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Why Did They Kill JJ in ‘Outer Banks’? What Showrunners Have Said Amid Rudy Pankow’s Exit
Fans of Outer Banks were devastated by the death of JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow) in the season 4 finale and want to know why the beloved character was killed off.
Why Did They Kill JJ in ‘Outer Banks’?
The show’s creators and showrunners – Jonas Pate, Josh Pate and Shannon Burke – revealed that JJ’s death was an essential storyline to set up the fifth season of Outer Banks.
“It sets the stage for an epic fifth and final season,” Josh told Tudum. “We’re planning a story of redemption and a season that embodies the friendship that JJ had come to represent. JJ’s death was a hard but necessary piece of the architecture for the story and we plan on honoring that as much as we can because we love the character as much as the fans do.”
JJ was killed by his biological father, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), leading the Pogues on a mission to find Groff and get their revenge. It will be the ultimate way to honor the group’s P4L (Pogue for life) motto. “At some point, this had to happen in order to justify P4L,” Jonas explained. “There’s definitely a sense of mortality that runs through the show. John B [Chase Stokes] talks about it all the time. They’re willing to give up anything for each other and this is the ultimate example of that.”
Despite fan theories that a feud between Rudy and costar Madison Bailey – who plays JJ’s girlfriend Kiara on the show – was the reason for Rudy’s exit, Shannon insisted that this storyline had been in the works for quite some time.
“We were pretty sure early on that this was where it was going,” Shannon told Cosmopolitan. “We thought that one of the Pogues would die almost in the very beginning of season 1, and we were pretty sure that it was going to be JJ. We just weren’t sure when we were going to play that card. We knew this would be JJ’s season. This is JJ’s story. And we realized pretty early on, like, ‘OK, we’re going to play this card now.’”
Could Rudy Pankow Return to ‘Outer Banks’?
When asked if there’s a “chance we might see JJ back again in some form,” Jonas told Cosmopolitan, “I’d say never say never.”
In addition to the possibility of seeing JJ show up in a flashback scene of some sort, many fans have theorized that the character could be resurrected thanks to the blue crown. Season 4 of Outer Banks featured the Pogues on the hunt for the “invaluable” artifact, which has the power to fulfill its possessor’s wishes, according to the legend.
JJ gave the blue crown to Chandler to save Kiara, who was being held by Chandler at knifepoint. Now, the Pogues are on a mission to chase Chandler down and get the crown back to avenge their friend’s death, and fans think they may use it to wish JJ back to life.
However, while opening up to Tudum about JJ’s death, Rudy spoke with a great deal of finality. “I want to leave the cast and crew with the biggest thank you,” he said. “It’s been such a pleasure to come to work. This is by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done in [my] experience, and to have this as my start is a start of a lifetime. I’m going to miss it. Thank you for so many fun memories I’ll have the rest of my life.”
How Does JJ Die in ‘Outer Banks’?
JJ died when Chandler stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. Even though JJ gave his father the blue crown, Chandler still had unresolved issues because JJ didn’t help him out of the bottom of a well earlier in the episode.
However, JJ’s decision to leave Chandler in the well – which he managed to escape from – came after Chandler set him up for the murder of Hollis Robinson (Brianna Brown). After killing Hollis and taking the money Rafe (Drew Starkey) gave her, Chandler planted the gun in JJ’s van and put the police on his trail as a suspect.
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