Warning: The following contains spoilers from The Outer Banks Season 4, Part 1.
Outer Banks Season 4 introduces a character who could unleash the worst Tapper’s show yet. The new season picks up on John B, Sarah, Pope, JJ, Kiara and Cleo after they found El Dorado at the end of Outer Banks Season 3. Now the team is back on another hunt, searching for Blackboard’s treasure. As in past seasons, the search for the treasure is front and center, give the Outer Banks Characters plenty of dangers to overcome. However, adding an extra layer of difficulty is the unrelenting battle between Kooks and Pogues, who represent a greater threat than ever.
Outer Banks Season 4 Part 1 takes the show back to its earlier seasons, where violence against the Pogues was often taken to the extreme. In Season 3, Tapper (Austin North) became borderline murderous after Sarah (Madeline Kline) convinced him to drop the charges on John B. His actions then and now show that, while he may have given up his pursuit of Sarah, that doesn’t mean he’s done with the Pogues. Season 4 just paired Tapper with a new character who is much more brutalAnd who will stop at nothing to harm the Pogues.
Ruthie is even crueler to the Pogues than Top in Outer Banks Season 4
Ruthie’s classist hatred brings out the worst in Outer Banks season 4 taper
After season 3 of Outer Banks Pushing the Cox vs. Pogues fight to the side, season 4 brings it back with double the force. Not much is known about her character, however Ruthie (Mia Challis) has already become the cruel look Outer Banks has seen. Tapper has always represented the worst of Kook, but he often needs someone to push him over the edge. Rafe was the character, but now Ruthie is taking over. In season 4, she takes Tapper’s resentment further than ever.
Unlike Tapper, Ruthie seems to have no qualms about hurting the Pogues. Although he may have personal reasons against them, Ruthie is driven by classist hatred. She urges Tapper on because she believes the pogues don’t belong in the Outer Banks and is bothered by their presence, which she considers worse. Not only that, but she’s also dangerously entitled and slyly smart.
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After JJ frustrates Tapper’s surfing, Ruthie tries to run over the Pogues with her truck – an exaggerated response to a minor tease. Her motivation is, as she expresses it, to “Show them whose beach it is.” Then, when Key confronts them about killing a baby turtle, Ruthie turns the situation against the Pogues by getting them to become violent and then take it to the police. Tapper and Ruthie together is a recipe for disaster, as She threatens to bring back season 1 topperWhich was all the impetus and justification.
Ruthie makes Tapper’s redemption more difficult to achieve in the Outer Banks
Tapper will have to choose between being an enemy or an ally in the Outer Banks
Season 1 saw the worst of Tapper. Not only did he beat and try to drown John B at the beach, but he came very close to choking Pope as well. Tapper’s worst acts of violence happened even before he had any idea about Sarah and John B, and illustrates how dangerous the character’s classist superiority was. To win Sarah back, Tapper toned down his violence against the PoguesEven coming very close to redemption when, in season 3, he helped the group steal a box they thought contained the cross of Santo Domingo.
At one point, Tapper seemed remorseful about his past behavior. The Outer Banks Season 4 Part 1 ends, however, Tapper looks back at his early ways, perhaps with a stronger determination than ever to frustrate the Pogues’ peace. Whether he will give in to his and Ruthie’s worst impulses, or stop them while it is possible, remains to be seen. He clearly didn’t want to run over Kea at the beach but went along with the social pressure.
If Tapper follows in Rafe’s footsteps and not Ruthie’s, he could potentially be set on a redemption arc.
The character is at a crossroads, and Ruthie is the one who drew him to a path of no return. Perhaps setting fire to John B’s chateau was only the beginning of Tupper’s fall from grace Outer BanksOr maybe the character will finally be able to let go of his anger now that John B and Sarah are officially endgame. One thing is for sure, if Tapper follows Rafe’s footsteps and not Ruthie’s, he could potentially be set on a redemption arc.