Fans of Outer Banks immediately fell in love with the Pogues, hated the Kooks, and rooted for John B and Sarah's forbidden romance. Throughout the entire season, the audience learn more about the main cast of characters which works in the favor of some but against others.
Viewers realized that some characters are less likable than others, especially those who seemed to have good intentions at first. With a second season coming soon, it is interesting to look back on characters' actions in season 1 and hope that they develop and grow in the episodes to come.
Ward Cameron
Ward Cameron is definitely the most unlikeable character of Outer Banks. At first, he seems like a supportive member of the community who is looking out for his kids and even John B after his father disappears. That perception of him changes completely once he wants the gold for himself. His greed leads him to murder two men, frame John B for stabbing him, and lie that John B murdered the town Sheriff.
Overall he does not have redeemable qualities. While some may be able to argue he does everything for his family, that does not hold true with the way that he treats his children, especially Rafe.
Rafe
Rafe is troubled from the start of the show. He is in debt to the local drug dealer and not there for his family. He has an unwarranted hatred towards the Pogues and a vendetta against Pope in particular. Everything bad about Rafe seems to stem from his relationship with his father.
Ward making him feel like a disappointment does not excuse his actions later in the season, particularly when he shoots the sheriff to protect his father from getting caught fleeing the island. Rafe also helps spread the lie that John B killed the sheriff, even going as far as telling his younger sister about it.
Topper
Topper is extremely aggressive towards the Pogues from the start of the show. He literally almost drowns John B and mocks his father's disappearance while doing so. He is clearly hot-headed with a short fuse and that makes him an extremely unpredictable character.
One of the most unexpected moves from him is when he pushes John B off the top of a tower due to him being jealous of his and Sarah's new relationship. While his anger is slightly understandable since Sarah cheated on him, how he expresses that anger is completely unjustified. He comes across aggressive and misogynistic towards Sarah while they are together as well. Later on in the series, he is slightly redeemed when he helps John B and Sarah escape by disguising himself as John B. It would be interesting to see if he is able to grow more in the second season.
Sarah Cameron
Sarah Cameron is the princess of the Kooks. While one of the most popular girls, she proves more open than the other rich kids on the island. She turns a blind eye when John B "borrows" scuba gear from her dad's boat and helps him when he gets injured while running away from Child Protective Services. She is completely on board to help John B and the Pogues despite her past differences with Kiara as well.
Sarah does have a few moments that do not put her in the best light. One of the biggest being that she cheats on Topper with John B. Her younger sister warning Topper that Sarah would cheat on him shows that this is maybe a pattern that she has amongst her romantic relationships. However, Sarah remains one of the characters that does have the best interest of the Pogues in mind and wants to keep them safe.
Sheriff Peterkin
Sheriff Peterkin is one of the view adults on the show who actually has the community's best interest in mind. She is looking out for John B after his dad disappears and genuinely cares about him not ending up in foster care. Despite everyone else on the show being obsessed with money and the Royal Merchant, Sheriff Peterkin only cares about what is right.
She may be harsh on the Pogues but she has to be in order to protect them. There are times when she crosses the line, like showing JJ images of the men found dead who were going after the Royal Merchant. It is a hard line for her to walk throughout the show, but ultimately Sheriff Peterkin is one of the few characters who at least has good morals and dies trying to get justice.
JJ
JJ is a character that viewers luckily get insight into. At first, he seems to simply have anger issues that make things worse for himself and his friends. This is extremely evident when he threatens Topper with the gun he and the other Pogues found on the ship. Throughout the series, he becomes even more reckless.
However, JJ is someone that viewers sympathize with. He comes from a turbulent home with an abusive father and feels that he has no other option than to get the money from the Royal Merchant. He has to take care of himself which leads him to make rash decisions since he is just a teenager. JJ begins to get his priorities in line by the end of the season. Some of that growth is seen when he is the voice of reason to Pope and stops him from choking out Rafe for hurting Kiara.
John B
John B is the protagonist of the whole show, so it would be hard for him to not be likable. Viewers immediately sympathize with him dealing with his dad's disappearance. While being very independent, he also has moments where his innocent and almost boyish side reminds fans he is a teenager. That especially happens when he kisses Kiara even though JJ tells him he shouldn't.
John B pushes his friends to continue to search for The Royal Merchant even when it becomes clear to the other Pogues how much danger they are putting themselves in. It is disappointing that he expects his friends to continue to put themselves in danger however, they all eventually are entirely on board since they want to help John B finish what his dad started. While he can be reckless, like surfing the surge before the storm and running away from the police, he tends to have the right intentions.
Kiara
Kiara clearly cares about all the members of the Pogues. Being the only girl in the group puts her in a lot of delicate situations, like her kiss with John B and her starting a relationship with Pope. She is a little mysterious to viewers who do not get a ton of insight into her and why she hangs with the Pogues when her family is wealthier.
The audience only learns that she and Sarah had a falling out after being the best of friends. Even though Kiara was judgemental when John B started dating Sarah, she is willing to put aside their differences and become friends again. It is nice to have a female voice amongst the Pogues, especially one like Kiara who is supportive but also doesn't let the boys run the show.
Pope
Pope is the voice of reason in the group. He doesn't want them to end up in trouble but ultimately is always along for an adventure. This gets him into some trouble like when he and JJ sabotage Topper's boat and in turn start a bigger conflict between them all. Even when Pope has moments of weakness, like beating up Rafe, they are after he has been pushed to a breaking point.
He is there for his friends and once he and Kiara start dating, he doesn't get jealous or possessive which is a relief. Pope is simply a relatable character. Most people have struggled with balancing pressure from their friend group and pressure to do what they believe to be right which Pope struggles with throughout the season.