‘Outer Banks’ just killed off a major character in the season 4 finale — and fans are reeling

Warning: This story contains major spoilers for the Season 4 finale of “Outer Banks.”

“Outer Banks,” a show about treasure hunting, family mysteries, island survival and more, just aired its biggest plot twist yet.

For the first time, one of the group’s core members, known as the Pogues, died during their high-stakes adventures.

Part 1 of Season 4, which dropped on October 10, followed the Pogues as they launched a new treasure hunt: the search for Blackbeard’s treasure. The efound of Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) and Pope (Jonathan Daviss) are in trouble, JJ (Rudy Pankow) is reeling from the discovery of the truth about his biological parents and leader John B (Chase Stokes) is seeing apparitions of his late father.

In part 2 the stakes only get higher. Here’s What Happens in the Finale – and Why Fans Want It”a lie.”

Who dies in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4, Part 2?

In the final episode of Season 4, “The Blue Crown,” which debuted on Netflix on November 10, we see the Pogues in Morocco as they try to track down Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), JJ’s real biological father who has tried the Pogues for murder several times throughout the season.

At the end of the episode, JJ and Kiara (Madison Bailey) briefly taste victory after retrieving the Blue Crown, one of Blackbeard’s artifacts. She is then captured and held at knifepoint by Groff, who threatens to kill Kiara if JJ does not give him the crown.

“You could have stayed with me, JJ. Think about what you could have gotten,” Groff says.

“I already have everything, and I have everything I’ve ever wanted. Things you’ll never have,” JJ says.

JJ hands over the crown and pulls Kiara back. They share a brief hug, before Groff stabs JJ in the stomach.

As Kiara tries to stop the bleeding, JJ, struggling to breathe, says, “I never told you my wish.” I already got it. I already got my wish.’

“Take care of the others,” he says, before he appears to die. “I love you, Ki.”

In the last few minutes of the episode, John B narrates a montage of some of JJ’s best moments from the show, while the rest of the Pogues mourn his body. And in the final scene, gathered around a campfire, the Pogues, plus unlikely new ally Rafe (Drew Starkey), vow revenge.

While the Pogues have entered the anger phase of grief, fans seem stuck in denial and depression.

“They killed JJ Maybank and threw away the whole damn show,” said someone on X.

“What if JJ was temporarily unconscious when they buried him and in s5 they will reveal that he was actually alive and crawled out of the grave,” another wrote. (Another fan suggested to go A ‘supernatural’ route to breathe new life into the character.)

“I’m so sorry, jj, you deserved so much better, you were and will always be my best character on the outer shores, you will be so missed, I wish this was a lie,” said a thirdaccompanied by a dramatic edit of Billie Eilish’s ‘The Greatest’.

‘Outer Banks’ creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke told Netflix Tudum that JJ’s death was always part of the plan for the show.

“JJ’s death was a difficult but necessary part of the architecture of the story, and we plan to honor that as much as possible because we love the character as much as the fans do. And Rudy is a good friend of ours,” says Josh Pate. said.

In the Tudum article, “Outer Banks” star Madelyn Cline described JJ as the “heart of ‘Outer Banks,'” a sound that some fans latched onto.

“Heart of the Outer Banks, yes, AND THEY TOOK HIM FROM US,” said someone on X.

During the filming of the scene, even “the sound guys were crying,” Jonas Pate told Tudum.

It looks like Pankow will now be leaving the show. The actor expressed his gratitude for the show and its fans in the interview with Tudum, saying, “I’m going to miss it.”

How will JJ’s death play into ‘Outer Banks’ Season 5?

Pankow told Tudum that his character’s death had “determined the future of ‘OBX,'” with two key questions: “What’s it worth?” And when someone close to you is no longer there, how can you navigate that?’

“Outer Banks” returns for another season, the makers announced on November 4days before Part 2 of Season 4 premiered.

In a letter shared on Instagram, they said they initially envisioned the show as a “five-season journey.”

“Now, it is with some sadness, but also excitement, that we leave Season 4 behind us and move on to Season 5, where we hope to bring our beloved Pogues home in the way we envisioned and planned for years” , the letter said. read. “Season 5 will be our final season, and we think it will be our best yet. We hope you’ll join us for another surf break.”

More ‘Outer Banks’

This article was originally published on TODAY.com