What episode does John B and Sarah kiss in the bell tower?

Photo: NETFLIX ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

Netflix’s Outer Banks was the perfect springtime escape. The series took us far away from our quarantine blues and let us bask in the sunny, sweltering, steamy world of the Pogues. Months later, the show is still obsession-worthy thanks to the fact that the Netflix series served up one of the most romantic scenes on television in 2020. Without a doubt, John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah’s (Madelyn Cline) swoon-y Episode 4 kiss in the summer rain is the romantic event of the year so far.

Outer Banks is an original teen drama set in the class-divided world of North Carolina’s OBX. John B and his friends, the Pogues, spend their summer days dodging trouble and hunting for fun. It’s a past time that leads the teens right into the middle of a treacherous treasure hunt. However fate also intervenes to put John B into the orbit of privileged pretty girl Sarah. John B works for her father and his friends dodge her bullying boyfriend, but the two sun-kissed adolescents can’t help but to feel a connection. And it’s that chemistry that boils into a swoon-worthy explosion at the end of Outer Banks Episode 4.

By this point in Outer Banks, John B believes his beloved father disappeared after stumbling upon the massive missing treasure of the Royal Merchant. Hunted by mercenaries after the treasure and close to finding clues to its whereabouts himself, John B finds himself at the mercy of Sarah, who helps him evade his pursuers. The bored Sarah decides to help John B and travels with him via ferry to Chapel Hill, where they can use her father’s alumni status to access important documents to the treasure hunt. However, the treasure hunting trip turns into a delightful opportunity for the two to connect. They sweat their asses off in a boiler room, play the part of preps in a fancy store, and invent spy nicknames for each other. By the time they have to say goodbye, in the middle of a summer storm, they are declaring their newfound love for each other.

What’s incredible about this episode — and what makes the whole romance noteworthy — is the chemistry between actors Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline. Putting the contemporary knowledge that the two are now an Instagram official couple aside, John B and Sarah’s romance heats up at a surprisingly fast clip. In fact, at the start of Outer Banks, all evidence suggests that John B is destined to hook up with fellow Pogue Kiara (Madison Bailey). Though the two have an awkward flirtation, they agree to be friends. And almost immediately, John B and Sarah fall fast and hard for each other in a way that feels so organic, it reminded me more of when the Gossip Girl writers quickly paired Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) together. That is, the romance wasn’t in the plans, but the actors’ chemistry was so undeniable, you had to just let it happen.

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So it is in Outer Banks Episode 4. In fact, the whole episode just feels like a showcase for Stokes and Cline’s incandescently radiant attraction for one another. So much so, when the episode climaxes with them both seemingly disavowing their social groups to make out hot and heavy on a crowded dock, it feels like fireworks are going off. They admit their romance is moving at a ridiculously fast pace, but they agree to just embrace it. Because of this, Outer Banks pulls viewers into the heady undertow of John B and Sarah’s passion for each other early in its freshman season. Rather than circle around these two, wasting time, we get right to the drunken rush of teen love.

Outer Banks Episode 4 is still, hands down, the most romantic thing to happen on TV in 2020. Sure, I May Destroy You offers a strong contender for the crown with Episode 3’s “blood clot scene,” but it’s a “blood clot scene.” Outer Banks lets its hero and heroine indulge in the tried and true cinematic trope of a forbidden kiss in the hot summer rain. However, John B and Sarah’s big kiss doesn’t feel like a cliché but instead a classic romantic gesture that will never go out of style.

Watch Outer Banks on Netflix

Tags

• Chase Stokes
• Netflix
• Outer Banks