'Outer Banks' Season 4, Episode 5 Recap - What Happened In "Albatross"? (2024)

The Pogues are panicked at the start of Outer Banks Season 4, Episode 5. After the altercation between Terrance, Cleo, and Lightner, they are left with a dead body. Terrance is dead after Lightner killed him, and Deputy Shoupe is outside the house, wanting to speak to them.

In a moment of panic, JJ distracts Shoupe for as long as he can while his friends hide the body. The Deputy is looking into the cause of death of West Genrette, so he’s suspicious of the Pogues. (Of course, as usual, his suspicions seem light, but he puts surveillance on them anyway. I don’t think it helped that JJ looked sweaty and nervous).

Meanwhile, the unknown mercenaries who work under their captain, Dalia, celebrate getting the trinket. They plan to avenge Terrance’s death and head to Charleston, where Blackbeard’s Half Moon inscription is located, for their next find.

(Admittedly, I was unsure of Dalia’s accent).

Even under Shoupe’s surveillance, the Pogues manage to move Terrance’s dead body. For some strange reason, the surveillance team believes they are hoisting a big bag of oysters, which is absurd and silly, but I suppose the writers wrote themselves into a corner here. Cleo delivers a short but emotional eulogy on Terrance, who was like a father to her.

RIP Terrance.

Rafe Agrees To Work With Hollis

Rafe does not know it, but he’s getting manipulated into a wider conspiracy by Hollis (who also clearly wants to have sex with him). Rafe signed an agreement with Hollis to develop the property on Goat Island. In doing so, he rejects her sexual advances, which clearly makes her angry. But Rafe is all-in with Sofia.

After signing the agreement, Rafe apologizes to Sofia for the events in the previous episode, during which the Pogues and Kooks got heated.

(As a side note, is the rivalry between the Pogues and Kooks even necessary anymore? Seems a little immature now).

Rafe explains to Sofia that he wants to be like his father and make amends with her by his side after the Goat Island deal goes through. Sofia tells him not to do the deal, but it’s too late; he’s processed the wire transfer.

Of course, Sofia is why he went through with it in the first place after being manipulated by Hollis herself. She definitely acted hastily due to her feelings and situationship with Rafe. Hollis played them both.

JJ Finds His Father, Luke

Sometimes, what you are looking for is not too far away, and that’s the case for JJ when he is trying to find his father.

Adding a minor twist, Wes Genrette’s servant gives JJ an envelope passed on by the deceased Wes. After reading the letter, JJ suddenly needs to find his father, so he speaks to Barracuda to pass on a message.

JJ’s father, Luke, then rings him, but that’s when JJ realizes he’s nearby in Barracuda’s house. He’s been hiding from the police in the same town the whole time.

Luke has no option but to face his son, and he’s evasive about the letter from Wes Genrette. The letter mentions “Albatross,” which Wes claims will mean something to Luke, but again, he’s evasive.

Before they can discuss the letter even more, the police turn up, so JJ helps Luke escape.

(You have to feel sorry for JJ here, who has been coerced into helping his father, who could have literally given his son answers, and then gone into hiding again. However, as we know, by the end of the episode, Luke is evasive for a reason).

Trouble in Charleston

Anyway, there’s a Blackbeard mystery to unravel that’s apparently been cursing the Genrette family for years. Pope, John B, Sarah, and Cleo head to Charleston based on the coordinates that Pope worked out based on the Half Moon.

After spending all day looking for clues, Sarah finds the “North Star” as the side of the church, another point of reference in the map Pope dissected. They split up, as they needed to find the “Gatekeeper” based on the clue, “The Gatekeeper will provide the way.”

Sarah and Pope find a secret tunnel under the carpet in the church. They head down it and come across a basement filled with coffins. This leads them to a horrifying tunnel filled with rats, which makes Sarah panic (to be fair, at this point, I’d have reversed course).

Meanwhile, John B wanders the cemetery but then sees Lightner and Dalia. They are also looking for clues for the “gatekeeper.” They find the clue immediately on the grave of “Stede Bonnet.” They both head down to a hidden tomb. John B checks out the gravestone that says, “The gatekeeper will guide the way.”

Pope and Sarah find crypts after navigating the tunnels, but then they hear Lightner and Dalia, who appear to be far more prepared, as they find a three-hundred-year-old scroll that belonged to Sam Bellamy, Teach’s navigator.

While hiding, Sarah makes a slight squeal as a rat crosses her, which raises Lightner’s suspicion, but Dalia wants to keep moving and ignores the commotion.

The only problem is that Sarah and Pope are now trapped underground.

Back outside, Cleo gets caught by Lightner, but again, Dalia is not interested in fighting because they have what they need, so they run off. However, John B tracks them down and points a gun at both of them. However, flashes of his past come to him when he remembers his father shooting someone in cold blood, and so he hesitates. Lightner and Dalia get away.

(John B realized he did not want to become his father in this brief moment).

JJ Learns The Truth About His Parents

As we alluded to earlier in this recap, Luke was hesitant to tell JJ what he knew for a reason. After escaping, JJ presses him about the letter again, as Wes clearly implies there is a secret to be known.

Luke tells JJ that he’s not his blood father and that his real mother is Larissa Genrette, who died. Of course, this leads to JJ wondering who his father is, which Luke claims is obvious. JJ’s father is Chandler Groff, Larissa Genrette’s husband.

The episode ends by revealing that Chandler Groff and Hollis are working together on Goat Island in the suspicious property development deal.

And this marks the halfway point of Outer Banks Season 4, which comes with a significant twist for JJ. We have to feel sorry for him in Episode 5. His whole life has shifted. And while Luke is his father in a practical sense, he must feel like his whole life has been a lie.

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Half Moon and Blackbeard, but you can tell the series is dragging this a little to prop up a more comprehensive twist.

Poguelandia Whispers

Here are other notable moments in Outer Banks Season 4, Episode 5:

• John B talks to Sarah about having children in a cute moment for the couple. Sarah has to remind John B that she’s still young and that her biological clock is safe for now.
• Rafe and Kie talk, but Kiara is scared of him and holds a knife, ready to defend herself. He gives her a business card and asks her to give it to Sarah. He tells Kie that she did him wrong, but they are not enemies.