Outer Banks divides its citizens into two different classes — Kooks and Pogues. Here’s the breakdown for each of those groups of residents.
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A prevalent theme of Netflix’s Outer Banks is the class war between the Pogues and the Kooks, which are the residents’ nicknames for the working class and the wealthy citizens, respectively. The people in Outer Banks are divided into these two groups, and their differences are a continual source of conflict. As such, the dynamics between these two classes of people is vital to the plot of Outer Banks.
Netflix’s new teen soap opera follows the lives of John B and his friends in North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands. John B is still reeling from the disappearance of his father, who never returned after attempting to hunt down the shipwrecked Royal Merchant, which was carrying $400 million dollars in gold. After receiving a clue about ship’s location, John B and his friends set off on a wild goose chase, as John B believes the ship’s location holds the secret to his dad’s fate; however, the four friends, all played by relative newcomers to the industry, quickly learn they’re not the only ones hunting down the treasure of the Royal Merchant.
John B and his friends belong to the Pogue side of the island, and their run-ins with Kooks constantly get in the way of their hunt for the treasure. The conflict between the Pogues and the Kooks in Outer Banks goes beyond the competition for gold — there’s a long history between to two factions.
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Who Are The Pogues and the Kooks?
In the world of Outer Banks, you belong to one of two groups: the Pogues or the Kooks. As John B describes it, residents of Outer Banks either have two jobs or two houses. A Pogue is nickname for those in the working class that stems from pogie fish, which are the lowest members of the fish food chain. As John B, JJ and Pope are working class, lower-income citizens of the island, they are consider Pogues. On the other side of the island are the Kooks — those with beautiful clothes and beautiful houses who do not have to lift a finger. In surfer lingo, a Kook refers to someone who has zero understanding of the surfing lifestyle. Pogues typically work for Kooks. Although she hangs out with Pogue boys, Kiara is technically a Kook, along with Topper and Sarah’s whole family.
The Pogues and the Kooks famously hate each other. Outer Banks demonstrates this in various ways, such as Kooks jumping Pogues and Pogues sinking Kooks’ ships. So when John B falls in love with Kook Sarah, the relationship becomes a Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers situation. A Kook and a Pogue dating in Outer Banks disrupts the island’s entire social structure. Should Outer Banks get renewed for a second season, the show will likely continue to explore the difference between Sarah’s Kook lifestyle and John B’s Pogue mindset.
In the OBX, there are two kinds of people. Netflix's latest YA series, Outer Banks, shows us the different lives between the Kooks and the Pogues of the island. Depending on which one you are, your life can be totally different.
At the beginning of episode one, John B., the show's main character, opens up about life on the crazy island and how it's split up. "The Outer Banks, paradise on Earth. It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island," he says.
While the Kooks are the kings and queens of the island thanks to their parents and backgrounds, the Pogues are trying to find a way to move up the ladder and create a new life for themselves.
Here's everything you need to know about the Pogues and Kooks on Outer Banks.
What is a Pogue?
If you're a Pogue, that means you're from The Cut, the south side of the OBX. "Home of the working class, who make a living busing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of the Pogues," John B says in the show's pilot.
"Being Pogues, you are automatically singled out as less than, because of where you live," Jonathan Daviss, who plays Pope, told Seventeen exclusively.
As revealed in the first episode of the series, the Pogues are actually named after a type of fish. "Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest member of the food chain," John B says in the beginning of Outer Banks. Because of this, pogies are usually used as bait to help catch bigger fish.
While it seems like being a Pogue is just filled with downsides, the cast members of Outer Banks pointed out that there is one many positive thing about being a Pogue.
"John B says it in the pilot, 'The downside is that we're ignored and neglected. And the upside that we're ignored and neglected,'" Madison Bailey, who playes Kie, exclusively told Seventeen. "Pogue life is all fun and nothing not. You can worry about it after we're done surfing. It's going out and having fun and then when you come back to shore, you can deal with everything."
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Rudy Pankow, who plays JJ, agreed saying that Pogues are able to look at things differently thanks to the way they live life.
"There's a time and place where you can just really let everything else go and I think people forget about that," Rudy revealed to Seventeen in an exclusive interview. "Pogue life is just like 'Don't worry about the rules. Don't worry about where you have to be.' You can just go do stuff."
What is a Kook?
A Kook is a person who lives in Figure 8 or the north side of the OBX. They are typically well-off and have the most power on the island.
The word Kook has two different meanings. The first one usually means crazy and is the most common definition used for the word. However, in surfing, it stands for a person who tries to fit into the culture without even trying. According to Urban Dictionary,
"Kook is a term, most often used by aggro locals, to describe any surfers that:
don't live in the sh*thole little coastal towns
don't work construction and/or drive old, beat-up trucks
pretend like they can surf when, in reality, they suck-ass
don't follow the rules of the lineup
show up in the lot with a frappachino, excited about 2-footers"
It's likely that Kooks are called this in the show because they aren't really seen as the ones who are fitting in with island life thanks to their money and privilege.
Are these terms really used in real life?
Madison, who is from North Carolina, revealed that while characters are constantly called Kooks and Pogues on the show, they're not really used in her home state.
"Pogues and Kooks are real, they’re just not called that," she told US Weekly. "The root of [the rivalry] would be the privilege aspect of it. Of seeing somebody who gets to be born into this life as an enemy. That’s real. You see people that have more than you that didn’t even have to work for it and it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating when you have to try so hard. It’s stressful too. You can be a superior Pogue and you’ll never be as a mediocre Kook."