Outer Banks Season 4 ended with a bang, literally. The show, which follows the lives of John B. (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant), or the Pogues, aka the poor kids and their hunt for treasure finished Season 4 with a big twist that sets up the fifth and final season.
After the events of Season 3 that saw them finally get the gold from El Dorado, the season sees the group start a business and start living a normal life. At least, for a bit. Soon, the Kooks—aka, the rich kids—make sure the money the group had isn’t actually enough to sustain the business, and back to treasure hunting the group goes. But treasure hunting isn’t all just fun and games.
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Particularly when JJ finds out the truth about his parentage. He isn’t actually a Pogue, and he isn’t even Luke Maybanks’ son. He’s instead the son of Larissa Genrette and Chandler Groff, and basically the heir to Goat Island. Talk about a shocker. JJ reacts to this just like JJ always does, chaotically. His chaos gets even worse when he figures out that Groff, the father who abandoned him, actually wants him dead too.
With all that baggage, who can blame JJ for spiraling? But in the penultimate episode of the season, JJ stops his own spiral and comes through to save Sarah, and in the last episode, he saves Kiara too. So, all is well, right? Perhaps not, as the show ends on a very sad note for the character, as he’s badly hurt and supposedly killed.
But, does JJ really die in Outer Banks? Is Rudy Pankow leaving the show? Here’s everything we know.
Does JJ really die in Outer Banks?
There’s been no confirmation from Pankow or Outer Banks that this is indeed the end of JJ, but it sure looks like it is. JJ is mortally wounded by his father at the end of the last episode of Season 4 and dies in Kiara’s arms after asking her to take care of the others. We even get the rest of the Pogues crying over his body, his friends digging a grave for him, and a promise of revenge on Groff to end the season.
And, this revenge tour could be a good storyline for Season 5, with the Pogues finally getting justice against Groff and John B. and Sarah moving on with, perhaps, a new baby who will now surely be a boy named after JJ. It all tracks. But until the show or Pankow confirms it, there’s a small glimmer of hope for fans.
Related: I’m Sorry, But Outer Banks‘ JJ Just Found Out Who His Real Dad Is & We Are Not OK
That small glimmer of hope comes in the form of the treasure the Pogues were chasing after in Season 4, the blue crown. The crown is said to grant wishes, and though the show has never dabbled in the supernatural, Outer Banks does make a point of reminding you what the blue crown can supposedly do more than once. Plus, there’s the fact that the season ends with Groff looking down on his hands covered with JJ’s blood and seemingly regretting his choices. Would he bring JJ back?
And, if not, if the Pogues get the crown, would they? Narratively, it feels like this is a very disappointing storyline for JJ in general and for the Pogues in particular. Bringing JJ back in Season 5, though, would be epic.
Fans certainly seem to think it’s a possibility, with comments on X ranging from “no guys okay wait the blue crown storyline is continuing through szn 5 this the whole wish thing is foreshadowing that jj is gonna be brought back they know he’s the most loved character and how stupid it’d be for there to be a whole season without him,” from one fan to “the creators of obx saying the blue crown storyline is going to take them to the very end of the show bc kie is going to find the blue crown, wish to jj to be alive again and they go on their surf trip and live happily ever after, I got ur jiara tea pates!” from another fan.
For now, it seems like this is the end of JJ Maybanks. But considering what we know, we can never truly count a Pogue out.
