The third season of Outer Banks continues the tale of friendship and treasure hunting from everyone’s favorite group of friends, the Pogues. After being rescued from Poguelandia, plenty more thrills and dangerous situations occur as they try to uncover the secrets of an ancient artifact. However, hunting down the fortune of this ancient artifact has come with grave costs to the individuals involved, with more than one character having lost their life along the way. Here’s everyone who’s died during Outer Banks Season 3 and what their deaths may mean for the future.
***Spoilers for Outer Banks Season 3 Below***
Which Characters Are Dead in Outer Banks Season 3?
Multiple characters have lost their lives during Outer Banks Season 3. These characters include a mix of allies to the Pogues, antagonists, and even a couple of major characters that have left viewers in shock. Here’s a complete breakdown of every character who lost their lives during the third season of Outer Banks and their role in the story.
Jimmy Portis
Jimmy Portis is the pilot who rescued the Pogues from Poguelandia after a month of being stranded on the island. Despite seeming like a friendly face, it was quickly noticed by the untrusting Pogues that Portis appeared to be working for someone out to get them, with the group initially believing it to be Ward.
After Kie saves his life following his plane crash landing into the harbor, Portis indicates that he is working for someone very terrifying and powerful but promises that he will try to help Kie escape back to her friends. However, this promise doesn’t work out, as a few of Carlos Singh’s many guys notice Portis’ situation and report back to their boss. Not much later, while being held on his property, Kie witnesses Carlos execute Portis in cold blood, proving just how ruthless and dangerous of an individual he is.
Professor Tommy Sowell
Professor Tommy Sowell is Big John Routledge’s old mentor and a professor who has spent much time studying the mysteries regarding the treasure of El Dorado. After John B and Big John reunite and decide to chase El Dorado’s fortune, they stop by Professor Sowell’s house for a visit to gather more information regarding the rumored location.
Professor Tommy makes quite a quirky and paranoid first impression. Unfortunately, his time on-screen doesn’t last long enough to develop his character beyond this. Only a few brief minutes after John B and Big John begin discussing details with him, a group of Carlos Singh’s men appears and kills him with a poisoned blow dart.
Ryan
Ryan is a significant antagonist operating as Carlos Singh’s first-in-line / right-hand man throughout the third season of Outer Banks. Ryan faces off against John B and the rest of the Pogues on numerous occasions in attempts to capture them and bring them to Carlos, as well as stop them from uncovering the secrets of El Dorado before his boss.
Following the explosion that killed his boss Carlos Singh, Ryan acts out of impulse and revenge and tries to stop Ward, Big John, and the Pogues from escaping with the only remaining portion of treasure from El Dorado’s lost city of gold. Aiming to force them to turn it over to him instead, Ryan moves towards shooting Sarah. However, before he causes her any harm, Ward hurls himself at Ryan, sending them both tumbling off a cliff.
Carlos Singh
From his very first moment on-screen, Carlos Singh made two things clear: that he was a very intimidating and cruel man and that nothing would get in the way of him discovering the lost treasure of El Dorado. Carlos has kidnapped and killed off multiple people along the way and saw people as nothing other than pawns to the game of his master plan. There was nobody he didn’t see as expendable, so he’s perhaps the most fearsome antagonist the Pogues have gone up against yet.
Fortunately, in the proper fashion of karma, Carlos’ negative actions and greed eventually caught up with him. After cornering Big John, Sarah, and John B after they make their discovery of the treasure, a very threatening confrontation occurs. This results in Big John throwing an explosive at the only entrance to El Dorado’s lost city of gold, causing the entire cave to collapse immediately. While John B, Sarah, and Big John barely make it out before the explosion, Carlos’ fixation on the treasure results in him failing to exit the cave in time and presumably being buried in the rubble.
Ward Cameron
Ward Cameron has been the ultimate thorn in the side of the Pogues since their adventures first began. Consumed by greed and ill-intention, Ward has tricked, manipulated, and harmed countless people, all in the name of protecting his treasure, himself, and his family.
Ward’s actions have been extremely troubling. Not only has he continued to blatantly ignore severe red flags about his son Rafe’s mental state, but he also threw away his relationship with his eldest daughter, Sarah. This has been particularly toxic, with Ward separating Sarah from her little sister to punish her and even attempting to kill her, all over some treasure and the fact that she chose the Pogues over him.
However, one thing that has been made clear in Ward’s season 3 journey is that these actions have been haunting him and that despite being an antagonistic person, he holds a lot of shame and guilt for the things he’s done to Sarah.
Just as it seemed like Ward was setting up the Pogues to trick and manipulate them for his gain yet again, the whole situation with Ryan occurred. Noticing he was making a move to shoot Sarah, Ward saw his moment for redemption, and shared a knowing smile with his daughter before charging at Ryan, taking multiple shots to the chest and abdomen as he charged the two of them off a cliff.
This was a surprisingly heroic action and perhaps the first truly good thing Ward has done in a long time. It’s only a shame that things had to happen before Ward and Sarah got any chance to fix their relationship, as that seemed to be something that Sarah was secretly hoping for, despite the messiness of the situation.
Big John Routledge
Easily the most saddening death of the season is that of none other than Big John Routledge, John B’s father. Of course, until this season, John B had already believed his father to be dead. So, when the father and son duo finally found each other again, it was a touching moment that gave a glimmer of hope to John B that his dad could return to his life and be a permanent part of it again.
Unfortunately, rather than focusing on rebuilding their relationship, Big John was obsessed with the treasure of El Dorado, refusing even to sit and have a proper conversation with John B for the most part. Despite their relationship being on rocky terms since Big John’s return, the two did manage to bond through their adventure in pursuit of treasure. Big John was also very clearly proud of his son when he revealed the bag of gold he had managed to escape with when the cave holding El Dorado’s loot was blown apart by an explosive.
Unfortunately, Big John had been wounded by Carlos Singh and his men before they reached the cave. With the cave collapsing and him having pushed himself beyond his limits, Big John finally started to succumb to his wounds and passed out just after Ward Cameron took out Ryan to save the Pogues. John B and his friends manage to drag Big John onto the boat and begin making a plan of action to get him to safety, but it’s here that things start to look grim for the treasure-hunting Pogue father.
It’s here that Big John has the first real, emotional conversation with John B since their reunion. He states how proud he is of the young Pogue and that he is the best son any man could hope for, finally expressing his love. These are some of Big John’s final words as he succumbs to his wounds and passes away among the comfort and safe space of the Pogues, passing the treasure-hunting torch over to John B for good.
What Do These Deaths Mean For Outer Banks Season 4? Explained
With so many deaths occurring throughout Season 3, it’s safe to assume that things will certainly be altered in the future of Outer Banks, especially with major links to the story such as Ward and Big John having passed away.
Big John’s death hit hard for John B, with his father being ripped away so soon after finally returning to his life. While he seems to hold some sense of resentment towards the fact that his father never made contact in the time he was presumed dead, John B admitted that he learned a lot from him in the short time that they were together again and that he had much more in common with the obsessive treasure-seeker than he initially believed. This indicates that John B shows no signs of giving up treasure hunting any time soon, despite having the gold to support him financially and allow himself to set up a stable life.
This makes a lot of sense, as the more Season 3 unraveled, the more John B seemed to obsess over treasure, much like his father. Furthermore, at the end of the season finale, the Pogues were introduced to a mystery individual who shared a treasure-hunting proposal with them with links to Edward Teach, Captain Blackbeard himself. It seems hard to believe John B could resist this chance, so we’ll likely see the Pogues set out on yet another dangerous adventure in pursuit of treasure during Season 4.
As for Ward and Sarah Cameron, it seems that Ward is likely gone for good. However, some viewers have taken to Twitter to discuss theories around his survival as, because the Pogues were never seen checking his body on-screen, he somehow could have survived the multiple bullet wounds and fall. While this is nothing more than speculation, Ward has always been that annoying little insect that refuses to die to the Pogues, so I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he defied the odds and popped back up to stir up some drama between Sarah and John B at a later date.
That’s everything you need to know about who dies during Outer Banks Season 3. For more helpful guides, lists, and news, check out the rest of our content. We have a variety of entertaining and interesting posts about all of your favorite shows, including Outer Banks, so feel free to scroll down and have a look at the related links below, or perhaps take our personality quiz to find out which Outer Banks character you are.
