Outer Banks season 3 ending explained

Outer Banks season 3 spoilers follow

Outer Banks' third season can only be described as wild, capped off with a feature-length finale that is packed with drama.

The search for John B's father Big John finally comes to an end, as does the Pogues' hunt for El Dorado, the Venezuelan city of gold. Of course nothing runs smoothly and not everyone makes it out alive.

There are double deaths, shootings and new beginnings to wrap your head around, so let's get cracking and find out what happened at the end of Outer Banks season three.

Outer Banks season three ending explained

It feels unfair to jump straight to the conclusion without a little context because boy was there a lot going in that last episode. We couldn't possibly throw you in the deep end without a float. So here it goes.

John B (Chase Stokes) and co finally make it to the Orinoco basin thanks to Ward (Charles Esten) and his private jet, but don't think for a minute that means that John B has begun to trust him.

John lays out his plan of action out of Ward's earshot, including his intention to seek out a man called Jose in Tres Rocas before going to Solana, an archaeological site.

Despite his best efforts the untrustworthy Ward is in fact listening in on everything John is saying, which doesn't bode well.

Meanwhile Kie (Madison Bailey) and JJ (Rudy Pankow) also arrive in South America with the help of the drug smuggler Barracuda Mike. They, too, head to Tres Rocas and eventually catch up with the gang.

Sarah (Madelyn Cline) and John B have managed to help Big John escape from captivity but this has put them directly in Carlos Singh's firing line. Carlos sets his men on them to search the village for Big John.

Once safe, Big John admits to them that he can't translate the Gnomon, however he reveals the Denmark Tanny letter with a bonus translation key, which is literally a gamechanger.

With this new information to hand they find the tour guide Jose at the river. Unfortunately Ward also had the same idea of seeking out Jose and, with Singh's men close behind, they are forced to let him tag along so as not to waste time.

At El Tesoro Ward is too weak to join them in the hike and so suggests he waits behind to warn them of Singh's arrival.

Deep in the jungle John B and co. locate the Gnomon idol and, through the moonlight, Gnomon idol clicks into place revealing the rare clues. Clues which lead to riddles they must now solve.

Teamwork, however, is not their strong point as Big John doesn't trust his daughter-in-law Sarah, who also happens to be Ward's daughter. Big John doesn't share the answers but does help them find El Dorado.

However, Singh appears just in time to scupper their plans when he receives the next clue. It is revealed Ward has been working with Singh and has sold Sarah and John B out by disclosing their location.

Big John remains steadfast in his decision to not translate the secrets of the Gnomon even when John B's life is threatened, which results in a shootout. Big John is shot but they manage to escape.

Ward tries heavy-handedly to persuade Sarah to join him on the dark side but she makes her loyalties starkly clear by firing a bullet in his direction.

Big John finally shares what he's learned from the Gnomon clues as they arrive at the cave. Too injured to go ahead, John B and Sarah go on without him. After some false starts they eventually make it to El Dorado, except it's not as they imagined.

The city of gold is more like hunks of gold studded throughout. It'll do though, as Sarah and John collect the gold and head on out. Unsurprisingly Singh has tracked them down by following Big John's bloody trail.

They hand the gold over to him (being held at gunpoint can be very persuasive) and he orders Big John to come out of hiding, which he does – but he's not unarmed. A stick of dynamite in hand, Big John threatens to set it off unless Singh lets his son go.

Singh refuses and Big John follows through on his words by tossing the lit dynamite.

In the kerfuffle both Johns and Sarah escape with their gold. Singh tries and fails to extinguish the dynamite and an explosion ricochets through the jungle.

There's no time to celebrate their massive win though as Ward turns up with a gun intent on taking their loot. His attack, however, is interrupted by JJ and the others, who are wielding machetes.

Ward is at the end of a losing battle when Sarah takes her father's gun to prevent anyone from being shot.

Outer Banks, being Outer Banks, throws in yet another twist when Singh's second-in-command Ryan (Lou Ferrigno Jr) also shows up to pinch the gold.

John B is about to surrender but it's not enough for Ryan, who wants payback for those who he has lost in the struggle with the Pogues.

He attempts to shoot Sarah first but Ward intervenes. He jumps in front of his daughter, taking an onslaught of bullets in her place before pushing Ryan off a cliff.

She isn't the only one to lose a parent on this quest as Big John sadly bleeds out from his earlier wounds. The two are buried side by side in the rainforest.

How Outer Banks' season 3 ending sets up season 4

The final moments of the episode are an eighteen-month flash-forward. Initially it seems that the teens' lives have settled down.

Sarah and John B have bought their surf shop, Kie is busy saving turtles, Pope is studying and JJ bought the charter boat.

It's all blissfully calm until a stranger arrives ready to shake things up in their lives.

The older man hands them the promise of a new quest in the form of a manuscript, the captain's log of Blackbeard, the pirate. John B's smirk says it all. There are new adventures to be had and he is well up for it.