Will Outer Banks Season 5 take out more Pogues after JJ’s departure?

Outdoor benchesThe decision to kill off JJ received backlash from some fans, but are there plans for more Pogue deaths during 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), pope (Jonathan Daviss) and JJ (Rudy Pankow). The second season expanded the fictional friendship group to include Cleo (Carlacia Grant) while the Pogues continued to search for treasure avoiding near-death obstacles.

Outdoor benches makers Josh Pate, Jonas Pate And Shannon Burke never publicly stated that the Pogues were safe, but three seasons without any major deaths made fans feel like they were — until they weren’t. Things took an unexpected turn during the season 4 finale when JJ was killed in a shocking – and controversial – twist.

“It’s been lurking in his DNA since the beginning. He really is a tragic figure, and the idea of ​​mortality, and you only have a finite window – it’s a theme of the show too,” Jonas shared. The Hollywood Reporter in November 2024. “It’s something John B has been talking about since the first season. So believe it or not, this is something that was always in the cake, and we just wanted to tell the story as elegantly and interestingly as possible.

Viewers quickly suspected that the departure was a result of this Pankow wants to leave the series. However, the actor entered the writers’ room and surprised him with the shake-up in the story.

“When I first found out that JJ would risk everything and not make it, I understood. And the risks got bigger and bigger, and the stakes got higher and higher,” he explained to Netflix’s Tudum that same month. “His death really determines the future of OBX with the question: what is it worth? And if someone close to you is no longer there, how do you deal with it?

Of Outdoor benches is coming to an end with its fifth and final season, all bets are off. The cast and creators have hinted that the stakes are higher Us has collected everything they’ve teased about how much danger the rest of the Pogues are now in:

Crossing that line

After JJ on screen deaththe show’s creators explained the decision to kill off a Pogue.

“The overarching plan was to start with just a few kids who always wanted to have a good time, and take them on a whole journey,” Burke said. Term in November 2024. “One of them was going to die eventually, and pretty early on we knew it was going to be JJ, he’s the most reckless. He is also the most beloved and, in a sense, the most sacrificial and riskiest. And this was going to be JJ’s year.”

He continued: “The children are getting older. We wanted to start in a place of innocence and then go to a place where it’s really dark for them at least one point and then let them come out of that. That’s the overarching plan for the show. It was always going to be JJ, we just weren’t sure how we were going to play it.

Is Topper next?

Austin North, who has played Topper since season 1, revealed whether he was worried about his character’s life ending after JJ.

“Not necessarily. Ultimately, I trust the creative team. I’m there to do my job and show up to film the material they give me. I dive into it 100 percent and try to get the most out of the character. So whatever route they take, that’s what they do,” he said exclusively We weekly in November 2024. “I do my job as an actor and just bring my best work to it. I’m just grateful that season 4 is here. The response was great. And to be able to announce Season 5 is such a blessing and I can’t wait to get started on it again.”

The plan for the end

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

“It’s actually the main backbone of the rest of the series. It’s going to change them. They started out as kids who just wanted to have fun all the time, and now they’ve gone full spectrum, with one of them dying in a horrible way,” he noted to Cosmopolitan after the season 4 finale. “We hope that to play out and take them on this long journey and end it the right way.”

Josh, meanwhile, hinted that the Pogues will taking more and more risks, and added: ‘Well, I think that on the question of the Pope, that would be because, as you said, it is the most surprising. We want to get our characters as far up the tree as possible.”

He continued: “The consequences of (the Pope taking a life) will certainly be part of his story in the future. Overall, the stakes have to keep rising somehow to keep the story going, and we’re excited to keep it going for another round.