Outer BanksThe decision to kill off JJ sparked backlash from some fans — but are there any plans for more Pogue deaths in the show’s fifth and final season?

The hit Netflix series debuted in 2020 and fans quickly fell in love with the found family between John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), the Pope (Jonathan Davis) and JJ (Rudy Pankow). The second season extended the fictional friendship group with Cléo (Carlacia Scholarship) as the Pogues continued to search for treasure while avoid obstacles to imminent death.

Outer Banks creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate And Shannon Burke never publicly stated that the Pogues were safe, but three seasons without major deaths gave fans the feeling that they were — until they weren’t. things took an unexpected turn during the Season 4 finale, when JJ was killed off in a shocking – and controversial – twist.

“It’s been in his DNA from the beginning. He’s really a tragic character, and the idea of ​​mortality, and you only have a limited window — that’s also a theme of the show,” Jonas said. The Hollywood Reporter in November 2024. “This is something that John B talked about from the first season. So believe it or not, that’s something that was always kind of baked into the cake, and we just wanted to tell the story in the most elegant and interesting way possible.

Viewers quickly suspected that this departure was due to Pankow looking to leave the show. The actor, however, weighed in on the writers’ room, surprising them with the narrative shake-up.

“When I first found out that JJ was going to risk everything and not make it, I understood it. And the risks have become bigger and bigger, and the stakes are higher and higher,” he told Netflix’s Tudum that same month. “His death really sets up the future of OBX with the question: What’s worth it? And when someone so close to you disappears, how do you deal with it?

With Outer Banks ends with its fifth and final season, all bets are off. The actors and creators hinted that the stakes were higher and We compiled everything they said about the danger the rest of the Pogues are in right now:

Cross this line

After JJ death on screenThe show’s creators explained the decision to kill a Pogue.

“The overall plan was to start with a few kids who just wanted to have a good time all the time and take them on a full journey,” Burke said. Deadline in November 2024. “One of them was going to end up dying, and pretty early on, we knew it was going to be JJ, he’s the most reckless. He is also the most loved and, in a way, the one who sacrifices the most and takes the most risks. And this was going to be JJ’s year.

He continued: “Children, they get old. We wanted to start in a place of innocence, and then go to a place where at least one point to go through is really dark for them, and then bring them out of that. This is the overall plan of the show. It was always going to be JJ, we just didn’t know how we were going to play him.

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Is Topper next?

Austin North, who has been playing Topper since season 1, revealed if he had any concerns about the end of his character’s life after JJ.

“Not necessarily. Ultimately, I trust the creative team. I’m there to do my job and I show up to film the material they give me. I immerse myself in it 100% and try to bring as much as possible to the character. So whatever path they take, that’s what they do,” he said exclusively. Us every week in November 2024. “I do my job as an actor and I bring the best of my work to it. I’m just grateful to have season 4 out there. The response has been incredible. And to be able to announce season 5 is such a blessing and I can’t wait to get back to it.

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The plan for the end

According to Burke, JJ’s death will “change” the Pogues as they deal with grief as a group.

“It’s basically the backbone of the rest of the series. It will change them. They started out as kids who just wanted to have a good time all the time, and now they’ve gone all the way across the spectrum, where one of them died in a terrible way,” he noted to Cosmopolitan after the season 4 finale. “We’re just hoping to play that out and take them on this long journey and end it in the right way.”

Josh, meanwhile, suggested that the Pogues continue to take more risks, adding: “Well, I think as far as the Pope thing is concerned, it would be because, as you said, it is the most surprising. We like to get our characters as high in the tree as possible.

He continued: “The ramifications of (the pope committing suicide) will certainly be part of his story going forward. Overall, the stakes need to continue to rise in some way for the story to continue building, and we’re excited to continue it for another round.