Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Outer Banks season 3!The popular John B healing shroud theory has finally been debunked by Outer Banks season 3. Since John B is the main character of the hit Netflix adventure series, he is also the subject of multiple theories about the show’s past and future. Mysteries like what happened to his mother continue to persist throughout Outer Banks season 3, but his connection to the treasures he and the Pogues search for has also been a topic of speculation. Whereas Pope is tied to Denmark Tanny and the Royal Merchant, theories started to rise that John B was linked to the healing shroud meant to be in the Cross of Santo Domingo.
Prior to Outer Banks season 3, a theory began to grow in popularity that suggested a surprising link between John B and the healing shroud. The theory suggested that John B’s bandana which he almost always has with him was the healing shroud missing from the Cross of Santo Domingo in season 2. The show indicated that the healing shroud was destroyed by moths and that is why there was nothing inside the cross’ hidden compartment. However, the tease from Big John to Carla Limbrey that the shroud was real and out there left fans buzzing that this confidence could come from him knowing it was in his son’s possession.
Outer Banks Season 3 Destroy The John B Healing Shroud Theory
Outer Banks season 3 destroys the John B healing shroud theory in a fairly convincing fashion. Even though the Cross of Santo Domingo is destroyed in season 3, Big John lies to Carla that he found it and can heal her. She ultimately buys the lie and begins to walk without any help, at least for the short period of time that she is shown afterward. John B and Big John know that the garment given to Carla is not the healing shroud, as Outer Banks indicates that the entire legend was fake.
Based on how the show treats the healing shroud MacGuffin in season 3, Outer Banks doubles down on debunking the theory that John B’s bandana was the mystical artifact. Not only is there no indication from Big John that his son’s bandana holds actual healing properties when discussing Carla, but Big John also does not attempt to use it to heal himself in Outer Banks season 3’s ending. Furthermore, even if the bandana was somehow the supposed healing shroud from the Cross of Santo Domingo, the show acts as though it would have been ineffective in the end.
Why Outer Banks Season 3 Was Right To Destroy The Theory
Although the John B healing shroud Outer Banks theory was quite creative, season 3 made the right decision to debunk it in this fashion. The idea that John B’s bandana given to him by Big John was actually a powerful healing shroud came with too many inconsistencies and issues to be right. The bandana appears to look like the average item that could be bought at any store, not a piece of cloth that Jesus Christ may have been buried in. It also would create the question of how Big John came to possess the healing shroud and how it was removed from the Cross of Santo Domingo.
As a result, it is better for Outer Banks season 3 to debunk the John B healing shroud theory. The plot point had to be revisited in some fashion with Carla’s involvement in the series, but it also smartly takes away the possibility that any character with a piece of John B’s bandana cannot die. That can help raise the stakes as Outer Banks moves into season 4 and puts the Pogues in more dangerous situations.