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In Outer Banks, Kooks and Pogues don’t mix. That is, unless you’re Sarah Cameron and John B. The Netflix series looks at the relationships between the wealthy Kooks and the home-grown Pogues. One of those relationships is a broken friendship between Kiara — better known as Ki — and Sarah.

Find out what Sarah Cameron did to create the divide between her and Kiara.

[Spoiler Alert: Spoilers ahead for Outer Banks Season 1.]

'Outer Banks' Netflix Sarah Cameron Kiara
Chase Stokes, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, and Madelyn Cline in ‘Outer Banks’ | Netflix

Rivalry runs deep in ‘Outer Banks’ 

One of the driving storylines in Outer Banks Season 1 is the divide between the Kooks and Pogues. According to the main protagonist, John B, “The Cut” is the “home of the working class” — also referred to as Pogues. The nickname is meant to denote that Pogues are on the lowest end of the food chain — similar to the pogue fish used to attract larger fish.

On the contrary, Kooks are the wealthy members of the Outer Banks. Historically, surfers have used the term Kook to describe someone who can’t surf but will pretend that they can for recognition. As far as the Kooks depicted in Outer Banks, they’re natives with a lot of money — something that makes it impossible for them to fit into the laid back vibe of the surfer town. 

Kiara and Sarah have a history 

Throughout the early episodes in the series, Ki made it clear to her Pogue lads that she had a strong dislike for Sarah because she betrayed her. Ki was very elusive as to what that meant, only ever comparing Sarah to “a spitting cobra.”

Ki is a self-proclaimed Pogue, but she was born into a wealthy family and therefore considered a Kook by the rest of society. At some point in her life, Ki attended a Kook school with Sarah Cameron. Ki recalled the day she was befriended by Sarah, who offered to help her save baby turtles. Later, Ki expressed that Sarah betrayed her without ever specifying how. 

The real reason Kiara disliked Sarah Cameron 

After John B determined that he needed the help of both Sarah and Ki to find the Royal Merchant gold, he concocted a plan to rectify their friendship. John B (Chase Stokes), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and JJ (Rudy Pakow) abandoned Sarah and Ki on a boat so that they could sort out their differences. 

Reluctant at first, the two eventually decided to share a joint after Sarah was stung by a jellyfish. Then, Ki opened up about her issues with Sarah. She revealed that during their childhood, Sarah didn’t invite Kiara to one of her birthday parties. That hurt Kiara deeply — so much so that she had held onto it, even years later. 

There’s a reason Sarah Cameron hurt Kiara 

As it turned out, there was a reason why Sarah chose to leave Kiara off of the invite list for her birthday party. “You liked me,” Sarah said. “When people get close to me, I feel trapped. And I bail, and I blame them for it.” 

“You ghosted me, and I don’t even know why,” Kiara said, explaining how much Sarah’s decision hurt her. Then, Kiara revealed what she did to cope with not being invited. After seeing all of her classmates enjoying the party on Instagram, Kiara called the cops to have the party broken up — a detail that made both girls laugh and ultimately restored their friendship.

After a night together on the boat, the boys returned to find Sarah and Kiara seemingly the same. They agreed not to clue the boys in on how well their plan had worked, but deep down, there was an understanding and a rekindled friendship between them.

Will that friendship last? Hopefully we’ll find out if a second season of Outer Banks is ever confirmed.  

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