Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Outer Banks season 2.
Outer Banks season 2 seemed set to give Topper a redemption arc following the events of season 1, but instead saw him subtly return to more villain behavior. Played by Austin North, Topper Thornton embodied one of North Carolina's wealthy elite. As such, he served as a primary antagonist in the conflict between Kooks and Pogues in the Outer Banks. Regardless, he often seemed more conflicted in that endeavor than the openly psychotic Rafe (Drew Starkey). By the end of Outer Banks season 1, he even seemed to firmly turn his attitude around, willingly helping ex-girlfriend Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) and John B (Chase Stokes) evade the authorities after the latter was framed for murder.
As a result, fans quickly latched on to Outer Banks season 2 gifting Topper treatment similar to Stranger Things' Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). For a time, it actually seemed as though that would come to pass. In Outer Banks season 2, episode 1, "The Gold," he actively tried to keep the peace between fellow Kooks and JJ (Rudy Pankow). He later went on to save Sarah from a murderous Rafe. Furthermore, Topper went above and beyond to look after her and make sure that she felt safe. From there, however, the true motives in Outer Banks season 2 were subtly peeled back and revealed to come far from a genuinely noble place.
From the moment Topper reunited Sarah with John B, it was clear that jealousy and an attempt at one-upmanship fueled his actions. Topper seized every opportunity to infer his superiority over John B, even as he attempted to disguise it beneath good-natured humility. With such lines as "well, somebody had to protect your girlfriend" he insisted on prodding at John B and exacerbating his insecurities. That was because, at the end of the day, defeating John B was still at the heart of Topper's actions — more so than being a genuinely better person and even winning Sarah back. That was made most clear in Outer Banks season 2, episode 7, "The Bonfire." As he engaged John B in a fight, all thoughts of Sarah and her safety went out of his mind. As she was knocked down and seemingly injured, John B called out to check on her. Topper, meanwhile, continued focusing solely on John B and winning the fight.
Even after they'd left the bonfire, Topper spared nary a thought for Sarah. Instead, he reverted further to old behavior and ranted about Pogues (in terms of otherness) just as he used to in Outer Banks season 1. It emphasized that where Steve Harrington had truly let Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) go and grew as a person, Topper still clung to the idea of a relationship with Sarah and had a heck of a way to go. Though he'd seemingly become a nicer character in Outer Banks season 2, Topper had, in truth, become a "nice guy" whose actions actually belied lingering issues. He'd never fully wrapped his head around why he'd lost Sarah to a Pogue. Topper also maintained a sense of ownership over Sarah, highlighted by him giving her a phone through which he could track her location. As such, each of his noble actions seemed (at the very least) subconsciously designed towards specific ends rather than born from true, natural growth.
Topper not transitioning fully into one of the good guys or an outright Pogue actually made sense. After all, it had only been a short amount of time between initially losing Sarah to John B and Outer Banks season 2. The pain over everything that happened in Outer Banks season 1 was still fresh. Equally, Topper had nearly two decades of immense privilege and ingrained attitudes to untangle. There hadn't been nearly enough time for Topper to process the complexity of his mindset, much less change his entire self. Redemption for the character has remained certainly possible (should he actually choose to pursue it). However, it's often a long and rocky road, requiring dedicated work and a genuine confrontation of one's behavior. As such, the writers not rushing it before Outer Banks season 3 or beyond was a wise choice.
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