TV

Outer Banks stars discuss welcoming a new Pogue in the season 2 finale

Plus, watch Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, and Jonathan Daviss unpack all those finale spoilers.

By

Sydney Bucksbaum

Published on July 31, 2021 11:00AM EDT

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season 2 finale of Outer Banks.

If the Pogues are currently accepting new members, where do we submit an application to join this tight-knit group of gold-hunting BFFs? We kid, we kid (except kind of not…). But Outer Banks did welcome a new Pogue into the group by the end of the season 2 finale, and the stars are already loving what she's bringing to the table.

Outer Banks dialed up the high-stakes action in its sophomore season (now streaming on Netflix), ending with the Pogues stranded on a desert island after losing the Royal Merchant gold and the giant gold cross that Denmark Tanny left for his descendants — including Pope (Jonathan Daviss) — as Ward (Charles Esten) and Rafe (Drew Starkey) stole the loot. You might think that would leave John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), and Pope feeling pretty defeated, but nope! They're alive, together, and living on an island all to themselves, plus they've got a new member in Cleo (Carlacia Grant) — not bad if you take into account how many times they almost died (and even did once!) this season.

After first meeting John B and Sarah in the Bahamas at the start of season 2, Cleo became a close ally to the Pogues, eventually reuniting with them in the finale on the boat, helping them escape Ward and Rafe and almost getting them the cross. Now she's stuck with them on the island, and it's clear that she's officially part of the Pogues for whatever adventure they set on next.

"It'll be a really cool dynamic to see, because the Pogues is kind of an abstract idea anyway, it's a very broad group of people," Bailey tells EW. "The Outer Banks Pogues have really been established, and it's really going to be cool to see what are Pogues like in other places, and wow, we really have so much in common. Now we're meeting Pogues internationally, and that's a cool dynamic. International Pogues!"

Stokes is excited to see how Cleo's many skills help the Pogues in their treasure-hunting journey. "She has so many assets for the Pogues that so many of us wish we could do. It'll be interesting to see where it goes," he says. "We kind of really don't know her and we've embraced her pretty quickly in this group of the five of us, so what does this new dynamic bring? What does her background that we don't know, how does that play into this next chapter? But I think she brings a lot of flair that throws them off, and I think it's much needed for all the Pogues to see somebody who can put them in their position and keep them in their place. I'm excited."

Daviss loved working with new cast member Grant, especially filming their big fight scene in the season 2 finale when they didn't realize they were on the same side. "She does bring a fire and definitely a different type of street knowledge as a character who grew up in the Bahamas and is moving from place to place and exemplifies the Pogue life," he says. "You're ready to start knowing more about her origins, what drives her, and the more you know about her, the more you sympathize with her. Her becoming part of the Pogues and adding to this dynamic, she fits that crazy, 'I go head first, we're all in this together' [attitude]."

Pankow agrees, adding that Cleo definitely levels up the Pogues — to the point where he could see her becoming the new leader of the group. "Pogues are survivors, and we survive in the Outer Banks, but Cleo on the other hand survives anywhere," he says. "And I think that street knowledge like J.D. was talking about, that flair, that, 'No, I know what do in this situation,' she has kind of an upper hand in quite a bit of things [and] that brings an interesting twist to the Pogues. She's going to kind of, I feel like, take charge. That's where I see her going."

Check out the video above to see what else the stars have to say about all those season 2 finale cliffhangers.

Read more from I Want My Teen TV, EW's summerlong celebration of teen shows past and present.

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