Fans were shocked when one beloved character died during the season 4 finale of Outer Banks — and the showrunner is admitting they “second guessed” their decision.
Warning: Spoilers below from Outer Banks season 4, episode 10.
After a tumultuous treasure hunt, JJ (Rudy Pankow) was handed the blue crown by his biological father, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane) — and was stabbed. JJ died from the injury, capturing fans’ hearts when he told Kiara (Madison Bailey) that he loved her.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly on Thursday, November 7, co-showrunner Shannon Burke said they “always” knew they were going to kill JJ. Despite his murder being planned, Burke admitted the writers “100 percent” considered changing the story to not have him die.
“It’s really scary. We had talked about, ‘One of the Pogues is probably going to have to die,’ and Rudy seemed really excited that it would be him,” Burke said. “We all thought it would probably be JJ, and as you’re going along, it seems like it would happen to him because he takes so many risks and it’s set up in the story as logical and also terribly emotional.”
Burke continued, “As we got closer to the moment, it was scary and we weren’t sure — we were definitely questioning if we were going to do this. We were really hesitant and we weren’t sure it was going to work, but everybody did their best work for it and I think it’s really effective and in the end, it makes a good story. But we were incredibly uncertain about doing it until the last minute.”
Burke explained that it felt as if the story was “moving in that direction,” pointing to the idea of the whole series — having four kids grow up together.
“We second-guessed ourselves as we got closer, and on the day of the filming of that, I thought they all did such a great job. Everyone was crying on set,” she said. “Maddie was great, Rudy was great, and Tony was so evil. They all brought their A-game, and it breaks my heart every time I see it. When we saw it filmed, that’s when we were like, ‘Oh, this is going to work.’ We cry every time we see it. It’s just heartbreaking.”
While JJ is no longer alive, Burke isn’t opposed to the idea of bringing Pankow back for the series’ fifth and final season. “I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility,” she said. “I wouldn’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened.”
Following JJ’s death — and the outcry from fans — Pankow, 26, reflected on his character’s arc, and ultimate demise.
“For JJ, he has to judge every moment in his life, if it’s worth it [to take the risk], and I think it’s constantly, yeah, it is for him,” Pankow told Netflix’s Tudum on Thursday. “Even throughout the pain and the suffering and the struggles for JJ, it’s worth it for him to go to that length. He lives his life to the utmost fullest, and I don’t think he regrets any part of it.”
Outer Banks season 4 is currently streaming on Netflix.
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