'Outer Banks' EP explains death in season four finale, teases season five

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Outer Banks Season 4, Part 2 Finale.

The Pogues aren't invincible, after all.

After four seasons of enduring the impossible – from intense chases and daring rescues to increasingly life-threatening fisticuffs and shootouts, all in the name of treasure – the Outer Banks Teenagers have finally lost one of their own.

The feature-length fourth season finale, part 2, “The Blue Crown,” did the unthinkable by brutally killing off JJ (Rudy Pankow). His death was made all the more devastating by the fact that he found the fabled Blue Crown from Blackbeard's treasure and willingly gave it to his evil biological father, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), to save the life of his girlfriend Kiara (Madison Bailey). And JJ even did it with a smile! But Groff stabbed his son out of spite, cementing his status as one of the worst TV villains of the year.

“We don’t know how people will react” Outer Banks Co-showrunner Shannon Burke narrates Weekly entertainment. “He's one of the most popular or maybe even the most popular characters, so it's the most painful and emotional, but it also makes sense considering who JJ is and the risks he's taken. We've been getting to this moment for a long time, but even when we see it, we think, 'Oh my God.' It's really surprising.

Elsewhere in the action-packed finale, the Pogues reluctantly joined forces with Rafe (Drew Starkey) and he eventually made peace with his sister Sarah (Madelyn Cline) – who had just discovered she was pregnant (great timing!). The Pogues and Rafe ended up stuck in Morocco without the crown, mourning the loss of their friend. Pope (Jonathan Daviss) was left reeling after killing Lightner (Rigo Sanchez) to save Cleo (Carlacia Grant). At the end of the finale, John B (Chase Stokes) and Kiara convinced the Pogues and Rafe to follow Groff to Lisbon to get the crown back at any cost and get revenge – because that's what JJ would have wanted.

Below the Outer Banks Co-showrunner explains why JJ had to die, whether he'll even return for the fifth and final season, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you kill JJ?!

SHANNON BURKE: It was something we always knew we would do. We knew it a long time ago – it was his whole arc, he starts off as this boy with an abusive past with his father but he really gives in, he's the kind of person who just does crazy things, like 30k Steals dollars from a drug dealer and then uses the money to buy a hot tub for his friends. Over time it gets more out of track, but is also more pliable. This is the yin and yang of his character. This season's arc started with him losing all the gold and making the ultimate sacrifice at the end. We had been planning this for a long time and at some point we realized that we would play this card this year.

His death hurts even more because he gave up the crown to save Kiara and chose a life of love over treasure, and he seemed at peace with that decision. And then Groff stabbed him anyway!

It's definitely intentional. Groff is just bad. He didn't have to do it, but he felt insulted (because JJ left him in the well) so he did it. He's our villain… He's like the bad version of JJ. I laughed about it with Tony (who plays Groff) and said, “You're going to get a lot of hate very soon.” I've probably seen it hundreds of times and every time I cringe. I watched it again last night, I don't know why, I just turned it on and watched the last 10 minutes again and I cringed. I know it's coming, but the way it happens is just so surprising.

It's something designed to be gratuitous – Groff didn't have to do it, JJ is completely at peace, that's the intention. He got through that. He was unwell and spun most of the season. Many viewers are frustrated with JJ because he simply makes bad decisions that affect the group, and he makes up for it in episode 9. And when he comes back (after saving Sarah), you get the feeling that he's in a better place and that he and Kiara have a long and bright future ahead of them, which makes what happens all the more tragic.

You said that this was planned since the beginning of the series, but given the popularity of this character over the last four seasons, have you ever thought about changing the story? not Kill him?

100 percent. 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. We all thought it would probably be JJ, and as it progresses it seems like it's going to happen to him because he takes so many risks and it's portrayed in the story as logical and also terribly emotional. As we got closer to the moment it became scary and we weren't sure – we definitely wondered if we would do this. We were really hesitant and weren't sure if it would work, but everyone put their best into it and I think it's really effective and in the end it makes a good story. But we were incredibly unsure whether we could do it until the last minute.

But it actually felt like the story was going in that direction, and for the overall idea of ​​the whole series, you start with four kids who always just want to have a good time, and you drag them into a lot of stuff, who are not (fun). That's part of growing up, and that was the idea. As we got closer, we second-guessed ourselves, and on the day of filming I thought they all did such a great job. Everyone was crying on set. Maddie was great, Rudy was great, and Tony was so evil. They all did their best and it breaks my heart every time I see it. When we saw it filmed, we thought, “Oh, this is going to work.” We cry every time we see it. It's just heartbreaking.

You said Rudy was excited about it – when did he find out about JJ's fate?

I can't remember exactly when it was. We had talked to him about the possibility of this, and it must have been years ago, saying, “This could happen,” and he seemed excited about it. The specific message “You will die in this episode” came, in my opinion, just in the normal (time) in which the scripts (were) received. And he had a lot of ideas – there are lines of his in there where he says, “JJ would say this.” Like, “Take care of everyone.” And in the scene on the pier where Kiara says, “I love you ” says and JJ doesn’t say it back, that was intentional because he says it at the end. Rudy got excited very quickly and said, “This is going to be really great, I know how to do it well.” It breaks my heart every time I see it how quickly he accepts in the end and says, “Take care of it the group,” while he thinks about the others.

Will Rudy return in some form, such as flashbacks, in the final season?

That’s a great question – maybe? (Laughs) I wouldn't rule it out of the realm of possibility. I wouldn't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.

What can you say about how JJ's death will affect the Pogues heading into the final season?

This will be the main story for the rest of season five – it will provide the emotional backbone. It's not something you get over in a day or an episode. It's something that will impact her and be the emotional center of the rest of the series. Grief is only a tiny part of it, but they will all deal with this gap in their friendship and how it affects them.

Which character's journey are you most excited about following the loss of JJ?

Kiara. The interesting thing about her is that she's the “save the turtles, save the dolphins” type, and when you see her at the end of (Season) 4, she definitely doesn't look like that anymore. She's turned into a different person and we're happy about that and Maddie is really excited about that. And for four years we've all known what a good actress she is, and we feel like she's probably given the least of anyone and used her talents the least, but we all know because we've done it I saw how good she is, how consistent she is with every single take. She is a great actress and we are really happy for her and we so deserve it. She can really show what she can do.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Outer Banks Season 4, Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

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