‘Outer Banks’ fans upset by key character death in new episodes

8 November, 2024

Outer Banks

Outer Banks is back, but not all viewers are happy about it following the death of a major character.

The second half of the fourth season of the Netflix teen adventure drama came out yesterday (November 7), and continues to follow two groups of teenagers in North Carolina, the Kooks and the Pogues, who are searching for treasure.

And ahead of its fifth and final season, fans have been left upset on social media due to the death of a main character in the series finale – JJ Maybank, played by Rudy Pankow, is stabbed in the stomach by his father, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), and dies from his injuries with his girlfriend Kiara Carrera (Madison Bailey) by his side.

One viewer wrote on X (Twitter), “You are telling me that the character who went through the most trauma and finally deserved a happy ending got murdered. Throw it away!”

Another said, “So you’re telling me JJ, the guy who spread happiness and loved his friends above anything else, is killed by his dad after a lifetime of living with his other abusive dad and you think that is a good ending for him.”

Despite it being thought that season five will revolve around the Pogues avenging JJ’s death by hunting down his father, one viewer urged for the next season to be cancelled altogether, saying, “Literally how many times did that bitch ass Ward and Big John come back from the dead but JJ DIES??? Just like that???  Fuck Outer Banks, fuck Netflix, fuck [co-creators] the Pates, cancel season 5.”

Tributes were also paid to the character, with one fan saying: “JJ Maybank, you will forever be loved. The people’s prince. I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you from your actor, writers, and cast drama. There’s no Outer Banks without you.”

One more said: “Outer Banks actually did it. They actually killed off one of their main characters. They actually killed off THE fan favourite character. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?”

Outer Banks, created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke, debuted on Netflix in April 2020. Alongside Patlow, Bailey and Crane in the cast are Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Daviss and Drew Starkey.

Netflix has already renewed the show for a fifth and final season, with Josh teasing to Tudum, “We’ve always known from the beginning what the last scene would be.”

The Pates and Burke wrote in a joint letter: “Now, with a little sadness, but also excitement, we’re putting season four behind us and are turning to season five, in which we hope to bring our beloved Pogues home in the way we imagined and planned years ago.

“Season five will be our last season and we think it will be our best yet. We hope you’ll join us for one more paddle out to the surf break.”

No release date for season five has been announced yet, though the showrunners confirmed they were in the process of writing the scripts in November 2024. There was over a year and a half between seasons two and three and seasons three and four, so on that basis the final season may not air until May 2026.

The post ‘Outer Banks’ fans upset by key character death in new episodes appeared first on NME.