Netflix's newest teen drama, Outer Banks [1], revolves around a group of teenagers who can't stay away from trouble, a community divided by class, and one too many love triangles. It all sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it? All of this, plus the National Treasure-esque of it all, easily landed the show on our must-watch list. Now that it's available in full on the streaming service [2], we've found that it's all too easy to get sucked right in.

One of the main questions swirling in season one is: "What happened to John B's dad?"

The Background

Since his dad's disappearance nine months ago, John B. has been living on his own and his new legal guardian isn't in the picture either. If John B. is certain about anything, it's that is father isn't dead. As we come to learn, the coastal beauty of Outer Banks [3] isn't pretty enough to cover the sketchy business — and murders — happening on North Carolina's barrier islands. More on that later.

The series begins in the aftermath of Hurricane Agatha ripping through the Outer Banks [4]. While the town bands together to clean up the mess, our gang of misfits have other plans; deep diving to explore a shipwreck [5] where they find a motel room key. Meanwhile, a dead body has washed up a few yards over.

The Adventure Begins

After a near getaway from the cops, John B. and the group find a gun and large wad of cash in the motel room. JJ takes the gun and the bad decisions don't stop there. John B. steals scuba equipment from his boss, Ward Cameron — which he later gets fired for — so they can survey the shipwreck. [6] There, he finds a compass that used to belong to his father! (Cue the scary music). Inside, the word "Redfield" is engraved.

Knowing his father dedicated his career to finding the infamous Royal Merchant, that was lost in the 1800s and on it was $400 million in British gold, John B. breaks into his father's locked office in search of clues. At that exact moment, the bad guys arrive. Don't worry though, John B. and the gang secretly escape through the window. However, now all the blueprints, notebooks, vision boards, and photographs are stolen. Looks like it's back to square one. Good thing they have that compass with the engraved clue, right?

Like all teen drama series [7], our heroic team now embarks on the journey of a lifetime, where they'll escape from one too many near-death experiences; cross enemy lines; piece together an array of clues; and forbidden love [8] will become a main character along the way.

Is John B.'s Dad Alive?

Concerning the whereabouts of John B.'s dad, well . . . he's dead and has been for the past nine months. Here's what really happened. Big John found the Royal Merchant and the gold. The only problem was that Ward wrote him a check to help offset the cost of this expedition and he wasn't too happy with his side of the cut. In a fight on the boat, John B.'s dad falls and in the process, badly cuts his head on a sharp edge. Out of panic from the gushing blood, Ward drags Big John's body overboard.

Ward is freaking out and confides in his buddy Scooter about everything, including the Royal Merchant. On the day of Hurricane Agatha, Ward advises (more of a command, really) Scooter to scope out the sea one more time before the storm messes up the geography of OBX. Scooter investigates a tiny island off the coast but what he discovers is no pot of gold: a makeshift shelter, a compass, and body remains. Big John wasn't dead when he was dumped overboard. He spent his final moments carving out a clue for his son in the compass which Scooter takes. On his journey home, Hurricane Agatha overrides the situation and Scooter ends up much like Big John, washed up and dead.

If you're wondering what happened to the $400 million worth of gold, that's a completely different story and one that I highly encourage you to watch [9] play out.