External Banks is a series with high stakes and soapy drama amid multiple treasure hunts. With all the dramatic stories, there’s a lot of room for emotions to run high, resulting in some great lines and memorable quotes from the cast of characters. The story itself revolves around a group of teenagers who often end up in danger while searching for lost treasure.
One of these teenagers is Kiara (Madison Bailey). Although Kiara is often one of the more level-headed members of the group, she is also not opposed to getting into situations and following her heart. This means that some of her best lines come in moments of great emotion and some reflect that she is the most logical person in the room.
“I’m a Pogue, Mom! Sorry!”
Season 2, Episode 3 “Prayers”
One of the main threads in Kiara’s story is her conflict with her parents. They never agree on their choices. Although her family is wealthy and Kiara was technically a Kook instead of a Pogue, she doesn’t claim that lifestyle. Instead, she prefers to live the Pogue life with her friends. She feels suffocated by the hypocrisy she sees among the other Freaks.
It’s a point of contention – especially with her mother, who doesn’t want Kiara to have difficulties in her life and constantly berates her for even the possibility of getting into trouble. Kiara’s choice to run away from home only brings more difficulties between them. Her parents end up sending her to a camp for troubled kids when Kiara can’t follow the rules to stay away from the Pogues, but that line is still the one that defines Kiara. She chooses to make her life her own.
“They think the same about me.”
Season 3, Episode 5 “Heists”
In fact, this is one of the few times in the series that Kiara gets fundamentally wrong information. When she says this line, it’s to JJ as she rides to help him get the stolen cross. It’s a response to JJ reassuring her that he already knows what her parents think of him when she tries to apologize for her father treating him so badly.
Kiara, however, doesn’t realize that they think exactly the opposite of her. They see JJ as a thief, a liar, and a bad influence. JJ steals, but usually not just for fun. Most of the time, it’s to survive. There are rare occasions when he steals because he is angry and stealing something. Kiara thinks her parents consider her untrustworthy, like JJ, but that’s not the case. They want to protect her from him and Pogue’s life.
This breakdown in understanding between Kiara and her parents is part of the reason why their relationship suffered so badly in season three.
“Of course you think the system works. Because it was designed to protect people like you.”
Season 2, Episode 5 “Darkest Hour”
When John B is wrongly accused of the murder of Sheriff Peterkin, Kiara knows the cards are stacked against her friend. He has no parents to fight for him, he has no money for a lawyer and he would rather die than end up in prison. She doesn’t understand how so many adults in town can believe that he would have shot the sheriff because a man said so.
This leads to many confrontations between Kiara and community members. As she is not afraid to point out, rich people who think John B is guilty have a safety net in the legal system that he does not. Another line from the same season 2 episode is “justice costs money”, because she knows the reality of the battle that John B faces. Kiara may have been raised like Kook, but her eyes are wide open to the divide between social classes in the Outer Banks.
“Maybe don’t compare my feelings to secretions?”
Season 1, Episode 5 “Midsummer”
When the show starts, Kiara and Sarah are not friends. They were when Kiara tried to embrace her life as a Kook before the events of the show began, but their friendship turned sour. In season one, Kiara is so upset at the idea of Sarah joining the Pogues on their treasure hunt that Pope catches her crying. His attempt to comfort her involves explaining that corpses secrete fluid from their eyes, just like tears.
It’s a scene that shows how awkward Pope can be when things get emotional. It’s not the only time he talks about dead bodies in the first season. Kiara is more awkward by the exchange than comforted, which may explain why the two never seem to fit in when they try out a relationship in Season 2. For all their feelings of caring for each other, Pope and Kiara don’t really understand each other.
“I’m not sorry I called the police.”
Season 1, Episode 6 “Instalment 9”
Before the events of the series, Kiara and Sarah were best friends. Sarah suddenly froze Kiara without any explanation, which she later admits is something she does when people get too close. It’s something she works on during the first season, when she finally finds the closeness she wants with the Pogues. Before that, however, Sarah despises Kiara by not inviting her to a big party, and the police are called, putting Sarah and her friends in trouble.
Sarah suspects that Kiara called them in revenge, but Kiara denies it until the two are trapped on a boat overnight together. While Sarah may continue to be furious about this, at this point, the two are too amused to remain mad at each other. Kiara’s admission is the first true repair of their friendship. While it was something that tore them apart before, it’s something they can laugh about here.
“Do you have any idea how special your son is?”
Season 2, Episode 2 “The Cross”
Each member of the Pogues has parental issues, which is part of the reason friends become family. Although there is tension between Kiara and her parents, they do not physically abuse her, unlike JJ’s father, or more accurately, the man who raised him. Kiara has seen the evidence of what Luke Maybank does to him, so she has no patience for the way he treats her son when she and JJ end up helping him escape the police.
Kiara, in a moment of pure anger, asks if he really knows how special JJ is. Although JJ and Kiara constantly bicker, they also become a formidable unit in their conflicts, so the exchange is rewarding for fans who know how much they care about each other. While Kiara may have briefly dated Pope and she cares about all the Pogues, it’s conversations like this that make it incredibly clear just how special JJ is to her.
“Don’t give them the satisfaction of thinking it worked.”
Season 1, Episode 6 “Instalment 9”
When John B first invites Sarah to join the Pogues’ treasure hunt, Kiara is furious. When group-wide meetings don’t work, the boys decide to take matters into their own hands. John B, JJ, and Pope decide to leave the two girls stranded on a boat in the middle of the swamp overnight so they are forced to talk to each other. The plan works, which really angers Kiara. They spend the night talking about what exactly went wrong in their friendship.
She doesn’t want to admit that the boys were right about her and Sarah just needing to talk. The girls agree to try and pretend they are still angry when they catch them, but this doesn’t last long. From their first attempt at pretending together, however, they form a united front on the Pogues, creating one of the best friendships in the series.
“We only have one Earth. We should give it one hundred percent at the very least.”
Season 1, Episode 1 “Pilot”
Kiara lectures her friends a lot about the unfairness of the legal system, the pay gap, and more. The one thing she never gives up on, however, is reminding people of the importance of the environment. It makes sense, considering how much time the Pogues spend in and around water, that the environment and the state of the planet would be high on their list of problems to solve.
This even comes up in surprising moments, like when she’s in a sewer to retrieve a gun for JJ and Pope and sees how much trash is being drained into the sea in season two. It’s also a summary of her character in season four. She is the one who tends the garden that the Pogues themselves cultivate for their store. She is also the first to notice the sea turtles hatching and heading to the ocean in season 4. The environment will always be a priority for her.
“Can’t you guys do anything without me?”
Season 1, Episode 6 “Instalment 9”
It’s pretty clear that if one person is missing from the Pogues, they won’t perform well. Each member of the group contributes to their plans, fun, and attempts to bring Ward Cameron (or another antagonist in later seasons) to justice. They are the glue that holds the group together. Although many fans consider Pope to be the smartest of the friends, Kiara brings the necessary level to her plans, but also a willingness to do things that boys don’t do.
Kiara is the one who jumps into the sewer when Pope and JJ are too scared to do so, even though they won’t admit it. She is also willing to steal her parents’ car when she is on bad terms with them. Without her, the group would have an even harder time than they already do in their perilous circumstances.
“It’s no coincidence that your daughter is sitting with us.”
Season 2, Episode 5 “Darkest Hour”
Kiara’s friends are terrified of the consequences of angering Ward Cameron in the first two seasons of the series. They don’t want him to go after them or put anyone in danger. Kiara doesn’t have the same fear, as her sense of justice motivates her. She wants Ward to pay for everything he did to her and her friends.
When John B is on trial, Sarah shows her support for him by making sure to sit with Kiara, JJ, and Pope in the courtroom. Even when Ward tries to talk to her, the Pogues do their best to keep Sarah away from him, but it’s Kiara who is willing to confront him. She makes it clear that she knows the truth, and so does Sarah.
While it’s a sign of how hot-headed Kiara can be when she cares about someone, it’s also a good way to show how close she and Sarah are again, as Kiara puts herself at risk for someone she hasn’t spoken to in months. . Kiara is always willing to stand between someone she loves and dangereven if it puts her in danger External Banks.