying, and he calls him out.
JJ knows that Groff killed Larissa, but we see in the flashback that Groff actually killed her. He pushes JJ off the boat, and JJ cuts himself on the anchor. Groff leaves him stranded in the middle of the ocean while he leaves in the boat.
It’s a devastating scene that we all saw coming since Groff got involved. JJ is let down again and again by those closest to him, outside of the Pogues.
Luckily, the Pogues, his REAL family, save JJ, who, by now, is floating on his back in the middle of the ocean.
That night, JJ blames himself for what Groff did. It’s not a great look, but JJ was being manipulated. Hopefully, he doesn’t do the JJ thing again.
In the final scene of the episode, John B and Sarah are lying on the dock looking at the stars. John B tells her that he’s ready to take care of her and their family. They make a deal to go after this Blue Crown thing before they settle down, but Sarah says that she’s scared.
What another great episode. We’ve only got two more to go. On to the penultimate episode of Outer Banks season 4, “The Storm.”