'Outer Banks' Fans Speculate Behind-the-Scenes Drama Led to a Beloved Character's Death—Here's What to Know

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

Spoilers for Outer Banks season 4 part 2 ending ahead. Though four seasons of Outer Banks saw the crew surviving kidnappings, shootouts, motorbike crashes, plane crashes, and tropical storms, the latest installment tragically ended with a Pogue death. Season 4 of Netflix's low-key-ridiculous teen soap follows the teen treasure hunters as they set out to find Blackbeard's long-lost Blue Crown, putting them up against the season's big bad (and JJ's biological father) Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane). In the feature-length finale, the show's core friend group faced the devastating loss of one of their own and officially entered their revenge era for the upcoming fifth and final season.

Read on for our breakdown of the devastating death at the end of Outer Banks season 4, including what the cast and crew have to say about the major twist, and why fans theorize that behind-the-scenes drama could have led to a lead actor's departure.

Does JJ die in 'Outer Banks' season 4?

In the Outer Banks season 4 finale, all of the Pogues—John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), Cleo (Carlacia Grant), and new ally Rafe (Drew Starkey)—head to Morocco to track down Groff and the Blue Crown. Though JJ and Kiara can retrieve the season's treasure, Kie is soon captured and held at knifepoint by Groff, who threatens to kill her if JJ doesn't give him the crown.

Groff tries to lure JJ to the dark side in the season's second half, but the most loyal Pogue tells his money-hungry father in the finale, "I already have everything, and I have everything I've ever wanted. Things that you'll never have." JJ hands over the crown and pulls Kie away from Groff, briefly holding her... before Groff brutally stabs his son in the stomach. As JJ dies in Kiara's arms, his last words are, "Take care of the others... I love you, Kie."

After the second half of season 4 hit Netflix on November 7, 2024, the streamer shared a behind-the-scenes clip about JJ's death. In the memorial, Pankow reminisced on playing the fan-favorite character over the past four seasons. "When I first found out that JJ was going to risk it all and not make it, I understood it," the actor says in the clip. “‘Cause when I read the character breakdown for the audition, it said ‘loyal to a fault.’ And I think as the stakes got higher and higher, his whole thing is he takes the risk and puts his friends before himself."

He also thanked the OBX cast and crew and shared a message with Tudum for the show's fans, his only statement since the Nov. 7 finale aired. "To all the fans that show so much support and love for JJ, I just want to say thank you," he wrote. "It really did make an impact on me, playing him. It’s been an honor to bring him to life for you guys, and it’s been a joy to play him. And P4L!"

What has the cast and crew said about JJ's death in 'Outer Banks?'

In an interview with Teen Vogue, OBX creators Shannon Burke, Josh Pate, and Jonas Pate revealed that they "always knew" JJ would meet his demise before the series ended.

"We had thought that it was going to be JJ basically from the beginning," Burke said. "For a long time, we had known that someone was going to die. [In season 4] JJ is being reckless, but also giving up everything. [Those are] the two extremes of JJ: He'll give up anything for the group, but he's also completely reckless and sometimes flies the plane at the mountain. That's a dichotomy. We thought it was going to be JJ all along."

Burke added of Pankow's reaction, "We had talked to Rudy about his character dying in Kiara's arms in season 2 or 3, and we just said ‘way in the future.’ We didn't really know when we were going to play that card. It was a much more abstract thing at the time, but he seemed interested in that and thought that it would be a good way to go out. And then when it came to that moment, when he read it, obviously, he was surprised. But pretty quickly... he pivoted quickly to just thinking of how he could make it as good as possible and honor the character."

Why is Rudy Pankow leaving 'Outer Banks?'

In the hours since JJ's death scene debuted on Netflix, the OBX fandom began swirling with speculation that some long-rumored behind-the-scenes drama could have led to Pankow's departure from the series. Despite the creators' assurances that JJ's death was "always" planned, there are rumors that Pankow asked to leave the series instead.

According to Stylecaster, fans have speculated that Pankow and his co-star Madison Bailey, the other half of the fan-shipped Jiara (JJ and Kiara), have not gotten along for the past few years due to personal drama.

Fans have also speculated that Pankow's longtime girlfriend, Elaine Siemek, may have also contributed to his departure. Pankow and Siemek met on the set of Outer Banks season 1 when Siemek worked as an assistant on the crew. They went public with their relationship in 2021.

Whatever the reason, Pankow has hinted in interviews that he is prepared for the future beyond Outer Banks. Speaking with Backstage in August 2024 ahead of his starring role in Romeo and Juliet at the American Repertory Theater, Pankow said of his time on the Netflix hit, "I’m so thankful to be in this position… to be working on this craft with these characters. But I know that’s not going to last forever. I’m capable of trusting that it’s gonna be OK no matter how busy I am, or how not busy I am."