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sarah who blames her father for their mother's abandonment. she used to be daddy's little girl before all this, but the search for a reason made her harbor resentment toward the man. she distanced herself emotionally from him, arguments became more frequent between the two, and yet her father continued to look for her. he became less restrictive towards her, more attentive, trying to win her back and return to normal.

she was the easiest to deal with among the three, was the one who caused the least irritation to her father and didn't need much attention.

i can imagine her seeing their father giving sarah significantly more attention and identifying with rafe's jealousy because of it.

~ Sofia looks out for herself by going to Hollis and agreeing to help her, after she realises Rafe doesn’t have her back. Her words here directly reflect her actions in season 4, Sofia only resorting to that deal when she felt threatened.

~ the roles are flipped from s3 and s4. Where rafe was the one debating what to do in s3, in s4 it was Sofia who was faced with a similar dilemma (of course not the exact same because rafe being rafe was debating on whether or not to kill his dad😭). But the principle was still the same– should they betray someone they love to make up for that person hurting them?

~ Sofia clearly doesn’t follow her own advice. Her guilt was instant, even when she did the act of “nudging him to accept the deal” you could she was regretful. Her whole arc in part 2 was trying to right her wrong, before Rafe said she didn’t need to worry when he got down on one knee. You could see the wash of relief in the proposal scene. And then the return of the regret, seen in her reaction to him telling her to “pack her shit away” …it was like she thought she deserved it, realising her actions had come back to bite her.

~ Sofia clearly has a strong sense of right and wrong, seen in her aversion to her dad’s request to help Hollis, her dismay in the turtle scene and her own regret at doing the “wrong” thing and “betraying” her boyfriend.

I think it’s sad that people write off her character as being boring or badly written. I do agree though her storyline was rushed, but her character is consistent and lucid (as much as a side character in outer banks can be). She’s sweet, kind and good, a direct opposition to Rafe’s persona. And those characteristics don’t mean she’s weak/badly written, it just means she’s different, and that’s not a bad thing.

And i like that she doesn’t mirror Rafe’s boldness and extroversion– it’s nice to see him interact with someone softer. Sometimes it makes him become softer, and other times it intensifies his harshness, both “humanising and villainising him” (as the creators put it).

I think if he was with someone like kiara, or someone who paralleled his intensity and fervour, it would give him less nuance. Sofia balanced him out, she shows him there’s another option. It provides a moral choice for him– to dwell on his anger and resentment, or become forgiving and hopeful.

And Rafe provides a dilemma for Sofia too– between her identity as a pogue and her love for Rafe seemingly contradicting that identity. (Very much John B and Sarah season 1 coded)

Final words: idk sorry for the ramble and over analysis!! @beautyinsteadofashes mentioned the comparison of this scene with season 4 and it got me thinking!!